Heavy Lifting

[Antonio35]

I wasn't sure where to post this message, but I know it's a very relevant healthcare topic. I'm not a student doctor; I'm a technical writer. I used to be an avid weightlifter. I admire students, like you, who work so hard to solve difficult problems, and I wanted your help, or feedback.

I recently joined the most popular bodybuilding site on the Internet, where there is an "exercises" forum and an "injuries" sub-forum. In the "exercises" forum, you see quite a few heavy deadlifting "form check" videos that must make a neurosurgeon or orthopedic surgeon cringe. Similarly, in the "injuries" sub-section of that forum, there are so many stories and questions about back (spine) injury from deadlifting.

This is a spectacle of public mutilation (it truly is, but you have to be thoughtful to recognize it), and it makes it so sad that the responses people get don't offer them the knowledge or help they need to avoid degenerative disc disease. Honestly, it's weird that I am even a member of that forum; I have bulging discs, reverse cervical lordosis, and I struggle every day with chronic pain (at 35 years old).

There is a lot more I could say. I see people running toward the drop-off, and no one giving them the insight they need to even make an informed decision. I've helped a few to make a change, but I'm only one person and an anomaly on those forums. For those people, the last, and perhaps only, line of defense is failing.

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[TheZaLord]

I'm not super hippy dippy, but I am a "granola eating yoga do-er" (because, why not, it's tasty?).

Soooo...take what I say with a grain of salt, and obviously, consult a ortho doc or whatever first. But, in college I did something bad to my back while dead lifting and had lower left back pain NON-STOP. I had shooting pains go down my leg, it would go numb, it hurt to sit if I didn't lower myself slowly enough- even rolling over in bed. I am not a pill popper so I rarely took anything for it but ibuprofen once in a great while.
Did some rehab which helped, but did not eliminate.

But, yoga- oh man, was that a God-send. That helped so, so, much in strengthening and flexibility, and took pressure off this area that was so painful.
So for your stuff, maybe find out from your doc if it's worth a try.

As far as the gym rats go- you can tell them, but likely they won't listen. Lifters especially seem to think they know it all about form and consequence, and many do- but those that don't aren't ready to listen in my experience. So I am not sure what advice to offer there.
It's the same as my Crossfitter friends. I have had patients with rhabdomyolysis come through before, and warned my friends what can happen. No one listened until it happened to a girl in their class. She almost died, and most of them just kept on going with it.

So...yeah. It may be better to frame as- this is what I do to avoid injury, etc...what do you all do, or ask them to offer a critique of an exercise, etc.

I also am part of a health coaching program (as a client) called precision nutrition, and they have a wealth of nutritional and fitness information you may find helpful.

 

[GH253]

I wasn't sure where to post this message, but I know it's a very relevant healthcare topic. I'm not a student doctor; I'm a technical writer. I used to be an avid weightlifter. I admire students, like you, who work so hard to solve difficult problems, and I wanted your help, or feedback.

I recently joined the most popular bodybuilding site on the Internet, where there is an "exercises" forum and an "injuries" sub-forum. In the "exercises" forum, you see quite a few heavy deadlifting "form check" videos that must make a neurosurgeon or orthopedic surgeon cringe. Similarly, in the "injuries" sub-section of that forum, there are so many stories and questions about back (spine) injury from deadlifting.

This is a spectacle of public mutilation (it truly is, but you have to be thoughtful to recognize it), and it makes it so sad that the responses people get don't offer them the knowledge or help they need to avoid degenerative disc disease. Honestly, it's weird that I am even a member of that forum; I have bulging discs, reverse cervical lordosis, and I struggle every day with chronic pain (at 35 years old).

There is a lot more I could say. I see people running toward the drop-off, and no one giving them the insight they need to even make an informed decision. I've helped a few to make a change, but I'm only one person and an anomaly on those forums. For those people, the last, and perhaps only, line of defense is failing.

Intense lifting isn't dangerous; fast lifting (involving high acceleration) is. Slow lifting, with an emphasis on minimizing acceleration, is very safe.

I highly recommend the book "Body By Science" by Doug McGuff, MD as a primer on rational exercise.

 

[DrMason]

Intense lifting isn't dangerous; fast lifting (involving high acceleration) is. Slow lifting, with an emphasis on minimizing acceleration, is very safe.

I highly recommend the book "Body By Science" by Doug McGuff, MD as a primer on rational exercise.

No doubt about that. I will also add here that PERFECT FORM is something you should never be complacent about. Dead lifts can be risky due to the high weight you need to load and if form is only 90%, even that can spell trouble.

Not that this is ANTHING special with dead lifts though. Squatting and benching are of similar concerns. High accelaration exercised ( cleans) give awesome upper body effects, but clearly also have to be even more good with regards to form. Most importantly, I believe is to pick a good warm-up set so you already solidify firm early on.