Core Stability / Team Tykes

The term core stability refers to the ability of the muscles around the pelvic/ hip area to hold the pelvic position in neutral while performing your rugby skills. Many people talk about core stability, but why is it important in rugby?

First of all it plays a major role in transferring energy through the body, for example when making a tackle you hit the attacking player with your shoulder, but the power comes from your legs. If your core is weak it will act like a sponge and some of the energy will be lost, making the skill less affective. Another reason for developing this area is to provide a stable base to create movement for a range of skills such as sprinting, kicking and passing. If your core area is stable, the muscle responsible for these movements will be free to perform the actions required. This leads to the final reason for core stability, which is for injury prevention. If you can not hold your pelvis in neutral throughout a range of movements e.g. sitting, running and tackling, pressure will be placed on other joints and muscles, which could lead to injuries.

To improve core stability we need to go through a number of steps, the first step to enhancing your core stability is to be able to find neutral pelvis. This is the middle position within the full available movement of your pelvis. You find this by tilting your pelvis as far back as possible then as far forward as you can, then find the middle position of these two extremes. You can practice this first sitting down and then standing up. After you have mastered finding your neutral pelvis, you need to develop your ability to hold your pelvis in this position. Try keeping your pelvis in neutral while sitting or standing for a couple of minutes to start with, and then increase the time you keep it in that position. This will help strengthen the stabilising muscle around the pelvis, also you need to develop this pelvis position into your training. If you are in the gym, performing a running session or do some work on a swiss ball, try keeping your pelvis in neutral throughout all of the training. This will help to build the endurance and strength in the stabilising muscle around the pelvis. The final step is to progress this into rugby sessions, where you have to use a range of skills and are faced with a variety of different forces being applied onto the body.

This is a start point for any one that's looking to improve their core stability, If you are having any particular problems, speak to the Academy Physio.