Episode Details

Have you been told to strengthen your core to fix your back pain, yet despite doing countless planks, crunches, and core workouts, your discomfort keeps returning?

You're not alone.

In this episode of the Somatic Movement & Mindset Podcast, Heidi Hadley explores a hidden reason why traditional core exercises may not be delivering the results you expected.

While core strength has become one of the most common recommendations for back pain, many people are unknowingly developing chronic muscular bracing and co-contraction—a state where muscles remain excessively contracted, limiting mobility, reducing shock absorbency, and increasing tension throughout the body.

Discover why stability and rigidity are not the same thing, and how true movement health depends on your ability to both contract and release.

In This Episode You'll Discover:

✅ Why strengthening your core isn't always the answer to back pain

✅ What co-contraction is and how it develops

✅ How excessive abdominal bracing can reduce mobility and movement efficiency

✅ Why chronic muscle tension increases compressive forces on the spine

✅ The relationship between breathing, posture, and back pain

✅ How reduced shock absorbency affects your body from head to toe

✅ Why stiffness is often mistaken for stability

✅ The role of the nervous system in chronic tension and recurring pain

✅ Why flexibility alone isn't the solution

✅ How pandiculation helps retrain the brain and release chronic muscular holding patterns

Understanding Co-Contraction

Your body is designed to move with adaptability, efficiency, and ease.

However, when muscles around a joint contract simultaneously and remain partially engaged for prolonged periods, movement becomes restricted. This phenomenon, known as co-contraction, is often driven by stress, injury, fear of movement, repetitive habits, or well-intentioned advice to constantly "engage your core."

Over time, this can lead to:

•  Increased muscle fatigue 
•  Reduced mobility 
•  Restricted breathing 
•  Increased spinal compression 
•  Poor shock absorption 
•  Persistent pain and stiffness 

The result? A body that feels tight, guarded, and less capable of moving naturally.

Why More Tension Isn't More Stability

Many people associate a strong core with a healthy back.

But true stability comes from adaptability—not rigidity.

A healthy neuromuscular system allows muscles to contract when needed and release when they're not.

When muscles remain switched on unnecessarily, the nervous system loses efficiency, movement becomes less fluid, and pain often persists.

A Different Approach: Pandiculation

Pandiculation is a natural process that works directly with the brain and nervous system to help restore voluntary control of muscles.

Rather than forcing muscles to lengthen temporarily, pandiculation helps reset chronic tension patterns by improving communication between the brain and body.

This can help:

•  Reduce chronic muscle tension 
•  Improve mobility 
•  Enhance posture 
•  Support better breathing mechanics 
•  Improve shock absorbency 
•  Create more efficient movement patterns 
•  Reduce recurring pain and discomfort 

Key Takeaway

The goal isn't simply to build a stronger core.

The goal is to create a body that can respond appropriately to the demands placed upon it—contracting when necessary and releasing when possible.

When we learn to reduce unnecessary muscular bracing and improve nervous system regulation, we create the conditions for more comfortable, efficient movement.

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