What is the Core? Understanding the Muscles That Support Your Spine.
When most people think about the core, they immediately think of abdominal muscles and flat, toned abs. However, the core is so much more than just the "six-pack" muscles! As an executive mum balancing a demanding job and family responsibilities, understanding the true function of your core and how it impacts your body can make a huge difference in your health, posture, and pain levels. In this blog lets discuss what exactly is core and why does it even matter. 

The core is a complex network of muscles that work together to stabilize and support your spine, allowing you to sit, stand, and move with ease. The core refers to the deepest muscles in the body that are present close to your joints and spine and act as stabilizers, providing them support  to maintain alignment during all movements. 

If we consider the spine, these core muscles are like the body’s internal “corset,” keeping your spine stable and secure, especially during everyday activities like lifting, bending, and even sitting for long hours. Without strong stabilizers, your spine lacks proper support, which can lead to back, neck and nerve pain. The lumbar spine has these main core muscles: pelvic floor, diaphragm, multifidus and transversus abdominis, all of which form a cylinder or corset-like support around the spine.  

The Pelvic Floor: The pelvic floor is a group of muscles at the base of your torso, running from your tailbone to your pubic bone. These muscles support the perineal area and structures in your lower abdomen. For mums, pregnancy and childbirth can weaken the pelvic floor, which may lead to lower back painmid back painhip pain, and even discomfort when sitting for long periods. Strengthening the pelvic floor can improve stability and reduce strain on the spine, making it easier to maintain good posture and prevent back pain.

The Diaphragm: The diaphragm, the primary muscle used for breathing, also plays a vital role in core stability. Located beneath your lungs, the diaphragm has attachments to the lumbar vertebrae and thus works in tandem with other core muscles to maintain pressure in your abdomen and support the spine. So each time you breathe deeply, your diaphragm engages, helping to stabilize your trunk. Shallow breathing, often caused by stress or poor posture, limits this engagement and weakens core stability over time. 

The Deep Abdominals: The transverse abdominis on both sides of the trunk wraps around your torso like a corset, providing strength and support to your back and helping maintain alignment during movement. This muscle is key to core stability, and engaging it helps prevent lower back pain.

The multifidus: The multifidus, also play a vital role in core support. The multifidus muscles are small yet powerful muscles that run along the spine, helping to stabilise it during activities like sitting, standing, and bending. 

These are also the larger, more visible muscles, such as the rectus abdominis, obliques, erector spinae, etc. These muscles are designed for movement and power. They are known as the global movers or the movement muscles. While they play an essential role in allowing your body to move, they rely on the core stabilisers to provide a strong foundation. Without stable support from the core, the global muscles have to work harder, leading to strain and often pain in the back and neck. The stabilizers keep your spine and posture aligned, while the movement muscles allow you to perform daily tasks with ease and strength. If you focus only on strengthening your movement muscles, you risk overloading your spine without the support it needs, which can lead to poor posture and pain.

A weak core can lead to chronic pain, fatigue, and even reduced focus due to discomfort. This is specially true for executive mums, who often spend long hours sitting or juggling various physical tasks at home. Core stability is just as important as movement strength, especially for preventing pain and maintaining good posture in a busy lifestyle.

HERE is a free guide to '10 Easy Desk- based Exercises To Strengthen Your Core' This checklist is designed for busy days when you don’t have time to leave your seat but still want to feel stronger and more supported. With these simple, discreet exercises, you’ll be able to activate your core and improve your posture without missing a beat.

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MEET SWATI

 
Hi there! 
I am Swati, an Executive Mum Power Coach and a Certified Posture Expert. I use my proven system to help mums of younger kids working in high-stress executive jobs manage their back, neck, and nerve pains, despite low energy levels and brain fog. I do all this without taking away a big chunk of their time out of their already busy day. This enables them to be more productive and capable professionals at work and guilt-free mums who can focus on their kids instead of always being distracted by pain. 



My passion for helping executive mums stems from my own experiences. I have been in the same boat and understand the frustration and helplessness of being in constant pain or being afraid to engage in activities due to the fear of pain. After two pregnancies in the span of three years and juggling my two kids, housework, and a demanding job, I was constantly in pain. The weight gain from motherhood added extra stress to my already overburdened spine and joints. I was stuck in a vicious cycle of weight loss and spinal/nerve pain that I just couldn’t break free from.

On top of the physical pain, I also suffered from adrenal fatigue. I often felt exhausted, waking up groggy even after a full night’s (10 to 12 plus hours!) sleep, and struggled with low energy levels and brain fog. Simple tasks became challenging, and I found myself forgetting things and unable to think clearly. It was incredibly frustrating and made it even harder to balance my professional responsibilities and family life.

My work involved long hours of standing during the day, prolonged hours on the laptop in the evening, and lots of running around and rocking my kids to sleep in between. Despite my knowledge and expertise in pain relief, I still found myself unable to escape the constant daily pain and fatigue.

Sitting at a desk job from 9 to 5, or longer, plus endless meetings that seem to go on forever. The frequent traveling, the uncomfortable hotel pillows that make it impossible to get a good night’s sleep—I’ve experienced it all. I remember not being able to share my discomfort at work because I felt like an imposter, talking about pain relief strategies and focusing on work while I was not able to achieve it myself. I didn’t disclose the extent of my pain and forgetfulness to my colleagues for years. Even though I loved my kids and my job, I couldn’t give 100% to either. The discomfort held me back from reaching my full potential, making me feel guilty as a mum and less productive at work. I felt like I was constantly running on empty, unable to catch a break from the pain and exhaustion.

finally got fed up after years of trying and decided to make a New Year’s resolution to get ‘healthy’ instead of focusing solely on my pain, fatigue, forgetfulness, and weight loss. When I shifted my focus to getting healthier by reducing the inflammation in my body and addressing my adrenal fatigue, the pain started to decrease, my energy levels and focus improved, and the pounds started shedding off too! That, of course, meant a happier spine, nerves, joints, and a happier me! Today, my neck, back, and nerve pain are down to zero, my knee pain has reduced by 75%, my brain fog has reduced drastically and my energy levels are higher than ever. I realized that I had been focusing on the wrong solutions for over a decade!

Now, my mission is to share my knowledge of pain relief and managing adrenal fatigue along with my personal experience with other mums, especially those with younger kids who work in high-stress executive jobs. My goal is to help you find lasting relief, boost your energy, and reclaim your life, just as I did. 

If you can relate to all this, you are not alone. As a mum, I have been there and done that—momma, I got you! I’ve helped hundreds of mums in this situation over the years find their solution to manage spinal and joint pains, low energy levels, and brain fog that hold them back. This enables them to feel confidently in control and empowers them to cultivate that confidence and productivity at work and enjoy being with their kids, to be able to run around with them without the fear of injury or pain.

Are you ready for this journey? Ask me how if you are curious.

Let's DO THIS!
xx Swati
** Executive Mum Power Coach **

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