Spinal Stability Exercises

Spinal stability exercises are exercises prescribed for the patient to do at home to retrain and strengthen the muscles that stabilize the spine. Joint movement is vital to health and proper function, but this joint motion also needs to be controlled adequately. When the muscles responsible for moving and controlling specific joints are weak or fatigue too quickly, the joint is not supported properly – this concept is clinically referred to as joint instability. Joint instability results in excessive and/or uncontrolled motion in that joint. This excessive motion can result in strain of the joint and muscles, and facilitate breakdown of the joint cartilage.

Support and control of the spine is particularly important and many studies now report that insufficient support of the spinal joints correlate with back and neck pain. When instability exists the muscles must be re-trained to provide the needed support and control to the unstable region. This can be done by identifying which specific muscles are dysfunctional, and developing a progressive training program that the patient can do at home to re-train the area and stabilize the joint.