Webinar Dr. Eyal Lederman: The Myth of Core Stability

The Myth of Core Stability — Rethinking Movement, Function and Rehabilitation

with Dr. Eyal Lederman

The webinar covers: what the original core stability studies actually showed; whole-and-goal organisation versus movement fragmentation; internal and external focus of attention; task-dependent muscle recruitment and synergistic control; specificity of training adaptation and the limits of transfer; co-contraction, spinal compression and energy cost; motor reorganisation in pain and injury; transversus abdominis timing; trunk muscle strength, endurance and low back pain risk; pregnancy, postpartum and obesity as test cases; injury prevention and reaction times; the comparative effectiveness of core stability exercise; and the functioncise model, with an extensive Q&A session.

Why core stability training is scientifically contested

In this webinar, Dr. Eyal Lederman (DO, PhD, CPDO) guides you through the full body of evidence on core stability. You will learn what the original Hodges and Richardson studies actually demonstrated — a delay of approximately 20 milliseconds during rapid arm movements — and which clinical claims were subsequently added without support. Drawing on motor control, training science and low back pain management, a clear picture emerges of what trunk stability training does and does not do for your patient.

From motor control to the treatment table

The webinar translates movement science directly into practice: movement is organised as a whole and around an external goal, transfer between dissimilar exercises is rare and unpredictable, and an internal focus of attention degrades performance. You will learn how to select exercises and phrase instructions that address the patient's goal activity rather than individual muscles.

Functioncise: the alternative within the patient's own repertoire

As an alternative, Dr. Lederman presents functioncise: amplifying daily activities within the movement repertoire the patient already has. It is supported by in-vivo loading data (walking loads the spine at 171% and stair climbing at 265% relative to standing) and by research showing that a six-week walking programme is as effective as a specific back strengthening programme. Simple, familiar and immediately applicable — particularly for patients with limited exercise adherence.

Who is this webinar for?

This continuing professional development webinar is designed for physiotherapists, sports physiotherapists and manual therapists who wish to update their knowledge base on trunk stability, exercise therapy and low back pain, and to sharpen their critical clinical reasoning. The webinar is accredited through Kwaliteitshuis Fysiotherapie (KHF) and counts towards the specialist registers for Sports Physiotherapy and Manual Therapy.

Scientific faculty: Dr. Eyal Lederman

Dr. Eyal Lederman is an osteopath with a PhD in physiotherapy on the neurophysiology of manual therapy and its effect on the motor system. He is affiliated with the CPDO (cpdo.net). He published the influential article "The Myth of Core Stability" in 2003 and is the author of "Neuromuscular Rehabilitation in Manual and Physical Therapies" and "Therapeutic Stretching" (Elsevier), among others. He has more than thirty-five years of clinical experience.