Progressions of core stabilization exercises based on postural control challenge assessment

Observational Screening Guidelines and Smartphone Accelerometer Thresholds to Establish the Intensity of Some of the Most Popular Core Stability Exercises

“…During the testing session, participants performed seven variations of the front bridge, side bridge, back bridge and birddog exercises, for a total of 28 variations: (i) for the front and side bridge exercises (Figure 1): (1) short bridging, (2) long bridging, (3) bridging with single leg support, (4) bridging with double leg support on a hemisphere ball (54 × 24 cm; Medusa T1, Elksport R , Spain), ( 5) bridging with single leg support on a hemisphere ball, (6) bridging with double leg support on a fit ball (diameter: 45 cm; Amaya Sport, Spain), and (7) bridging with single leg support on a fit ball; (ii) for the back bridge exercise (Figure 1): (1) short bridge, (2) bridging with single leg support, (3) bridging with double leg support on a hemisphere ball, (4) bridging with single leg support on a hemisphere ball, (5) bridging with double leg support on a fit ball, (6) bridging with single leg support on a fit ball, and (7) bridging with single leg support and with the upper-back on a fit ball; and (iii) for the bird-dog exercise (Figure 1): (1) three-point position with an elevated leg, (2) three-point position with an elevated leg and the contralateral knee on a hemisphere ball, (3) classic two-point bird-dog position with elevated contralateral leg and arm, (4) two-point bird-dog position with the forearm on a hemisphere ball, (5) two-point bird-dog position with the knee on a hemisphere ball, (6) two-point bird-dog position with the forearm on a hemisphere ball while drawing squares in the air with the elevated limbs, and (7) two-point bird-dog position with the knee on a hemisphere ball while drawing squares in the air with the elevated limbs. The variations of these CS exercises were executed following less-to-more intensity order based on the information provided by a recent post-urographic study on CS exercise progressions (Vera-Garcia et al, 2020). Participants performed all the variations on a single leg with their preferred limb support.…”

“…The level of difficulty of these exercises, i.e., the lumbopelvic postural control challenge imposed on the participants, has been related to CS exercise intensity (Barbado et al, 2018) and generally modulated by manipulating different biomechanical constraints (i.e., lever arms, unsupported body mass, number and motion of elevated limbs, base of support, use of labile surfaces, etc. ), (Mills et al, 2005;Parkhouse and Ball, 2011;García-Vaquero et al, 2012;Boucher et al, 2016;Vera-Garcia et al, 2020) according to the criteria of the people who select and prescribe the exercises.…”

“…In this sense, surface electromyography has traditionally been used to describe the trunk muscle activity intensity during many different CS exercises (García-Vaquero et al, 2012;Vera-Garcia et al, 2014;Calatayud et al, 2017), which supposes an internal index of CS exercise intensity. In addition, post-urographic techniques based on force platforms and smartphone accelerometers have been recently used to assess the participants' difficulty to control trunk posture during CS exercises (Barbado et al, 2018;Guillén-Rogel et al, 2019;Vera-Garcia et al, 2020), which represents an external index of CS exercise intensity. Despite the widespread use of electromyography and force platform post-urography in laboratory settings, their use outside the laboratory is limited due to the cost and complexity of these techniques.…”

Different Gymnastic Balls Affect Postural Balance Rather Than Core-Muscle Activation: A Preliminary Study

“…The rationale for this training modality is to increase the postural control systems' commitment and muscle activation to counterbalance the multidirectional perturbations caused by unstable devices. Methodologically, to assess the amount of destabilization during these kinds of exercises, the available scientific literature has identified two instruments: the force platform that quantifies the center of pressure (COP) displacements [10,11] and the surface electromyography to assess the core-muscle activation [12,13]. In more detail, Vera-Garcia and colleagues studied different core stability exercises measuring the COP mean velocity during their execution.…”

A self-oblique exercise that activates the coordinated activity of abdominal and hip muscles–A pilot study

“…Each individual has a different trunk and hip stability muscle strength, thus adequate exercise posture and load should depend on an individual’s characteristics. In addition, external loads may pose a risk of overload that can result in personal injury; therefore, in order to optimize the effect, exercises of the trunk and hip muscles should be independent, self-voluntary, and step-adjustable [ 15 , 16 ].…”