Bull riders. Long jumpers. Runners. Tennis, football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer players. Professional athletes and weekend warriors.
Dr. William C. Meyers has treated them all. What they shared were injuries that used to be called sports hernias but now are referred to as core injuries.
In 2013, he established the Vincera Institute. Located in Philadelphia, it is dedicated to prevention, diagnosis and treatment of core injuries. His recent book, "Introducing the Core: Demystifying the Body of an Athlete," distills what he has learned over the decades. Here are excerpts from a conversation about that:
Q: We hear the word core a lot. What, exactly, does that mean?
A: It's the trunk. Think of it as the strike zone in baseball. The core includes everything in there. It's a network of muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints. It's major organs and large blood vessels.
It's important because it's our engine room. It's where the center of our body is in terms of athleticism, in terms of movement. It has a tremendous amount to do with controlling the upper extremities and lower extremities.
Q: Why are core muscle injuries so common?
A: Everyone is susceptible to them. Like most of us, as you progress in life, you get occupied by your profession, your children. You get out of shape. Then you try to get back into shape. If you get too vigorous, and you haven't been using those muscles for a while, you rip them apart.