Almost every man dreams of having a toned figure and pumped up muscles, regardless of age. It is possible to achieve muscle relief through bodybuilding, and you need to train regularly and constantly. But what should a person who is diagnosed with osteochondrosis do? In a state of exacerbation, exercise is contraindicated. In the stage of stable remission, bodybuilding for osteochondrosis can benefit the spine. The main thing is to choose the right exercises and follow the technique of performing them.
Rules for performing exercises
Many patients are concerned about the question: is it possible to engage in bodybuilding if degenerative-dystrophic processes are observed in the intervertebral discs? It is possible to pump up muscle mass with osteochondrosis. The main goal is not to aggravate the patient’s condition, so a special set of exercises is necessary. For a physically unprepared person, training begins with light weights. After the muscles are strengthened, move on to more difficult strength exercises.
To avoid pain, you must adhere to the following rules:
- be sure to warm up your muscles before exercise with a warm-up;
- if you are overweight, include cardio exercises;
- Perform all movements without sudden jerks and twists;
- watch your spine and avoid bending;
- eliminate asymmetric loads;
- include exercises for the back extensor muscles;
- after training, stretch the vertebrae by hanging on the horizontal bar;
- As a result of exercise, muscle pain may occur, relieve them with massages, ointments, and the Kuznetsov applicator;
- During muscle pumping, it is recommended to consume vitamins and omega acids.
On a note. Following simple rules will help to avoid pain and repeated relapses of the disease.
What sports are not recommended to engage in with osteochondrosis?
During the period of exacerbation of the disease, no sport is considered acceptable. At this time, it is better to completely eliminate any load on the spine and reduce physical activity to a minimum. You should start playing sports only when your doctor says so. At the same time, you should not immediately overdo it and choose complex exercises that put significant pressure on the muscles and skeleton. Sports that are not recommended include anything that involves sharp turns of the body and excessive stretching of the spine. As a rule, these are tennis and badminton, since, trying to parry an opponent’s blow, a person can make sharp lunges, which can very likely displace the vertebral discs, and this, in turn, can lead to pinching of the nerve roots and new attacks of pain and exacerbation of osteochondrosis .
Team sports are not recommended. These include volleyball, basketball, football, hockey and many others. Firstly, they are very dynamic, and this is an excessive load on the body, weakened by osteochondrosis. Secondly, such sports are very dangerous - any fall or collision with one of the other athletes can damage not only the spine and provoke an exacerbation of its pathologies, but also, in extreme cases, damage internal organs.
You should exclude hiking trips from your schedule. During them you have to wear heavy backpacks, which puts significant stress on your back. In addition, when traveling, you often have to sleep in not very comfortable conditions. It’s unlikely that anyone carries orthopedic mattresses and pillows with them. Staying in an uncomfortable position for a long time provokes osteochondrosis. Due to carrying heavy loads, skiing over long distances is also not recommended.
Prohibited exercises
In the first month of classes, it is necessary to control the load as much as possible, avoid squats, power lifts and exercises with bending in the lumbar region.
Prohibited exercises:
- deadlift;
- lying chest press;
- lunges and squats with weights;
- bending over with a barbell on your shoulders;
- swing dumbbells in bends.
Any movements that cause discomfort should be postponed until the spinal muscles are strengthened. Running and jumping are prohibited. Bodybuilding is aimed at building muscle mass and involves working with heavy weights. With osteochondrosis, it is necessary to increase the load gradually. At the initial stage, do 3 sets of 12 repetitions. After 1-2 months, the number of movements is increased.
On a note. Patients note an improvement in their general condition and no longer complain of discomfort in the spine. During training, blood circulation improves, muscle spasms are relieved, and the body is saturated with oxygen.
Osteochondrosis and training: pros and cons
Osteochondrosis is quite compatible with many sports. This pathology, accompanied by the destruction of intervertebral discs, is often clinically manifested by numerous neurological disorders. Due to infringement of the vertebral artery and spinal roots by hernias, osteophytes, and muscle spasms, the patient’s general well-being worsens.
And regular sports training has a positive, healing effect on the entire body:
- improve blood circulation, stimulate the flow of nutrients into damaged vertebral structures;
- dilate blood vessels, providing oxygen flow to the brain, soft, cartilage, and bone tissues;
- eliminate compression of blood vessels and nerve endings by strengthening the muscle corset of the entire back;
- stabilize the vertebral bodies and intervertebral discs, prevent their displacement and the formation of hernial protrusion;
- improve the functioning of organs of all human vital systems.
Participating in some sports involves excessive stress on already damaged discs and vertebrae. Undoubtedly, during training, the blood supply to tissues with nutrients necessary for regeneration improves. But the rate of disk destruction will significantly exceed the rate of their recovery.
Basic exercises for osteochondrosis
There are several exercises that will help build muscle mass and strengthen your back corset. Hyperextension is ideal for the lumbar spine, head pulls will develop the broad muscles of the thoracic region, and exercises for the trapezius muscles will strengthen the cervical region.
Head Pull:
- Go to the “upper block” simulator and select the optimal height of the leg rollers.
- Set the required load.
- While standing, grab the handles of the bar and lower yourself onto the seat, securing your legs under the bolsters.
- Inhale and pull the bar behind your head, keeping your elbows in the same plane as your torso.
- When you touch the back of the head. hold on for a few seconds.
- As you exhale, straighten your arms and return to the starting position.
On a note. When performing the exercise, movements should be smooth. The head is slightly tilted forward, the back is slightly arched at the lower back. You don't need to make your grip too wide. Hands should be shoulder width apart.
Horizontal thrust to the chest with the roller resting on the thoracic region:
- Set the required load.
- Sit on the machine and press your chest against the roller.
- Grab the handles of the machine with your hands.
- Pull them to your chest and leave them in this position for 2-3 seconds.
- Straighten your arms to the starting position.
When performing the exercise, the middle trapezius, latissimus and deltoid muscles are tensed. The emphasis of the chest on the roller allows you to unload the spine. The movement is done with full amplitude in order to stretch and contract the muscles as much as possible.
Useful tips
For the treatment of cervical, thoracic, and lumbar osteochondrosis, regular sports training is useful - at least 4 times a week. This regime allows you to constantly not only maintain the muscular frame of the back in good shape, but also constantly increase the strength and elasticity of muscle tissue.
| Rules to follow during classes | Characteristics |
| Load dosing | Avoid movements that cause discomfort in the back area. |
| The need for breaks | It is necessary to stop training if you experience even mild back pain, as they often precede muscle spasm and pinching of the spinal roots. |
| Concentration | You need to listen to your feelings, often perform exercises that help eliminate stiffness and neurological disorders |
Before training, be sure to warm up to prepare your muscles for the upcoming loads. And after completing the main classes, stretching exercises are useful, for example, hanging on a bar for 5 minutes.
Hanging on the bar.
Pool
Going to the pool is one of the best options for physical activity for back problems. Being in water leads to decompression, which is beneficial in itself. For osteochondrosis, swimming is useful: the muscles of the neck and back are strengthened, displaced vertebrae are put into place, the distance between them increases, and pinched nerves are released.
These effects are achieved through therapeutic swimming: there are a number of special exercises, different for different types of disease. In general, it is necessary to combine styles, do not forget about backstroke and board swimming.
For those who like group exercises, water aerobics will be an excellent form of exercise.
Is it possible to exercise while in pain?
Acute pain is a contraindication to sports activities. However, if the pain is of a regular, non-acute nature, a number of specialists offer kinesitherapy methods (treatment with movement).
It is assumed that the pain can be eliminated with special exercises. Their goal is to reduce pain, relieve muscle spasms by relaxing them, and break up blocks in low-moving joints. Classes consist of adaptive exercises and joint gymnastics. Bubnovsky's technique is widely known.
You need to play sports if you have osteochondrosis. This helps keep you healthy despite your diagnosis. Sports for osteochondrosis strengthens muscles and ligaments. There is no need to make excuses for lack of time or funds: adequate physical activity is possible at home.
Daily exercises from the “every day” section are the minimum required, other types of activity – if possible.
Kinds of sports
What kind of sports can you do with cervical osteochondrosis? Lumbar? Grudny? The final conclusion must be made by your attending physician. It depends on the degree of the disease and your level of physical fitness.
For example, for some patients tennis is completely harmless and even useful, but for others it is contraindicated. Weightlifting, any kind of jumping (pole jumping, long jumping, parachute jumping), sports with an increased risk of back injuries - hockey, alpine skiing - are prohibited.
What conclusions can be drawn?
Daily exercise becomes an excellent prevention of involvement of healthy spinal structures in the destructive-degenerative process. They also help eliminate neurological symptoms - surges in blood pressure, headaches, dizziness, and a feeling of shortness of breath.
But the type of sports training should be agreed upon with your doctor. Otherwise, after a temporary improvement in well-being, not only the condition of the spinal segments will deteriorate, but also the functioning of all vital systems.
Treatment
People with sedentary jobs most often experience cervical osteochondrosis
. Because when we spend a long time at the computer, we involuntarily begin to slouch, and the stress on the cervical vertebrae is enormous. It is usually treated with medication, acupressure, acupuncture and herbal medicine. Try to maintain correct posture and take breaks from work to do a couple of exercises that will improve blood circulation in the head and neck.
Slightly less common than cervical osteochondrosis is lumbosacral osteochondrosis.
.
It is also typical for office workers whose work requires them to sit for long periods of time. For osteochondrosis of the lumbar region, in addition to medications, ointments that relieve pain and improve blood circulation are also prescribed. For this type of osteochondrosis, massage, acupuncture, mud therapy, heating and stone therapy (hot stone massage) are also prescribed. Thoracic osteochondrosis
is less common, but still occurs. Treatment consists of medications, classical and acupressure massage, acupuncture, hirudotherapy (leech treatment), physical therapy (physical therapy), as well as aroma and herbal medicine.
There are cases when the patient suffers from two types of
osteochondrosis.
Then the treatment is comprehensive
for the two inflamed parts of the spine.
Gym
Is it possible, having problems with joints, to exercise not just “for health”, but also for “results”? Are osteochondrosis and bodybuilding compatible? Exercises will be safe if you choose the right exercises.
Some types of loads are prohibited (axial loads greater than 3 kg): most exercises with a free barbell, squats and lunges with a barbell, deadlifts, military and French presses. They are easily replaced with safe analogues with initial positions lying, reclining, sitting.
To start training in the gym, you should ask your doctor about your type of osteochondrosis (cervical, thoracic, lumbar or widespread) and its degree. The sports doctor will tell you what types of physical activity you should avoid, and the trainer will draw up a training plan with the exercises that you are allowed to do.
Proper exercise in the gym will help balance the muscular corset: for example, increasing the load on the left arm in right-handed people.
Strength exercises for spinal osteochondrosis in the gym often include the following exercises: hyperextension, lat pull-downs, exercises with dumbbells. The basic rule: achieving results by increasing the number of approaches, not the weight. Maximum loads are prohibited.