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Autor: markyoung
~ 18/08/09
Recently I received an email asking me if there was a difinitive test for core stability. The very real truth is that I think there is no single test, but a combination of tests should reveal a lot about what we want to know.
Personally, I’ve been heavily influenced by Stuart McGill and Shirley Sahrmann. I’ve also taken some great ideas from bright guys like Mike Robertson, Bill Hartman, and Gray Cook to formulate some of my core testing tools.
To start let’s just address the fundamentals. Strength is the ability to produce force and stability is the ability to control it. So doing crunches on a stability ball with a hundred pound dumbbell on your chest might make you strong (although I think it makes you look ridiculous), it isn’t going to improve your core stability. To be stable you must be able to RESIST the applied force without movement.
Going hand in hand with this notion is the idea that is currently being promoted by many educated coaches and trainers that repeated spinal flexion is a bad idea because it increases the risk of spinal disc injury. In other words, crunches suck!
Finally, lets remember that the core doesn’t just include the rectus abdominus or the anterior core muscles. It essentially forms a belt around us and includes more muscles than I’d like to count at this very moment. Knowing this, it is essential to investigate the muscles all around the core to determine stability. More importantly, we are not going to test the strength of these muscles, but the ability of them to support the core under load. In the case of the lower back, endurance is actually far more important than strength for injury prevention.
Here is a quick little protocol that I like to use as a starting point:
1. Front Plank
While doing this movement I like to place a dowel on the person’s back and have them maintain 3 points of contact. The dowel should remain in contact with the glutes, upper back, and head. If one of those points is lost then the timer stops. (Note: I swiped this tip from Mike Robertson)
You should be able to hold this position for 2 minutes.
2. Side Plank – Should be able to hold for 90 seconds
This is as easy as it sounds. The body should be held straight in a full side plank position for 90 seconds per side. Note any assymetry between the sides as this is a strong predictor on injury risk. Work on bringing the weaker side up to match the stronger side before trying to increase the overall time.
You should be able to hold this position for 90 seconds.
3. Back Extension Hold
Set up at though you’re going to do a back extension and hold yourself in the extended position. As with the front plank, use the dowel along the spine to ensure proper alignment by maintaing 3 points of contact.
You should be able to hold this position for 2 minutes.
4. Double Leg Lower
To perform this test you want to lie on your back and raise both legs straight up into the air. From here, I’d suggest placing your hands on your external obliques or crossed over your chest. They cannot be on the floor. Now slowly begin to lower your legs while concentrating on keeping your lower back flat on the floor. (Note: a hard floor is more effective than a mat for determining success on this test)
If your feet hit the floor before your lower back raises you have passed. If not, you suck and you should check yourself into the wimp hall of fame. Just kidding, but your ability to control your core is probably lacking in this respect.
5. Rotational Stability
I also like to assess rotational stability by using a test from the functional movement screen. If you’re going to fail only one of these tests, this will probably be it. You can check it out HERE.
Again, these only serve at starting points and there are obviously other factors affecting stability of the core, but these tests should be enough to get you rolling.
In the coming weeks I’ll be releasing an audio interview series that will detail how some of the world’s leading experts test and train the core for performance and just plain looking sexy. Keep your eyes peeled for that.
In the meantime, drop me a note in the comments to let me know how you make out on the tests above.
Hey Mark,
My question is… Does length of the legs in relation to the length
of the torso play a role when doing the Double Leg Lower?? ie If you
normally have a short torso in relation to having long legs will this play a role in the back arching early in this exercise. Does this still mean that the core is weak or is it weak in relation to these factors??
And, do you lay the dowel in line with the spine??
Great article… you’re a big inspiration!!
Comment by steve ferrell — August 18, 2009 @ 8:19 AM
Good question Steve. And quite frankly, I’ve never honestly thought about it, but you’re probably right. Leg length does increase the effort required to lower the legs without the back arching.
As one of several tests, failure on this test does not conclusively provide proof of any instability by itself, but it does suggest that this warrants further investigation. Often people who fail this test will fail all attempts to do easier variations (such as deadbugs) which indicates to me that my initial assessment was correct.
I also like to use manual muscle testing to find out which muscles are inhibiting performance so this initial test directs my further testing procedures.
As for the dowel, yes, it runs along the length of the spine.
Hope that helps!
Comment by markyoung — August 18, 2009 @ 12:53 PM
Hi, Mark. I have a few questions for you.
With the front plank and back extension hold, is the dowel to be used just for testing purposes and possibly in the initial stage of traininf to get a client to understand what the correct positioning will feel like?
On the double leg lowering test, should the back actually be flattened flush against the floor or should natural lordosis be maintained throughout (starts in “neutral” spine and stays that way throughout with no lumbar hyperextension)? I’ve seen some coaches who say that the eventual goal is to maintain neutral spine and others who advise using the posterior pelvic tilt and keeping the lower back flush against the floor. I just wanted to clear this up so that I am not doing anything silly!
Also, are the arms to be held across the chest or with the hands on the obliques, to prevent them from providing any measure of counterbalance during the test?
Thank you for sharing your informative blog and for taking the time to read my post.
Comment by Jack — August 18, 2009 @ 1:34 PM
Yes, the dowel is primarily used for testing so I know when the client has broken form. As you mentioned, it can also serve as a great teaching tool in the early stages as well.
With the double leg lowering test I like to keep the back flat against the floor. I do this mostly because the external obliques fire together to cause posterior rotation of the pelvis, but also because it makes it easier to determine success or failure on the test. When the lower back raises from the floor even small movements are easy to detect. If the spine were held in neutral I suspect it would be harder to pick up changes in the lumbar curve.
As for the arms, I prefer to have people put them on their external obliques to monitor their activity so they don’t try to perform the exercise with the rectus abdominus. I’m obviously trying to prevent counterbalancing too. Doing this kills two birds with one stone.
Comment by markyoung — August 18, 2009 @ 3:19 PM
About the leg lowering test:
I never had a problem with this test. A friend of mine tried it and couldn’t do it, But I noticed that he roled onto his butt while lowering his legs. As I told hime to keep the butt away from his upper body and in his next attempt he could do 8 reps in a row.
Comment by Matthias — August 19, 2009 @ 1:44 AM
As a general rule, I like to put my hand underneath of the back of the person I’m testing. I tell them to lower their legs and keep their back in contact with my hand so that I couldn’t tell they were moving if I had my eyes closed. If I feel movement the test is failed.
Sometimes cues are the magic solution though and the tool of a good coach. It sounds as if you’ve found the one that works for your friend.
Comment by markyoung — August 19, 2009 @ 5:56 AM
Hi there Mark!
While I understand the history of some of the ones you use here and they can be good general screens, I personally don’t use any of them.
I know that probably seems like heresy, but my eval is generally just a few things
1) gait – allows you to see the “real” them in motion (as long as you get them to do a real gait). You want to see what “auto software” their brain is really running.
2) active range of motion – normally just shoulders to the side and front and also a flexed forward bend. Sometimes neck rotation.
3) a movement they can’t do without pain – for some it is a lunge, or lunge and twist, shoulder out in front, etc. This is normally the real reason they should at my door.
There are a host of other things I may test for depending on what I find, but those 3 I find most useful. I guess I could add muscle testing for lats, glute med, RF, and psoas too.
I teach axial/spinal lengthening to get all the “core” muscles to fire. If I still think they are weak, I will do a muscle test for the abdominal muscles and if they fail, I will have them do an active cranial mobilization for the sagittal suture and that works almost all the time.
Sorry for the hijack, and I think I have a new blog post! ha!
Rock on
Mike T Nelson PhD(c)
http://www.ExtremeHumanPeformance.com
Comment by Mike T Nelson — August 21, 2009 @ 5:25 PM
We all have different assessment tools and I’m firmly of the belief that there are many routes to the same place. As you know, there is ALWAYS more to learn.
I look forward to your post.
Comment by markyoung — August 24, 2009 @ 10:45 AM
i was wondering if you could email me as i am doing this for my A2 coursework and i still dont understand the protocol of the rotational stabilty test
Comment by drew — June 25, 2010 @ 1:51 PM