Below are five exercises that keep your physical therapist in business:
1. Head Stands
Yes, you look cool in your outfit, and yes, you are getting improved blood flow to your head.
The vertebral segments of your neck, however, are not meant to bear weight like this.
The potential risk for neck injury is high, even if you are able to partially decrease the weight on your head by pressing through your arms.
2. Hand Stand Push-Ups
In the last year I have treated two athletes who have fallen directly on their heads while trying to perform this exercise.
One momentary lapse of shoulder power can cause buckling and a nasty impact to the head or neck.
One of these athletes had intense pain shooting down his arm for three months after his incident.
The “coolness” factor is high, but the same muscles can be worked by performing a seated overhead press. Why take the risk?
3. Heavy Dead Lifts
I am not opposed to doing this motion if the weight is light and the form is impeccable (no flexing of the lower back is allowed).
Otherwise, do not ever let anyone convince you that a heavy dead lift is good for you.
Published research shows that there is a huge “shearing” effect on the lumbar vertebrae with this exercise. Many a disc herniation has been precipitated by this exercise.
4. One-Armed Pull-Ups
Pull-ups should be performed symmetrically, with both arms! With a one-armed pull-up, too much force is placed on the relatively smaller muscles of the forearm. The wrist flexors and the brachioradialis muscles will often develop tendonitis from the huge loads placed on them. The shoulder is also forced into an unnatural forward position, causing disproportionate strain on the rotator cuff.
5. Knee Extension Machine
Believe it or not, most physical therapists are not wild about their patients using this machine. The reasoning behind this centers on the fact that straightening of the knee in this fashion (with the knee not fixed on the floor) is not a “functional” motion.
Patients who have patellar tracking issues largely do not tolerate this exercise well. Squatting motions or a “closed kinetic chain” leg press tend to have better results.
So leg extensions are bad because they’re open chain, but an overhead press is superior to a handstand pushup despite only the latter being closed chain? Also, a HSPU works your body quite differently than a seated overhead press. For starters, you’re upside down and with your hips extended.
And I’m glad you’re not opposed to deadlifts if the weight is light and the form is impeccable. But what if the weight is heavy and the form is impeccable? Hell, even experienced powerlifters will allow the spine to flex slightly during a max attempt, but it is always a few degrees away from end-range, thereby vastly reducing the risk of a herniation. Sure, an inexperienced lifter trying to lift as much weight as possible his first day in the gym may hurt himself, but that’s no reason to contraindicate heavy deadlifts for everybody. Light deadlifts will only get you so far. See: size principle. By the way, what constitutes heavy and light?
Next–“Pull-ups should be performed symmetrically, with both arms!” Says who? You certainly aren’t guaranteed tendinitis from doing one-arm pullups. As long as you work up the volume gradually and intelligently, there’s no need to assume that you’ll get an overuse injury just because of one exercise.
Regarding the knee extension: Yeah, that thing pretty much sucks.
Also, wouldn’t physical therapists love, not hate, these movements if they’re keeping them in business?
Lastly, sheering should be corrected to shearing.
Corrected the spelling(s) Brad, thanks for the editing!
In terms of the OKC, CKC debate, clinically I see the arms take a disproportionate beat down with closed kinetic chain activities. I am guessing that because we have evolved to be bipedal, the arms / shoulders tend to be designed for more reaching and manipulating objects rather than planting weight.
And your comment about the photo on our website is absolutely founded. It was used as an “eye catcher” that our trainers did when the photographer shot our space. When we get new shots it will probably be tucked away, but it sure is fun to look at.
Dead-lifting will always scare me. I have just seen too many people who have blown discs from doing that. Let me dig up the article on shearing, I will forward it to you.
Is it OK to fasten your bra behind your back ten and a half weeks after partial shoulder replacement surgery?
Shoulder replacement surgery should allow for enough range ultimately to allow you to don and doff a bra. Ten and a half weeks is relatively soon after the surgery however. I would start with some gentle stretching behind your back (with the doc’s approval) and work your way up your back from there. If I were to guess, I would say that sixteen weeks is a decent goal time for you.