The Importance of Posture VIRTUALLY EVERYONE young and old, male or female has a deep desire to improve his or her life. However, many people have orthopedic problems that prevent them from improving their bodies. These problems occur from a lack of core stabilization and strength, leading to poor posture.Our bodies were designed to withstand many environmental conditions. The ability to stabilize our core musculature is vital to our existence. Our ancient ancestors could not afford to have back pain. They needed to function on a basic level that involved moving rocks, building shelter, climbing mountains, or running after food. If they had a bad back or poor core stabilization and strength, their likelihood of survival would have been deeply diminished. Core Stabilization and StrengthOur core musculature contributes to vital functions within our bodies and enables us to perform simple to complex tasks.Without good control or stabilization and a thorough understanding of what contributes to core stabilization and strength, we can fall prey to many of modern society’s ailments.Lower back pain is the number one patient complaint in America.Many problems and orthopedic injuries result from poor core stabilization and strength. Females appear to be at a higher risk of suffering such injuries. Jame Zachazewki shows evidence of this in a study he conducted in 1996. He discovered that women have a lack of strength in the lower abdominals and pelvic floor muscles. He explained that 47% of females age 38 and above suffer from incontinence. However, women who participated in a regular weight-training program reduced the incidence of incontinence to only 4%. The Benefits of Weight TrainingA weight-training program enables the body to communicate better and increase strength and stabilization. Elderly women can further benefit from a weight training program, which can improve balance, increase muscle mass, influence bone density (combating osteoporosis), and help to manage osteoarthritis.Note: If you would like more information on how weight training and core conditioning aid older, adolescent, and pregnant or postpartum women, email me at david@fit-zone.com.We first must look at the functional anatomy of our core musculature. We need to understand the benefits that a good core conditioning program can have on our livelihood. A core conditioning program will decrease the likelihood of back and neck pain, incontinence, ruptured disks, muscle and ligament strains, all while improving posture.To begin understanding the complexity of our core and how it relates to overall function, we must address the inner an outer unit and how they work in harmony allowing us to function at a higher level.A simple and brief anatomy lesson should help you understand how these units work. The muscles involved are broken down into separate but interconnected inner and outer units. The inner unit is the topic of the next chapter.