Abdominal Muscle Anatomy

Did you know that the  abdominal  muscles play an integral role in  pelvic health?  This is an introductory post about the abdominal muscle anatomy. In future posts, we will highlight how this relates to conditions such as diastasis recti,  abdominal pain, pelvic pain, hernias, hip dysfunction and much more. 

Abdominal Anatomy Facts

• The transversus abdominis    is the  deepest  of the abdominal muscles  (under the  obliques and rectus abdominis) and is a very important  "core muscle." 
• All of the  abdominal muscles  have an attachment point at (or into a  tendinous  expansion of)   the  linea alba -  connective tissue raphe formed between the rectus abdominis where the decussating tendinous fibers of the lateral abdominal wall aponeuroses. The  linea alba is the region where we see  conditions   such as  diastasis recti.
• It is very  difficult to isolate abdominal muscles when exercising. Muscles function synergistically. When exercise specialists state "focus on the rectus  abdominus," for example,  there are movements that will improve  that muscle's activation, but other muscles will fire as well.  We often  cue patients to  activate  transversus abdominus and minimize rectus or  oblique firing. We cannot totally avoid synergistic muscle activation, but we can  facilitate activating certain muscles more effectively. 
• The  term "core"  is  often times synonymous  with  abdominal muscles. The true  "core" is made up of the pelvic floor  muscles,  transversus abdominis,  the diaphragm, and  multifidi  low back muscles. 

Abdominal Muscles - Diagram