In In the gym, you may see many people doing an abdominal muscle training: dumbbell lateral flexion, Roman chair lateral flexion, etc.! The purpose of doing this is to train the mermaid line (external oblique muscles)
But is this action of lateral spine flexion really good?
We all know that different joints in the human body have different properties! Among them, there are mainly joints responsible for stability and joints responsible for movement!
Various types of lateral flexion training involve too many lumbar flexion (lateral flexion) movements! The lumbar spine itself is not designed for movement!
The lumbar spine is a joint connected by multiple vertebral bodies. There are intervertebral discs between the vertebral bodies. The lumbar spine not only has a small range of motion, but also has a large number of spinal nerves passing through it. Moreover, the surrounding muscles are relatively small and have little strength! It is not suitable for producing movements. If it is used to produce movements or bear force, it may not be suitable!
And long-term flexion of the spine too much can lead to intervertebral disc problems.
During lateral flexion of the body, especially when bearing weight, your intervertebral disc will be squeezed back and forth on the coronal plane! These bad pressures put you at risk for disc injury!
The lumbar spine has a more important role in maintaining stability and transmitting force, just like the trunk of a big tree! Only when the trunk does not sway can the tree grow stronger!
So what you need more is stability training! Rather than training to move the lumbar spine!
Stability: The ability to maintain the spine without deformation or movement! Allow the core muscles to better maintain the neutral spine position during exercise.
Use anti-lateral flexion training instead of lateral flexion training!
Anti-lateral flexion core strength - Use core strength to ensure that the spine is not carried away by the weight! Resist lateral flexion (resist external force to prevent lumbar scoliosis)! Always stay in a neutral position and stay steady!
Difference:
Side flexion exercises the lumbar spine The ability to move!
Anti-lateral flexion is the ability to exercise the stability of the lumbar spine!
Compare the joint attributes mentioned before! The more important role of the lumbar spine is stability! Therefore, it is not recommended to let the joints that dominate stability lead activities!
Imagine in daily life,When you carry a heavy shopping bag with one hand, your body will Unconsciously falling to the side with the heavy object, followed by pelvic tilt, lumbar scoliosis, and walking with one foot deep and one foot shallow. At this time, in order to avoid these bad postures that are risky for injury, You need to use your core muscles (including the external obliques to contract isometrically) to prevent lateral bending! Keep the lumbar spine in a neutral and safe position!
Anti-lateral flexion training! Recommended actions
1. For beginners, you can use the standing still method to train anti-lateral flexion:
The action is very simple. Hold the dumbbell in one hand and stand still. During the action, Keep your shoulder blades drawn back, your spine neutral, and your hips squeezed. At this time, you will feel a force pulling your body into a bend. You must tighten your core muscles to resist this force of lateral bending! span>
2. Unilateral farmer's walk
Add dynamic movements : The key is still the same! The only goal is to maintain the stability and neutrality of the lumbar spine!
Related recommendations
Stop doing sit-ups and crunches!
Instead of sit-ups and crunches: the dead bug move
Does reverse abdominal crunching hurt the spine? Is lying on your back and raising your legs harmful to the lumbar spine< /span>