“Bodybuilding Sins” That Cause Back Pain and Missed Workouts:
Part 3
by Jesse
Cannone, Steve Hefferon
zone3
Stretching can be great, but it can also make existing injuries
worse or even bring about new ones!
The key to making
stretching work for you is knowing which stretches you need to be working
on… and just because a muscle feels tight, that doesn’t necessarily mean
it needs to be stretched.
Welcome to article number 2 in our series “Bodybuilding Sins That Cause
Back Pain and Missed Workouts”. In this article we are going to talk about
how bodybuilders tend to create massive muscle imbalances and what you can
do to not be one of them.
If you missed the first article, you can read it by clicking on the
link below.
Here’s a breakdown of the articles to look for:
- Article #1 - Choosing
The WRONG Exercises
- Article #2 - Training
Variations for Pain Relief and Maximum Results
- Article #3 - Targeted Stretching
- Article #4 - Targeted Exercises
- Article #5 - Rest, Recovery, and Injury Prevention
Article #3 - Targeted Stretching
Stretching can be great, but it can also make existing injuries worse
or even bring about new ones!
The key to making stretching work for you is knowing which stretches
you need to be working on… and just because a muscle feels tight, that
doesn’t necessarily mean it needs to be stretched.
For example, many people stretch the hamstrings because they feel tight
and they think the hamstrings are limiting their flexibility…
the fact is, most of the time the hamstrings are “tight” because they
are constantly being pulled / lengthened due to muscle imbalances that tip
the pelvis forward.
As you can, when the pelvis tips forward the hamstrings get pulled
upward and are constantly held in a stretched position…
And this is why millions of people can stretch their hamstrings every
freakin day and never make any improvement in their flexibility….
Are you one of those people?
If you are, you need to stop stretching your hamstrings and find out
exactly which muscles you need to be targeting by reading the rest of this
article…
Not only does this forward tipping of the pelvis (which is caused by
muscle imbalances) keep the hamstrings tight and make it very difficult to
make improvements in the muscles flexibility, but it also leads to the
following:
• increased stress / wear and tear from the ankles all
the way up the spine
For example, the forward tipping of the pelvis places uneven pressure
on the ankle, knee and hip joints and also many of the vertebrae in the
spine.
• weakens the hamstrings, inhibits normal functioning and
increases the likelihood of hamstring pulls
When the hamstrings are constantly being strained because of the muscle
imbalances, the muscle is weak, not able to function as it normally would,
prone to injury and without correcting the muscle imbalance recover can
take up to 9 months to a year, or longer!
• creates excess curvature in the lower and middle
spine
This tipping of the pelvis places excessive amounts of abnormal stress
on the muscles, vertebrae and discs in the lower and mid spine and this
sets you up for potential injuries to the muscles of the lower and middle
back…
Plus, it also causes the discs between your vertebrae to wear down and
deteriorate much faster than they normally would and this sets you up for
degenerative, bulging, protruding and herniated discs along with numerous
other spinal conditions like arthritis, spinal stenosis, and the oh so
popular sciatica!
This hamstring example is just one of many… muscle imbalances are
responsible for nearly every ache, pain, injury and condition out
there!
Here are a few more examples of injuries / conditions that are caused
by muscle imbalances and can easily be prevented and/or eliminated with
targeted stretches and exercises:
- upper back and neck pain
- shoulder injuries (rotator cuff)
- elbow and wrist pain (carpal tunnel, tennis/golfer/baseball elbow,
etc)
- knee pain (runners knee, chondromalacia, ligament tears, etc)
- hip pain (IT band syndrome, bursitis, etc)
- ankle pain (Achilles tendonitis, shin splints, plantar fasciitis,
heel spurs, etc)
All of these conditions are caused by muscle imbalances and will NOT go
away unless you work towards correcting the imbalances… and the only way
to know for sure which imbalances are causing your pain or injury is to do
a series of physical assessments like the ones covered in our “Lose the Back Pain Video” which
is designed for anyone suffering from back pain or sciatica.
What the heck is a targeted stretch?
This is a question we are asked often and here’s the definition we give
it:
Targeted Stretch - a stretch or stretching exercise
that is chosen, based on physical assessments, to target a specific muscle
or muscle group to increase the flexibility and range of motion in that
area and bring the bones and or joints back towards the normal
position.
When you compare a targeted stretch to general stretches like
the ones found in Yoga, Pilates and the corny ones your doctor,
chiropractor or physical therapist gives you, it’s no surprise they give
little or no pain relief and almost always fail to get rid of the
problem.
Conclusion
Remember, the key to eliminating injuries and preventing future ones is
to identify what areas you need to target. In the next article we’ll be
discussing in detail, how to address various injuries like back, hip,
knee, and shoulder pain with targeted exercises. In the meantime, be sure
to read thru all of our detailed Back Pain
Articles and if you have questions, please post them in our Discussion
Forum.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Article by Jesse Cannone, CFT, CPRS, CSPN and Steve Hefferon, CMT,
CPRS of http://www.losethebackpain.com/.
If you’ve got back pain or sciatic pain, you’ve gotta check out their
website!
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