If back pain brought you to Pilates, you’re not alone. One reason Pilates is so effective in helping people recover from back injuries is its emphasis on building core strength. But what does that really mean, and how does a strong core support the spine?
Read on for the answers to these questions and to discover Pilates in Common’s unique and holistic approach to spinal health.
Stability Before Mobility
At Pilates in Common, we follow a few tried and true guidelines, with one of them being: stability before mobility. Think about when a baby learns to walk. It must learn to sit upright first, then stand without falling, before taking a first step – stability before mobility.
When someone comes into the studio with back pain, the first thing we teach is how to stabilize the spine and the pelvis by finding a core contraction. But before we get into what a core contraction is and how it stabilizes the spine, it’s important to clarify what we mean by “core.”
The Pilates Powerhouse - A.k.a: The Core
Many people are advised to build “core strength” to alleviate back pain, leading them to focus primarily on their abs. However, without a proper understanding of the core, this approach can backfire. Focusing solely on abdominal strength, rather than true core strength, can tighten the abdominals to the point where the lumbar spine flattens or even becomes flexed, worsening existing back pain.
In Pilates, the term "core" goes beyond just the abs—it’s often referred to as the “Pilates Powerhouse.” This Powerhouse includes the transverse abdominis, multifidus, diaphragm, and pelvic floor muscles. These deep stabilizers, along with the superficial muscles of the abdomen, lower back, and hips, work together to support and stabilize the spine.
The glutes are also integral to the Powerhouse, providing crucial stability and support. At Pilates in Common, we emphasize pelvic stability in tandem with spinal stability, recognizing that the spine’s foundation lies in the pelvis. By incorporating the glutes and hip muscles as core components, we strengthen the connection between pelvic control and spinal alignment, promoting optimal movement and function.
Understanding the core as a three-dimensional structure surrounding the spine like a barrel is key. Imagine it as a sturdy corset wrapping around your torso, providing essential support for your spine and internal organs. Engaging this powerhouse requires coordinated, deep muscle activation, starting from the inside out, to promote efficient load distribution and reduce strain on the spine.
Breathing is integral to this process. Proper techniques, such as three-dimensional breathing, enhance core muscle engagement. During inhalation, the diaphragm contracts and moves downward, creating space in the thoracic cavity for the lungs to expand. On exhalation, the diaphragm relaxes and moves upward, activating the transverse abdominis and pelvic floor muscles. This coordinated breathing pattern aids core engagement and ensures a steady flow of oxygen to the muscles, enhancing endurance and control. At Pilates in Common, we often begin with breathwork to help clients effectively engage their core.
Finding a Core Contraction for Stability before Mobility
Now that you understand what the core is from a Pilates perspective, we can discuss finding a core contraction for stability before mobility. When we talk about a core contraction, we mean engaging the deep stabilizing muscles as mentioned previously—the transverse abdominis, multifidus, diaphragm, and pelvic floor. This engagement braces the spine from all directions. The transverse abdominis acts like a corset, wrapping around the torso and pulling inward to support the spine. The multifidus muscles run along the vertebrae, providing segmental stability and preventing excessive movement. The pelvic floor muscles form a supportive base at the bottom of the core, while the diaphragm acts as the top, creating a pressurized system that stabilizes the entire trunk.
Achieving spinal stability before introducing mobility is essential to prevent harmful movements such as excessive flexion, hyperextension, or rotational strain. Without stability, these movements can lead to uneven loading of the spine, increasing the risk of disc herniation, joint irritation, and muscle strain. Prioritizing stability ensures even distribution of forces, reducing injury risk and enhancing movement control. This approach prevents compensatory patterns that cause muscle imbalances, supports back pain recovery, and promotes overall spinal health and functional movement.
Back to the Pelvis
At Pilates in Common, we emphasize pelvic stability and mobility as integral to spinal stability and mobility. This aligns with another of our key guidelines: the body functions as an interconnected system. Addressing back pain by focusing solely on the spine overlooks the reality that joints, bones, muscles, and tissues are all interconnected, not isolated from one another.
Think about the foundation of a house. If it moves, say in an earthquake, does the house not move as well? Similarly, the pelvis is the foundation of the spine. When the pelvis shifts, the spine is directly affected. However, the pelvis itself is supported by other joints—the thigh bones, which rest on the shin bones, which, in turn, rest on the 26 bones in your feet. So while the pelvis is the foundation for the spine, we must also consider the entire kinetic chain, meaning that even the feet can influence spinal alignment. To learn more about how the feet affect the spine, check out this blog post we wrote earlier this year.
If you’re dealing with spinal pain and conventional methods haven’t addressed your spine in the context of your whole body, we invite you to visit our studio. At Pilates in Common, we focus on the body as an interconnected system, working to restore balance and alignment for more effective and lasting relief. Whether you’re managing chronic pain, recovering from an injury, or seeking to improve your overall movement, our team is here to support you in achieving a healthier, more functional body.
Written by: Destinie Slavich
Sunset photo by: Farsai Chaikulngamdee
