Sometimes I’m a little bit clever…. the Multifidus and Me.
I’ve got a great friend who is a GP who comes to my Pilates classes and we often discuss the muscles being used in an exercise. Last week we were doing just this and I mentioned the Multifidus to which her response was “The what?” She was convinced I was making it up so this week pulled my muscle atlas off the shelf and asked me to show her….which I did 🙂
So this post is for her…
The Multifidus:
The multifidus muscles help to take pressure off the vertebral discs so that our body weight can be well distributed along the spine. These muscles are recruited during many actions in our daily living, which includes bending backward and sideways.
It works it’s way up the spine, attaching from one vertbrae to another, providing support for the spine and aiding our posture. If I was clever enough I’d draw you a picture….but I’m not, so instead try googling it!
Studies have shown that the multifidus muscles get activated before any action is carried out so to protect our spine from injury. Take for example when you are about to carry an item or before moving your arm, the mutifidus muscles will start contracting prior to the actual movement of the body and the arm so as to prepare the spine for the movement and prevent it from getting hurt.
Guess what…Pilates can help strengthen this muscle. Some of the exercises we do lying on our tummies definitely will strengthen the Multifidus muscles, meaning a stronger back and less back pain!