Extreme Pain After Hyperextensions

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

So I have Kyphosis, which is a rounding of the upper back, and Lordosis, which is an inward curvature of the lower back. Its lots of fun!

So, I go to the gym thinking that I need to work my lower back to strengthen it to help solve these problems.

I have been training for a long time now, but for the first time today tried Hyper extensions with a 25 pd plate.

While doing it, I felt fine.

But, right after, I was in severe pain in my lower back, and actually in my Quads. I had to sit down for 10 minutes before I could really move.

This has never happened before. Ideas?

2

I dont know why that could have happened, but there are plenty more great exercises for your back.

3

Disc prob? (Sciatica?)

4

What kind of pain was it? Dull or sharp?

How were you doing them? On a GHR or on a 45 degree roman chair?

How many sets and reps?

My “over the internet” guess is that you over did it.

5

Get it checked out by a doctor.

Whatever the reason, I would avoid that particular exercise.

6

I did it on one of those diagonal benches where you are standing and bend from your waist.

Thats the best way I can explain.

It looked like this:

And it was not really a sharp pain, but more of a dull pain that was so intense that I had trouble standing afterwards.

7

I have had the same thing happen many times when I first started doing hypers. I would describe it as a cross between a wicked cramp/dull pain and what feels like massive lactic acid buildup. With this exercise in particular there seems to be a fine line (2-3 reps) between working hard and becoming immobilized.

I wonder myself if its a lumbar disc issue or more of a muscular thing. Im no kines but I have always been conscious to keep my back straight, not actually hyperextend, bend at the waist, and I can still get that feeling from time to time.

8

[quote]Novitennis88 wrote:
So I have Kyphosis, which is a rounding of the upper back, and Lordosis, which is an inward curvature of the lower back. Its lots of fun!

So, I go to the gym thinking that I need to work my lower back to strengthen it to help solve these problems.

I have been training for a long time now, but for the first time today tried Hyper extensions with a 25 pd plate.

While doing it, I felt fine.

But, right after, I was in severe pain in my lower back, and actually in my Quads. I had to sit down for 10 minutes before I could really move.

This has never happened before. Ideas?[/quote]

Well, I was swaybacked too and had back problems for years, so I did hyperextensions religiously to help. After reading up for a bit, I realized that these were causing my back issue. I stopped and haven’t had nearly as much trouble.

Here’s the issue (please correct me if I’m wrong people). What you ought to be working are your hamstrings. Your abs are opposed by the hamstrings, not the back – an important point since most people don’t seem to know this. The lower back is not designed for much movement and you will end up overworking the muscles (in particular the quadratus lumborum).

The back essentially should be in isometric tension if you are planning to load it in any way. So, I’ve gotten sold in some unilateral exercises that give a lot of bang for the buck. They hit what you need for a happy back, but none of the loads are so high as to trigger problems.

The first is stiff-legged single leg deads. You can see them in this article:

http://www.michaelboyle.biz/joomla/content/view/40/34/

but he only shows a simple variation with a bar. Grab a dumbbell or two, keep your back ramrod straight (ankle - hip - shoulder are always in a line). A completely straight leg does the hamstrings, a leg bent to 25 - 30 degrees does the glutes. This will keep the load off your back and place it where is should be. I do 5x10 with a pair of 70 lb. dumbbells. That’s a lot for this exercise.

Some people swear by good mornings and these are ok if you don’t have mechanical issues.

The other really good one is the twisted deadlift aka windmill:

I’d start with a dumbbell in the lower hand and not much in the upper, if anything, since that can overload your rotator cuff unless you work up to it gradually. Get good at having the load in the lower hand first since that will help your lower body more. I do 5x5 with a 90 lb. dumbbell in the lower hand. This is again a lot of weight for this. If you really get your heart set on doing 2 hands, write me and I’ll fill you in (it’s a lot more technical than it looks!)

Work them on alternate days rather than together as they are more taxing than they look. You will never be pulling these like regular deads, so don’t think of these as heavy lifts, but your back will be much happier and most any other lift you are doing will benefit. Generally I don’t do heavy deads because of back issues, but these plus front squats cover everything.

Hope this helps,

– jj

9

Pain in both the low back and quads is usually symptomatic of disc pathology. You need to have it checked out by a qualified health care practitioner to be certain. Another poster mentioned not doing hypers and I completely agree.

In the cases of lumbar lordosis the quads and low back muscles (Quadratus Lumborum, Thoracolumbar apenerosis or the fascia that becomes the erector spinae, Psaos)are tight and need to be lengthened (although this becomes tricky because of the kyphosis in the thoracic spine). While the hams, and rectus abdominis needs to be strengthened. Also, stay away from leg lift types of exercises.

10

[quote]jj-dude wrote:
Novitennis88 wrote:
So I have Kyphosis, which is a rounding of the upper back, and Lordosis, which is an inward curvature of the lower back. Its lots of fun!

So, I go to the gym thinking that I need to work my lower back to strengthen it to help solve these problems.

I have been training for a long time now, but for the first time today tried Hyper extensions with a 25 pd plate.

While doing it, I felt fine.

But, right after, I was in severe pain in my lower back, and actually in my Quads. I had to sit down for 10 minutes before I could really move.

This has never happened before. Ideas?

Well, I was swaybacked too and had back problems for years, so I did hyperextensions religiously to help. After reading up for a bit, I realized that these were causing my back issue. I stopped and haven’t had nearly as much trouble.

Here’s the issue (please correct me if I’m wrong people). What you ought to be working are your hamstrings. Your abs are opposed by the hamstrings, not the back – an important point since most people don’t seem to know this. The lower back is not designed for much movement and you will end up overworking the muscles (in particular the quadratus lumborum).

The back essentially should be in isometric tension if you are planning to load it in any way. So, I’ve gotten sold in some unilateral exercises that give a lot of bang for the buck. They hit what you need for a happy back, but none of the loads are so high as to trigger problems.

The first is stiff-legged single leg deads. You can see them in this article:

http://www.michaelboyle.biz/joomla/content/view/40/34/

but he only shows a simple variation with a bar. Grab a dumbbell or two, keep your back ramrod straight (ankle - hip - shoulder are always in a line). A completely straight leg does the hamstrings, a leg bent to 25 - 30 degrees does the glutes. This will keep the load off your back and place it where is should be. I do 5x10 with a pair of 70 lb. dumbbells. That’s a lot for this exercise.

Some people swear by good mornings and these are ok if you don’t have mechanical issues.

The other really good one is the twisted deadlift aka windmill:

I’d start with a dumbbell in the lower hand and not much in the upper, if anything, since that can overload your rotator cuff unless you work up to it gradually. Get good at having the load in the lower hand first since that will help your lower body more. I do 5x5 with a 90 lb. dumbbell in the lower hand. This is again a lot of weight for this. If you really get your heart set on doing 2 hands, write me and I’ll fill you in (it’s a lot more technical than it looks!)

Work them on alternate days rather than together as they are more taxing than they look. You will never be pulling these like regular deads, so don’t think of these as heavy lifts, but your back will be much happier and most any other lift you are doing will benefit. Generally I don’t do heavy deads because of back issues, but these plus front squats cover everything.

Hope this helps,

– jj[/quote]

11

[quote]chriscarani wrote:
Good info bro. However, the hamstrings are synergist to the rectus abdominis. : )
[/quote]

Thanks for the info! Just to get this straight. The erector spinae oppose the rectus abdominus?

– jj

12

Yes.