7 exercises you should not do when you have an intervertebral hernia

Intervertebral hernia is a disease from which no one is immune. The highest risk of herniation is for people who are overweight and those who have ever suffered from spinal problems. Hernia can also occur as a result of trauma. The disease, although unpleasant, can be treated. If you still do not want to give up sports for the recovery period, we will tell you what exercises should not be done with this problem and what can replace them.

Supervízor a školiteľ svetovej triedy

A herniated disc occurs when the intervertebral disc is displaced. The discs between the vertebrae perform many important functions in our body, they are subjected to a heavy load every day. In case of injury, the fibrous ring that surrounds the disk is destroyed, respectively, and the disk itself is displaced. Everything is accompanied by painful sensations.

What exercises can not be done with intervertebral hernia?

• Squats with weights.
• Ťahanie v stoji.
• Presses from standing and sitting.
• Jumping rope.
• Beh.
• Fast walking.
• Twisting.

Exercises from this list should not be performed. The universal rule – if you feel the slightest pain in the problem area, this is a signal to stop. And otherwise preventive exercises can lead to bad consequences, and things will become even worse than they were before.

The main thing is to remember that the hernia is temporary, and in most cases it will pass on its own without surgical intervention. Your task is not to interfere with the recovery process and, if possible, support it. All of the above exercises will not contribute in any way to the passage of the hernia, sharp movements and lifting weights increase the load on the spine, which is very likely to aggravate the injury.

How can they be replaced?

But if you accidentally earned yourself such an unpleasant “sore”, it does not mean that sports activities should be postponed until full recovery, rather the opposite. In this period, sports are necessary, it is called therapeutic exercise.

Some types of activity, will reduce the load on the spine and strengthen the muscles of the back, which is beneficial to recovery. The whole list is quite extensive, so everyone will find something to do:

• Pilates;
• fitness;
• swimming;
• stretching;
• yoga;
• treadmill exercises.

What does the doctor say?

sports medicine doctor, rehabilitation specialist, expert of the UniProf Academy of Physicians

To understand what exercises for intervertebral hernias can be done, we first need to understand what kind of hernia it is. Hernias come in different sizes, they may or may not give stenosis of the spinal canal. They may or may not compress the spinal roots. Depending on the size, the symptomatology of the hernia, the stage (acute or chronic), and the size of the hernia will determine the recommendations we can make. Accordingly, we first make a diagnosis: we determine what kind of hernia it is and how dangerous it is, what condition it is in. And if this condition is not acute, then you can start exercises, if it is acute, then here the load can be recommended only by a doctor on clinical examination. Independently perform any exercises in the acute stage and with pain syndrome, of course, you can not. None of these types of exercises will not be suitable in the acute stage.

Even the most innocuous Pilates exercises can be harmful if not properly practiced. If, again, we consider the chronic process, not acute, then, in principle, all of the above loads can be performed, but with the consideration that the patient is engaged under the supervision of a specialist.

Exercises should not bring pain and discomfort, they must be selected correctly. Pilates is a good functional load.

Fitness. There can be quite a lot of options – from light fitness to some heavy interval under load. It’s all individualized.

Swimming will be a good load, but only for someone who has exercised before. A person who has a hernia, who has never swam, is likely to have lame technique, the load on different parts of the back will increase.

Yoga for beginners is quite easy, but asanas should be selected depending on the patient. There are poses that increase the load on the lower back or neck, such as halasana. An experienced trainer knows that such asanas are not recommended for back problems.