In just a few moments, I’m going to share with you 9 powerful deep core exercises that’ll target the transverse abdominis (TVA) – one of your deepest abdominal muscles.
I’ll also explain how to properly engage this muscle and the signs and symptoms of a weak deep core and inactive transverse abdominis.
If you experience lower back pain, there is a good chance this muscle is weak or is failing to engage on time.
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Keep in mind as you do the exercises that the more you do the exercises mindfully, the better your mind-muscle connection will get.
Activating and strengthening these deep core muscles (and the transverse abdominis in particular) will help you get immediate relief from lower back pain, as well as support and protect your spine from flare-ups.
Before I demonstrate how to do these exercises, I want to take a minute to briefly explain the inner and outer core units, their functions, and how to activate the transverse abdominis muscle.
Postnatal Transverse Abdominis Exercises
These muscles also work with the glutes and hip flexors to stabilize the pelvis. The deep core consists of the following muscles:
Picking an item off the floor without properly activating this muscle will overload the lower back and pelvis which can lead to injury.
You simply breathe deeply, and as you exhale you tighten up your belly area as if you’re getting ready for belly punches.
Exercises For Low Back Pain
The outer core consists of the prime mover muscles and these are the visible abs (rectus abdominis), the external obliques, and the shoulder girdle.
But our goal is to build a healthy balanced body… One that is composed of “intelligent” aesthetic muscles and a strong foundation (1).
One of the warning signs of a weak inner core is feeling the tension in your lower back and hip flexors when you perform certain abs exercises like the bicycle or the lying leg lifts.
Rectus Abdominis Exercises
In addition, if you perform the bridge exercise and feel pressure in your lower back and/or hamstrings, that’s another sign of a weak transverse abdominis.
I want to keep this post short and jump to the exercises now. But if you’re interested in learning more about the core, check out the Deep Core Mini-Training. The link will open in a new tap so you can still continue reading this post.
I’ve also included additional tips on how to strengthen your core if you have lower back or hip pain, and some important points to keep in mind as you integrate these exercises into your life.
Core Exercises For Lower Back Pain Relief
It’s very important to have your back touching the floor at all times. Take as much rest as you want, but make sure you are performing each repetition properly.
If you’re having trouble completing these exercises for any reason, here are 3 amazing seated core exercises to do as a substitute. Just follow the same tips shared in this post.
If you are experiencing lower back pain, avoid ab exercises such as sit-ups, crunches, or anything involving twisting (like the Russian twists).
Transverse Abdominis Exercises To Work The Forgotten Muscles Of Your Core
Crunches contribute to a flexed posture (rounded shoulder-forward head posture) and twisting creates micro-tears in the discs making your spine more vulnerable to injury.
Here’s an example…If you have an anterior disc herniation (facing the front side of the intervertebral disc. Towards the body), you’ll notice pain when you do hyperextension exercises.
Likewise, if you have a posterior disc herniation (towards the back of the body), you’d experience pain when bending over, and doing the typical abs flexion exercises
Transverse Abdominis Muscle Activation For Back & Neck Pain
To keep things balanced, I like to simply avoid all exercises that promote flexion or exaggerated extension. This also applies to stretches…
…While extension can be beneficial to help restore your posture (especially if you spend the majority of your time sitting hunched over), try to avoid going to the extremes.
Instead of doing a high cobra with my hands pressing against the floor, I prefer to go low resting on my forearms, or making a fist with my hand and just resting my head on my hand instead.
Your Deep Core Transverse Abdominis
A strong core will protect your spine from pain and injury. Schedule time every day to do at least a few exercises.
And if you’d like a powerful program to help you build a solid core that’ll protect your spine and pelvis, check out the Back Pain Control
Hey there, I'm Sofia. Welcome to my blog! I'm here to help you get permanent relief from piriformis, hip, and lower back pain without spending years in pain suffering through information overwhelm or temporary fixes. I've been through the chronic pain journey myself. I know how lonely and hard it can get... Click here to read about my story and how I healed after 7 years of chronic pain, against all odds.
Best Transverse Abdominis Activation Exercises For Quick Back Pain Relief
I help women and men break free from chronic hip and lower back pain (without spending years suffering through temporary fixes) while teaching them how to keep the pain from coming back. My prior chronic pain journey inspired me to create this blog. And, I'm SO glad you're here!
Please log in again. The login page will open in a new tab. After logging in you can close it and return to this page.Zero in on how to strengthen transverse abdominis exercises that work . . . . and cut out the dross in your exercise regime.
Transverse abdominis (TrA) forms the deepest layer of the abdominal musculature, the obliques (internal and external) the middle and rectus abdominis the most superficial layer. TrA is the most efficiently activated by drawing in action of the bellybutton.
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TrA wraps around the abdomen horizontally, predominantly below navel level. The obliques cross over the front of the belly like an 'X' in two large diagonal sheets, whereas rectus runs vertically either side of the mid-line. Rectus abdominis is the least efficient abdominal muscle, with a bowstring action on contraction that bends the upper body forward. The highly-prized six-pack contours are in this muscle.
The job of TrA is to increase intra-abdominal pressure and control the mobility of the lumbar spinal segments. In a feedforward mechanism it switches on a fraction before any elective movement to stabilise the stack of lumbar segments. It does this primarily via verteberal compression, which stops the segments jostling about.
It was assumed therefore that strengthening the core muscles would make a spine more stable and less painful, even though very few patients with low back pain show symptoms of 'instability'. Indeed their problems are the converse. Their lumbar spines are too stiff!
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Some good research at Queensland University* demonstrated 'weakness and delayed action' of TrA in people with lower back pain. However, this research has led to confusion in its application in the therapeutic world because it was automatically assumed the converse would be true: that strengthening TrA (the core) would make the lower back pain go away. This led to a flourishing industry of core work and Pilates classes.
‘The division of the trunk into core and global muscle system is a reductionist fantasy, which serves only to promote the core stability (industry)’
Excessive abdominals workouts result in an over cinched-in abdominal wall. This may give you a sought after six-pack, but at the expense of spinal compression and bowing the upper body forward into a perpetual stoop.
Muscle Breakdown: Transverse Abdominis
When patients ask should they be switching on TrA before doing any kind of abdominal workout, it's rather like asking 'shall I switch on my diaphragm before taking a breath'. It's far too sophisticated to need your help!
. It is also not possible to focus on strengthening one muscle in a highly integrated working system, hoping to improve its timing.
Excessive bracing of TrA over-compresses the lumbar spinal segments and can increase pain from a lower back. Pre-meditating your every move by deliberately 'switching on' also makes the back more bound up and painfully rigid as time goes by.
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Attempting to isolate transverse abdominis also increases bearing down on the pelvic floor. This is a potent cause of stress incontinence so common with elite athletes. Workouts of up to 400 sit-ups or crunches in a session are also implicated breathing problems (asthma, sleep apnoea and panic attacks) by the cinched-in upper abdomen disabling the downward excursion of the diaphragm.
Too much thinking about what should or shouldn't be switched on discombobulates patients and makes them less free with movement . . . and their spine stiffer
A lot of the core stability classes involve repetitive non-functional exercises such as kneeling on all fours and lifting the arms and legs without allowing the trunk to move. This type of formal exercising is unnatural and unfunctional and bears little relation to normal everyday activity.
How To Strengthen A Weak Transverse Abdominis Muscle
‘It is believed that low velocity exercise performed laying or kneeling on all fours would help normalise motor control which would include timing dysfunction (of TrA).This kind of training is unlikely to help reset timing differences. It is like aspiring to play the piano faster by exercising with finger weights, or doing slow push ups. To overcome the timing problem the proponents of core stability came up with a solution - teach everyone to continuously contract the TrA or to tense/brace the core muscle. By continuously contracting it would overcome the need to worry about onset timing.’
When your back is painful Transversus abdominis may switch off
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