Midline stabilization is essential for effective functional movement. Kelly Starrett, of San Francisco CrossFit, explains the essential anatomy and physiology of it in this excerpt from his one day seminar at CrossFit Santa Cruz on November 9, 2008.

The midline is the entire spine, and its stability is dependent not just on the core, but also on all the prime movers of the body, including the hip, glutes, and hamstrings. Excessive tightness in any of the prime movers will affect the core muscles, often resulting in low back pain.

Another key point of the lecture is that it’s essential to develop competency in ideal movement so that we establish a functional tolerance to remain safe in the compromised positions that real world activities often require.

This is the first of a series from Kelly on the theory and practice of stabilizing the midline in functional movement.