Transversus abdominis and core stability: has the pendulum swung?

In the past decade there has been a focus on isolated transversus abdominis activation and how it contributes to lumbo-pelvic stability. This rationale has not only influenced the management of chronic low back pain (LBP); it has also been included in exercises for many other pathologies of the lower and upper limb and also for prophylaxis in pain-free subjects. The rationale that the feedforward bilateral muscle activation of the transversus abdominis stabilises the segmental lumbar spine is based on the reports that, unlike other trunk muscles, transversus abdominis is activated independently of the direction of any spinal perturbation.1 2 This finding implies that it plays an important role in spinal stability. Th