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By: Dr. Giovanni Silva A frequent complaint heard by personal trainers from a clients is
"I will never do squats again, last
time I did, I hurt my lower back". We can truly sympathize with someone who
experiences any lower back pain and some of you may even agree that squats
can cause the pain.
It is unfortunate that people who have experienced lower back pain
while performing the squat blame it on the exercise itself. But nothing
could be further from the truth. Often, there are other underlying reasons
for this pain. The squat is actually one of the best strengthening exercises
you can do for your lower back (or lumbar spine) musculature.
In addition to improving lumbar musculature, the squat strengthens the
quadriceps (thighs), hamstrings (back of thighs), and gluteus (buttocks).
Strength athletes such as Olympic weightlifters, shot-putters, discus
throwers, football lineman as well as running backs, (just to name a few)
perform the squat to strengthen the above mentioned muscle groups in
order to execute those strong and explosive movements required in their respective
particular sports.
2 Most Common Causes of Lumbar Spine Injury
Lumbar spine injury while performing the squat is usually due to one of
two reasons:
1) Fatigue due to overtraining and
2) Due to weak lumbar muscles.
Overtraining:
Overtraining is very common for bodybuilders. When training legs,
a common routine may include several exercises, multiple sets and up to
7-10 repetitions per set; quickly adding up to in excess of 100-140 reps
per leg during a workout! Adding the fact that many use heavy weights, such a strenuous
regimen can quickly lead to overtraining.
Once muscle fatigue sets in, the hamstring muscles cannot contract as
efficietly to handle a large load and the smaller, lumbar muscles try
to compensate. These muscles attempt to stabilize the heavy load on your
shoulders by forcibly contracting. The lumbar muscles, unable to handle
such weights, become strained and pain ensues.
Weak Lumbar Muscles:
The squat is an excellent exercise for improving lumbar spine muscles,
but oftentimes a typical leg routine is so out of balance, with the
quadriceps usually getting the brunt of the attention, then the hamstrings,
sometimes calves and buttocks and often little or no lumbar muscle
attention. The result: stronger and larger thigh muscles with small
and weak lumbar muscles.
The squat is the only exercise in the leg routine that strengthens your
lumbar muscles.
Knowing that it will be next to impossible to talk a serious bodybuilder
into cutting down on their leg routine, the next best solution is to add
lower back strengthening exercises to the workout routine. Once these
muscles have been built up, they will be better prepared to assist when
muscle fatigue sets in during the squat.
Look for future articles on specific lumbar muscle strengthening exercises
and proper techniques for performing these exercises. Let?s keep that back
strong and healthy!
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