How the Core to Floor Program Helps You Eliminate Back Pain and Move with Confidence - Pain Free.

Written by: Dr. David Westmacott and AST

Lower back pain has a way of creeping into everyday life, whether you’re sitting at a desk, hitting the gym, or simply trying to enjoy your favourite activities. For many people in South Calgary, it becomes a frustrating cycle: temporary relief, followed by recurring discomfort.

But what if the solution isn’t just treating the pain—but rebuilding the foundation of how your body moves. That’s exactly where the BTL Core to Floor Program at Active Sports Therapy comes in.

Why Your Core Matters More Than You Think

When people hear “core,” they often think of abs. But your core is much more than that, the core is a complex system of muscles that includes your:

-Deep abdominal muscles
-Pelvic floor
-Lower back stabilizers
-Gluteal muscles
-Diaphragm

Together, these muscles act as your body’s central support system, controlling movement, stability, and posture. When your core isn’t functioning properly, your body compensates.

This often leads to:

-Chronic lower back pain
-Poor posture
-Decreased strength and performance
-Reduced balance and coordination

In short, a weak or poorly coordinated core doesn’t just affect your workouts a weak core impacts your everyday life.

What Makes the BTL Core to Floor Program Different?

The BTL Core to Floor Program stands apart because it combines two advanced technologies:
-Emsculpt Neo
-Emsella

Together, these devices create a powerful, non-invasive system that targets both your abdominal core and pelvic floor muscles simultaneously something traditional exercise alone cannot effectively achieve. This integrated approach ensures your entire core system is activated, retrained, and strengthened in a way that translates directly into real-life movement.

The Science: HFEM, RF, and Supra-Maximal Contractions

At the heart of the Core to Floor program is cutting-edge technology that goes far beyond voluntary exercise. High-Intensity Focused Electromagnetic Energy (HFEM) Both Emsculpt Neo and Emsella use HFEM technology to stimulate your muscles in a way your brain cannot replicate on its own. HFEM triggers supra-maximal muscle contractions, extremely powerful contractions that exceed what you can achieve during a typical workout.

To put it into perspective:

-A single session can produce thousands of contractions
-These contractions are deeper, more intense, and more targeted than voluntary movement
-They activate hard-to-reach stabilizing muscles critical for spinal support

These supra-maximal contractions retrain your neuromuscular system, improving motor control,
coordination, and strength at a foundational level.

Radiofrequency (RF) Technology Emsculpt Neo also incorporates radiofrequency (RF) energy, which gently heats the muscle tissue.

This has several key benefits:

-Improves blood flow and tissue elasticity
-Prepares muscles for stronger contractions
-Enhances muscle response and recovery
-Supports fat reduction in the abdominal region

The combination of HFEM + RF creates a synergistic effect—allowing muscles to contract more effectively while improving the overall health of the tissue.

Why This Matters for Lower Back Pain

Lower back pain is often caused by poor core activation and lack of support for the spine. Traditional exercises rely on your ability to properly engage these muscles, but if your brain isn’t activating them correctly, progress can be slow or ineffective. That’s where this technology changes everything.

By delivering supra-maximal contractions, the BTL Core to Floor Program:

-Activates weak or dormant muscles
-Restores proper firing patterns between your core and pelvic floor
-Reduces compensations that strain your lower back
-Builds strength in the deep stabilizers that protect your spine

This allows your body to relearn how to move safely and efficiently, leading to long-term pain relief, not just temporary fixes.

-Build Strength, Stability, and Motor Control
-One of the biggest advantages of this program is its focus on motor control—your body’s ability to coordinate movement efficiently.

With improved neuromuscular function, you’ll experience:

-Strength – deeper, more functional muscle activation
-Stability – better spinal support during movement
-Control – improved coordination and reduced injury risk

This translates into real-world benefits like:

-Lifting with confidence

-Exercising without pain
-Moving freely in daily life
-Returning to the activities you love

Who Is This Program For?
The BTL Core to Floor Program is ideal for individuals who:

-Struggle with persistent or recurring lower back pain
-Feel weak or unstable during movement
-Have tried traditional core exercises without success
-Are recovering from injury or postpartum changes
-Want to improve performance and prevent future issues

Whether you’re an athlete, a busy professional, or simply someone who wants to feel better in your body, this program is designed to meet you where you are—and take you further.

Get Back to Doing What You Love—Pain Free

Imagine moving through your day without constantly thinking about your back. Imagine exercising, working, or playing with your kids without discomfort holding you back. With the combined power of Emsculpt Neo, Emsella, HFEM, RF, and supra-maximal contractions, the BTL Core to Floor Program helps you rebuild your foundation from the inside out.

Start Your Core Transformation Today

If you’re tired of temporary fixes and ready for a long-term solution, it’s time to focus on what truly matters—your core. By kick-starting your core, you’re not just addressing pain—you’re creating a stronger, more stable, and more confident version of yourself.

Book your free consultation at Active Sports Therapy in Calgary today and take the first step toward a pain-free, confident life.

Change Your Core and Change Your Life

By: Dr. Corey Finan DC and Ellen Rossiter, PT

What is the “Core”

The “Core” in human terms is used to describe a series of musculoskeletal tissues that function together to provide a rigid structure by which the torso is able to transmit power from the upper body to the lower body and vice versa. Together they comprise most of the muscles, ligaments, and tendons of the body in some manner.

This area of the body is integral to human movement because in order for an individual to product correct motions and actions (walking, running, throwing, etc) there must be a fixation point on the axial skeleton that can provide stabilizing action for the extremity muscles to move from.

The core muscles are made up of the muscles from the whole back, including deep rotator muscles that stabilize the spine and long muscles that stabilize one’s torso. Of course, everyone has heard of the abdominal muscles too, and their contribution to the core. These include Transverse Abdominus, Rectus Abdominus, and the Abdominal Obliques.

Most people forget this aspect, but there are also muscles from the hip that contribute to the core, including the Psoas and the Adductors in the front, and the Gluteal Muscles and Hamstrings in the back.

Another important group of muscles that play a role are those of the Pelvic Floor which form the bottom of the pelvis and contribute to overall intra-abdominal pressure creation.

Perhaps the most important muscle involved in core control is the Diaphragm.

Functional Stabilization

As you can see, there are many muscles that make up and contribute to the ‘Core’ that we all hear so much about and if one muscle (even part of one, such as with a trigger point) is dysfunctional then the entire stabilizing function is disrupted and the quality of movement is compromised.

So Why Does My Back Hurt and How is it Related to My Core?

Here are a few reasons why one might experience back pain from an issue with the core:

The Core = muscles on the front, sides and back creating pressure
The Core not engaging properly = decreased intra-abdominal pressure = some muscles do more work - usually the back!
Usually fine for a while, but the muscles in the back end up overworked and underpaid = stiffness/soreness/pain

And here are some more specific examples:

Sitting

Against the back of the chair
Hunched forward - phones and computers
Not using the core!

Previous injury

Compensation patterns for a long time
Eventually, things get too tight and too tired = pain

Workouts

Exercise without appropriate positioning
Working outside of available mobility and strength
Not using core properly

Pregnancy

Increased lordosis, different rib positioning
Stretching the abdominal muscles!
Pelvic floor impacted

What Can You Do to Ensure a Strong Core?

A great place to start is with your breathing! That diaphragm muscle that we mentioned above is both a muscle of respiration and a postural muscle. Correction of a faulty respiratory pattern is actually integral to the success of any rehabilitation program that aims to address the movement system.

Here is how you might practice and strengthen this muscle and pattern:

Start by lying down on your back or sit, feet flat on the floor.
Ensure proper posture
- Hips equal pressure on the floor or chair (based on position)
- If sitting: sit tall, shoulders relaxed, ribs down (not flared out)
- If lying: bend the knees, feet flat on floor; relax the shoulders

Place your hands in the following positions, one on your chest and the other on your belly.
Increase belly expansion, and minimize chest movement while you take deep breaths in and out.
If this goes well, the next step is to bring your hands to cradle your lower rib cage (thumb on your back rib cage, fingers on your front rib cage) and continue breathing.
Breathe into your belly, while trying to expand into your sides. You want your breath to fill all areas of your lungs, and expand your entire rib cage both front and back. Think of this as breathing along the lines of an “A” line dress, where the lines flow down and out all around your body.
To see a video of this technique - please visit Dr. Corey Finan's video explanation here

It sounds simple but it really can take some practice to ensure you’re doing this right. Once you’ve mastered this first step to building your core, you can move on to more challenging groups of exercises. Did you know that you can book in with your chiropractor or physiotherapist if you think your core is related to your back pain or movement issues? They can assess where you are at and help to build a safe and effective set of exercises to help you change your core, and change your life!

*This blog is not intended to officially establish a physician-patient relationship, to replace the services of a trained physician, naturopathic doctor, physical therapist or chiropractor or otherwise to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.