Three of the most common exercises that are supposed to reduce back pain may actually cause more harm than good. In fact, some of these exercises are downright dangerous. Given how often these harmful exercises are prescribed, it is not surprising that most people experience back pain at some point in their lives and that standard medical treatment is not effective in reducing pain.
The first harmful exercise is the “Superman”, which involves lying on your stomach and raising your arms and legs. This causes a strong contraction in the lower back.
The main reason this exercise is dangerous is that every time you hyperextend your spine, the facet joints (one of the joints between adjacent vertebrae) are compressed into a compromising position. The facet joints are incredibly sensitive and are often the site of many people’s back pain.
Adding a muscle contraction in this position can result in forces in excess of 6,000 Newtons (a Newton is a unit of force). To get an idea of what this type of force means, the NIOSH, which is a safety organization run by the US government, states that the maximum force allowed in the workplace is 6700 Newtons.
The “Superman” exercise approaches the maximum safe level of spinal compression force in a hyperextended (compromised) position, making this exercise a true spinal buster.
The tricky thing about this exercise is that movement (of any kind) usually provides relief at first, so this exercise may temporarily reduce pain. However, given the damage it can cause to the facet joints, this exercise is sure to increase back pain levels over time.
The second damaging exercise is the crunch or sit-up. It doesn’t matter whether or not this exercise is performed with the knees bent, straight, as full crunches, just crunches, or on a Swiss ball; this exercise will inevitably cause damage to the spine.
This is counterintuitive as the popular belief is that increasing “core” strength will reduce back pain. The truth is that increasing abdominal strength is not associated with back pain at all (however, muscular endurance does protect against back pain).
The problem with the crunch is that laboratory research has found that the easiest way to herniate a disc is to perform repetitive movements from flexion (bending) to extension (straightening back to normal) (a crunch involves flexing and then extending the column repeatedly).
As a result, performing sit-ups can increase disc wear as well as create or worsen disc herniations.
The final exercise is the lateral crunch. This oblique exercise involves holding a dumbbell or weight in your hand, then leaning to the side and coming back up. This is bad for your back for the same reasons as a crunch: repeatedly flexing and extending (straightening) your spine can cause a herniated disc.
