Exercises with axial load on the spine. Adequate load on the spine: how to sit and stand correctly Exercises without axial load on the legs

Agree, you have clearly heard this advice. We identified a protrusion, a hernia in the lumbar spine, diagnosed “osteochondrosis” and recommended avoiding activities that could load the spine.

That is, it is prohibited:

Tilt;
Lift more than 3-4 kg;
Carry heavy bags;
Do not exercise or go to the gym;
Wear heels for women;
Ride a bike.

That is, in other words, this means completely eliminating the load on the body and turning your life into continuous restrictions. That is, turning yourself into a disabled person and forbidding yourself to live a normal life?

Or should you still learn to adapt to life with osteochondrosis and do what you love and want to do?

Let's look at it in order:

All these tips imply that you need to walk only in orthopedic shoes, spend maximum time in a horizontal position, avoid physically active activities, and do not hold any bags in your hands, so as not to load the spine and not provoke the next exacerbation of back pain.

I personally don’t see this as a real and competent way out of the situation. This is a dead-end solution that will only drive you into the problem and force you to concentrate on it.

Why, if possible:

And then calmly do what you want and love, and not limit yourself every day.

All this is possible due to rehabilitation exercises and regular dosed exercises. Moreover, these classes should not just be a set of different exercises.

This should be a step-by-step system in which the goals of classes, types of exercises, starting positions change from one level to another, and different muscle groups are involved.

Then these stages will smoothly transition into each other, which will help gradually strengthen your body and make it more adapted to life.

I've been thinking for a long time about how I can do better:

And I made a decision - on Wednesday, September 20, at 18:00 Moscow time, I will conduct my online master class on just this topic.

I called it “Happy life without lower back pain”, where I will devote 3-4 hours exclusively to the topic of rehabilitation exercises for the lumbar spine.

I wouldn’t even call the cost of a ticket to the master class minimal. It's still much less.

If you know that the lower back is still your problem area, then I invite you to my master class.

If you are ready to finally leave the zone of weakness, pain, and limited life due to back problems, then I am waiting for you on Wednesday, September 20.

A complex system, the most important part of the body, the spine, needs training like no other. The condition of the spine is decisive for many processes and the operation of almost all systems. It is necessary to train the back muscles, but not everyone can load the spine. Therefore, there are special programs consisting of exercises that do not put stress on the spine.

The spinal cord is located here, the nerve pathways are concentrated, and a significant part of the autonomic system passes through. Being a structural unit of the general nervous apparatus, the autonomic one works autonomously. Its activity is not controlled by willpower and does not depend on human consciousness. At the same time, many life processes taking place in the body depend on its normal operation.

By the way. The health of the spine and the spinal cord located in it is the precise functioning of all internal organs. If the spinal structure is disturbed, the vertebrae are displaced, the discs are worn out, the nerve endings are pinched and do not conduct impulses to the organs, disrupting the order of their work.

Unfortunately, many people of different ages, gender and social status are familiar with spinal problems.

Disturbances of the natural vertebral structure occur for the following reasons:

injuries;
hypothermia;
diseases;
pathological formation;
psychological problems;
weakened muscle corset.

If a person can influence the first five reasons relatively, then the last one, in the case when it is not associated with the natural aging process, is subject to correction with the help of exercises.

Five tips from doctors on how to strengthen your back and protect your spine from damage.

Limit any traumatic exposure.
Avoid hypothermia, try not to find yourself in situations of long-term exposure to cold and drafts.
Watch your posture.
Experience less stress and pay due attention to emotional and psychological relief.
Stimulate blood flow and strengthen the back muscles.

It is entirely humanly possible to complete all these points, but for the latter you will have to work hard, since the strengthening of the spinal muscles and the speed of blood flow is achieved only by constant and correct exercises.

With or without load

Everyone needs to exercise. Even during the treatment of serious diseases of the spine, even after surgery on the spinal column, therapeutic exercises are prescribed. When performing it, there are special restrictions, exercises are selected individually, but without gymnastics there is no effective therapeutic or rehabilitation complex.

Moreover, gymnastics is indicated for people who have problems with the spine in the initial stages, and for the prevention of many spinal diseases. But there is one important point - with or without load. This question is very important, especially if you decide to train your back on your own, without coordinating the exercises with a doctor or trainer.

There are two global types into which exercises of all groups are divided:

With axial load.
Without carrying out a load.

If the spine is in a healthy condition, exercises in which the spine is maximally involved and a noticeable load is placed on it must be included in the training program in order to fully pump up the muscles of the back and other parts of the body. But with existing spinal pathologies or a predisposition to them, axial load exercises are prohibited. You can only perform complexes without load.

For what problems should axial load exercises not be performed?

Disc protrusion.
Osteochondrosis.
Kyphosis.
Diseases of the musculoskeletal system.

Degenerative changes in the spine are the number one problem worldwide. Osteochondrosis has ceased to be a disease of older people; every day this disease is becoming “younger”. Hernias and protrusions are the main complication of osteochondrosis. We recommend that you learn everything about the symptoms, differences and treatment methods for protrusions and herniated intervertebral discs.

That is, it turns out that if there is a problem with the spine, you cannot load it. But not everything is so simple, since problems come in varying degrees of severity, and for this, all exercises are subject to a more flexible classification, according to which the load can be:

strong;
moderate strength;
specific;
static.

Table. Types of axial load exercises.

Load type	Exercise groups
	Almost all manipulations with a barbell and some of the exercises using dumbbells, in which the weight falls on the shoulders or arms with an amplitude tilt of the body.
	It affects the spine indirectly if the weight is in the hands without significant tilt of the body.
	Basically, abdominal exercises, during which there is no direct impact on the spinal column, but the vertebrae may experience stress from a certain body position.
	With this type of load, the weight affects the vertebrae without changing the angle of the back, which is in a static position, which has a compensatory effect.

Important! Many exercises can put pressure on the spine, even simple walking. But if the doctor recommends an absolute limitation of loads, then nothing from the table above can be performed, and if the limitation is not complete, only positions that give a strong load on the axle are removed.

People who regularly train, but due to problems with the spine are not able to continue training with the usual load, are offered to replace the exercises with a complex with a minimum load.

If you have a medical condition, you should consult your doctor before performing even non-weight-bearing or minimally weight-bearing exercises.
If you are shown limiting the axial load, all load-bearing exercises are excluded for six months.
If the restriction is incomplete, exercises with the heaviest load are removed from the training program.
When limited, to reduce the axial load force, reduce the weight of the rod to 20 kg.

To reduce the load that falls on the spine in everyday life, you must adhere to the following rules.

In any situation, watch your posture and keep your back straight. Control it. A hunched back causes serious disc and vertebral problems in the future.
Sit correctly and evenly at a table in the office, at home, or at the computer. Make sure that the height of the furniture is adjusted to your height.
If you carry out most of your activities while sitting, get up more often, stretch your muscles, and learn to relax them.
For long journeys in a sitting position or if you spend a lot of time driving, use orthopedic seat pads under your back or a pillow.
If you wear a backpack frequently, do not overload it, or purchase a special backpack with a spinal support function.
Never carry heavy objects in one hand, and do not lift objects that are too heavy, even with both hands.
Provide complete comfort and relaxation to your back and neck while you sleep.
Regularly perform exercises for different parts of the spine and train the muscular corset, and also strengthen the abdominal muscles.
If you experience the slightest discomfort in your back, consult a doctor, and also pay attention to the prevention of spinal diseases.
During exercises, especially strength ones, observe the execution technique.

A set of exercises without spinal load

This complex is recommended for restoring the spine and increasing the mobility of all its segments. The main rule is a slow pace and smooth execution - no sudden movements. You need to perform the whole complex at once every day.

Starting position - on all fours. Lower your buttocks onto your heels, pressing them tightly. Then stretch your body forward, bending back and arching your body, moving your head back. Repeat twelve times. You need to do the movements slowly, increasing the amplitude.

The starting position is the same. Chin up, knees touching each other. Raise your shins at an acute angle and turn them from side to side. At the same time, the shoulder and body rotate towards the hip. While breathing spontaneously, repeat slowly twelve times.

From a position on all fours, lower your pelvis smoothly, first in one direction, and then, after returning to the starting position, in the other. In this case, the knees, shins and feet are pressed tightly to the floor.

Same starting position. The back is bent downwards, the head is raised up and thrown back. Then the back arches upward, touching the chin to the chest and rounding the shoulders. The hips and pelvis occupy a static position.

Lying on your back, bend your knees, placing your feet on the floor. Stretch your arms along your body. Press your shoulder blades to the floor. Turn your joined knees, trying not to separate them, in one direction or the other, touching them to the floor. Do not lift your back from the floor.

From the same lying position, extend your legs at will. Raise one knee and use your hands to pull it towards your stomach. Change leg. Then bend your legs and pull both legs towards your stomach at the same time, helping with your arms.

Get on all fours, straighten your body, focusing on your hands and knees. Perform push-ups, leaning on your knees, working with your arms and shoulder girdle. Socks on the floor. The back is aligned. Try to touch the floor with your chest. If your physical fitness allows, you can put your feet on your toes and focus on them.

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What are exercises with axial load on the spine? This question is most often asked by people who have problems with the spine. If you have spinal osteochondrosis, kyphosis, scoliosis, intervertebral hernia or other back injury, then exercises with axial load on the spine are contraindicated for you. What are these exercises and what can you replace them with? Read further in this article.

Exercises with axial load on the spine- these are those exercises during which the weight of the burden presses and compresses the spine along its axis, that is, it creates an axial load on the spine.

Now let's look at what exercises create an axial load on the spine and what exercises without axial load can replace them. For convenience, the exercises will be divided into main muscle groups.

LEGS MUSCLES

Exercises for legs with axial load on the spine

Squats with a barbell on your shoulders
Front Squats
Smith machine squats
Hack squats with barbell
Deadlift on straight legs
Bend forward with a barbell on your shoulders
Lunges with a barbell
Standing calf raises

Exercises for legs without axial load on the spine

Leg press in the simulator
Leg extensions in the simulator
Lying leg curls in the simulator
Calf raise while sitting in the machine

BACK MUSCLES

Back exercises with axial load on the spine

Barbell deadlift
Deadlift with dumbbells
Shrugs with a barbell
Shrugs with dumbbells
Bent-over barbell row
Bent-over T-bar row

Exercises for the back without axial load on the spine

Row-T bar in a machine with a chest support
Upper pulley to chest
Pull-down of the upper block behind the head
Seated row of block to the waist
Bent-over dumbbell row
Wide grip pull-ups

CHEST MUSCLES

When performing exercises for the pectoral muscles, an axial load is not created on the spine. Therefore, you can perform almost all exercises for the chest. The main thing is to adhere to the correct technique and listen to how you feel.

ARM MUSCLES

Biceps

Biceps exercises with axial load on the spine

Standing biceps curl
Standing dumbbell curl
Standing reverse grip barbell curl
Biceps exercises without axial load on the spine
Scott Bench Curls
Lifting dumbbells for biceps while sitting on an incline bench
Concentrated dumbbell curls for biceps

Triceps

Triceps exercises with axial load on the spine

Standing French barbell press
Standing overhead dumbbell press
Triceps exercises without axial load on the spine
Close grip bench press
French bench press
Dips
Bench push-ups
Standing arm extensions on a block

SHOULDER MUSCLES

Shoulder exercises with axial load on the spine

Standing chest press
Standing overhead barbell press
Standing Dumbbell Press
Barbell row to the chin

Shoulder exercises without axial load on the spine

In order to reduce the load on the spine when performing shoulder exercises, it is enough to use a bench with a backrest. The angle of inclination of the back of the bench should be 70-80 degrees.

Bench press sitting on a bench with a backrest
Dumbbell press while sitting on a bench with a backrest
Swing dumbbells to the sides while sitting on a bench with a backrest
Raising arms to the sides on the simulator

NOTES

1. If you have back diseases or injuries, be sure to consult with your sports physician. With a complete limitation of axial loads, it will be necessary to exclude all exercises with axial load on the spine for at least 6 months. If the restriction is partial, then you can remove only those exercises that create the strongest axial load on the spine (barbell squats, deadlifts, etc.).

2. If you have no contraindications for exercising in the gym, do not be afraid of exercises with axial load. It is important to understand that these are mainly basic exercises that are the most effective for gaining muscle mass and strength. The main thing is to always adhere to the correct exercise technique and gradually increase the working weights.

3. The force of the axial load on the spine very much depends on the weight of the burden. For example, squats with a barbell weighing 20 kg will not create a large axial load on the spine.