In simplistic terms, this is how we often discuss medications and if your exercises are corrective, then it might make sense to think about them more as something that you take. So, what is corrective exercise? Any exercise that brings a balance to the body could be seen as corrective, but it is easier to visualize as related to skeletal muscle balance.
The body is very good at adapting to demands, and will strive to find the easiest possible way to perform the movement required. Or, as often is the case, rather than movement, a stabilization counter to the forces of movement. This stabilization doesn't have to be from muscle, but in many cases we prefer the muscles to be stabilizers because it decreases the amount of stress to the joints as well as increases the amount of calories expended to perform the same movement. Working these muscles, though, can be tricky especially if your body has found a way around using them. Until recently (some believers may still exist) there was actually a school of thought that believed some of the postural stabilizing muscles like the transverse abdominus could not be consciously contracted.This thinking said that those muscles simply stabilize and respond to forces acting on the body, thus, to strengthen them you follow specific exercises and they naturally work. This sounds great and many corrective exercise programs are designed on this belief. You are shown the exercise, you perform the movement and the muscles work. Unfortunately, that is not always how the body works.
When the body has found an easier way, or even a known way, then that is the pattern it will use to create the movement of the exercise. Without the hands-on specific guidance to cue the right muscles to activate, one can go through the motions and seem to be performing the exercise without getting the benefit. Actually, worse than not getting the benefit, the default undesired patterns could be reinforced.
If you have muscles that are not working to stabilize then other parts of the body must take the stress. The muscles mentioned earlier, transverse abdominus, is the deep abdominal muscle that pulls the waist in and stabilizes the midsections during any movement. If it is not doing its job, then the torque generated from as simple a movement as walking increases the stress to the spine and stress to the spine can lead to a variety of disc or facet joint issues.
As with any process of relearning how to use the body, the first step to reverse this process is learning how to contract the transverse abdominus muscle. Second, is challenging the muscle to hold still while a load or force is pulling on it. Then, the muscle can be directly worked through a range against force (not an option for the transverse since it only pulls in to make the waist smaller). Finally, the awareness and strength of the muscle can begin to be used during other activities where it is not the prime mover and acts as a stabilizer.
These steps are the series of progression of how to get a body that is out of balance into balance and prepared for a typical balanced exercise program. Without first going through this process an individual with postural imbalances will create greater imbalances with a "balanced program" by strengthening those known movement patterns. Thankfully the industry is starting to catch up to this realization and it is easier to find providers who understand the hands-on care required for this process. There is no standardization, yet, but whenever you consider a practitioner who is providing corrective exercises remember that palpation to cue the muscle and ensure you are engaging the right muscle is imperative to the success of the entire process.
As always, let me know how I can help.