THIS MANUSCRIPT IS PROVIDED IN CONFIDENCE TO DETERMINE REPRINT INTEREST ONLY AND SHOULD NOT BE DISTRIBUTED EITHER INTERNALLY OR EXTERNALLY VIA PRINT OR ELECTRONIC MEDIA FOR OTHER THAN THE STATED PURPOSE. Optimizing Performance by Improving Core Stability and Core Strength Angela E. Hibbs, 1,3 Kevin G. Thompson, 1,4 Duncan French, 1 Allan Wrigley 2 and Iain Spears 3 1 English Institute of Sport, Gateshead, UK 2 Canadian Sport Centre Pacific, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 3 University of Teesside, Middlesbrough, UK 4 School of Psychology and Sports Science, Northumbria University, Newcastle, UK Contents Abstract ................................................................................. 995 1. Definition of Performance, Core Stability and Core Strength ................................. 996 2. Functional Anatomy of the ‘Core’ as it Relates to Athletic Performance ....................... 997 3. Types of Core Training .................................................................. 998 4. Evidence of Core Training Benefits....................................................... 1000 4.1 Rehabilitation Sector .............................................................. 1001 4.2 Athletic Sector ................................................................... 1002 5. Measuring the Core and its Relation to Performance....................................... 1004 6. Conclusions .......................................................................... 1006 Abstract Core stability and core strength have been subject to research since the early 1980s. Research has highlighted benefits of training these processes for people with back pain and for carrying out everyday activities. However, less research has been performed on the benefits of core training for elite athletes and how this training should be carried out to optimize sporting perfor- mance. Many elite athletes undertake core stability and core strength training as part of their training programme, despite contradictory findings and conclusions as to their efficacy. This is mainly due to the lack of a gold standard method for measuring core stability and strength when performing everyday tasks and sporting movements. A further confounding factor is that because of the differing demands on the core musculature during everyday activities (low load, slow movements) and sporting activities (high load, resisted, dynamic movements), research performed in the rehabilitation sec- tor cannot be applied to the sporting environment and, subsequently, data regarding core training programmes and their effectiveness on sporting performance are lacking. There are many articles in the literature that promote core training pro- grammes and exercises for performance enhancement without providing a strong scientific rationale of their effectiveness, especially in the sporting sector. In the rehabilitation sector, improvements in lower back injuries have been reported by improving core stability. Few studies have observed any performance enhancement in sporting activities despite observing REVIEW ARTICLE Sports Med 2008; 38 (12): 995-1008 0112-1642/08/0012-0995/$48.00/0 ª 2008 Adis Data Information BV. All rights reserved.