Have you ever had a “Eureka!” moment? That was me, the morning after finishing Stu McGill’s Part 1 course, when I awoke bolt upright and said out loud, “He can’t measure TVA engage well because he can’t coach it properly!” And promptly threw on coat and boots to run out the door and catch him as he started teaching the more clinical Part 2.
Fast forward to a few weeks later, when I was able to spend exactly 11 minutes on the phone with him.
TVA Engage: Helping or Harming the Back?
To provide background, Stu McGill, also known as “Dr. Spine,” is a world-renowned back bio-mechanist. After reading in his recently published book for lay people that “pulling your navel to your spine […] is another harmful back myth,” I took his course to get his perspective in person.
McGill contends that the only evidence for the transverse abdominis (TVA, or main “inner core” muscle) as a spinal stabilizer is “teleological.” Okay, I had to look it up too — it means that an object is described according to its perceived purpose.
I Say it Can Help — a Lot!
My contention, based on personal experience and that of the majority of my clients, is that TVA awareness/engage, in conjunction with maintaining a neutral spine position, is usually a valuable tool for pain relief in the majority of people moving under low loads.
Something like a loaded squat, for example, would require a much higher degree of core musculature involvement.
Verbal Retraction, at Least
My handwritten scrawl is the only record I could ever call up of the conversation, but I’ll take it! In our discussion of TVA engage as a low-load spinal stabilizer, McGill did specifically use the words “not harmful.”
So Why Couldn’t the Big Guru Nail TVA Engage?
McGill is a hard science guy and a measurer of things, and my take is that some of the art and the hands-on, “people” part that helps us coach well in the fitness industry was inadequately represented in this instance. I was the subject on the platform with him during the practical discussion of TVA activation, and that was the weirdest, most left-field approach I’ve ever had anyone attempt.
Where We Do Agree
Back to our phone conversation: McGill stressed that there is no “one size fits all” approach. When looking at movement improvement issues, rather than using a one-dimensional approach or thinking in absolutes, the right answer is often, “It depends.”
The verdict? I definitely picked up some great new tricks and perspective during the course — but at the same time, I’m not abandoning an approach that has served so many clients well. Please contact me if you want to talk further about core engage.