bone health

Disc hernia and bodybuilding

Message sent by: Vincenzo

Hello Vincenzo,

muscle strengthening in the event of a herniated disc may bring multiple benefits to the subject provided that certain precise rules are followed.

First of all the training program must first of all go to rebalance a muscular situation that in many cases is compromised. In this way the back will be more protected from possible new injuries. In this sense, it will also be possible to obtain benefits on pain reduction.

So before starting a weight training program I advise you to ask a doctor and a qualified instructor for advice, in particular it will be necessary to carefully evaluate the causes that contributed to the appearance of the disc hernia, its location (thoracic, cervical or lumbar) and any muscular and / or ligament deficiencies.

Assuming, as is more likely that your hernia was located at the lumbar level, it will be necessary, for example, to carefully assess the curvature of the spine in this location and the balance of the pelvis. In these cases the most frequent situation is characterized by an hypothesis of the abdominal musculature associated with a hypertonus of the paravertebral and lumbar musculature. In this situation it is recommended to strengthen the abdominal muscles associated with disc decompression exercises (stretching for the spine but also for the ischiocrural muscles). In the case of overweight and localized fat, especially in the abdominal region, it is very important to bring your body weight back to normal.

If on the one hand a targeted training program will have to try to strengthen and balance the muscles, on the other, obviously, it will not have to make the situation any worse. Also in this case the exercises advised against because potentially harmful depend on a series of factors that will have to be evaluated by your doctor and / or your trainer.

Doing the assumptions also in this case, you will have to pay particular attention to the correct performance of the exercises for the abdominal muscles and all those exercises that involve considerable pressures at the level of the intervertebral discs of the lower back (squats, half-stops, slow with the handlebars etc.). In these cases the use of a containment belt can help you. However it is useless and counterproductive to use the belt during the whole training as its use has the same side effect as the bust. The use of the belt prevents the muscles that form the so-called abdominal press from working freely, interfering with their development.

Other important features of the training program will be the gradual increase in loads and the learning of the correct breathing technique during the exercises.

Sincerely.