Increased risk of lower back injury occur during lumbar spine extension or stabilization activities. Back extension exercises involving complete lumbar spine range of motion have demonstrated primarily excellent or good results for those with chronic lower back pain. Excellent or good results by diagnosis: 76% Mechanical / Strain, 72% Degenerative, 78% Disc Syndrome, 75% Spondylo. In contrast, McGill condemns the use of isolated lumbar spine exercise apparatuses and argues erector spinae endurance is more important than strength. See Low Back Debate.
Increased risk of lower back injury can occur during hip flexion, extension, stabilization and back extension activities. Erector Spinae muscles can hyperextend lower back more than usual if abdominal muscles are weak. The abdominal muscles tilt the pelvis forward, improving the mechanical positioning of the Erector Spinae, specifically when the lumbar spine becomes straight. When abdominal strength/endurance is not adequate to counter the pull of the antagonist Erector Spinae under load, these low back muscles are put at a mechanical disadvantage (active insufficiency) further placing additional stresses on these very same lower back muscles. Iliopsoas can pull on the spine during hip flexor activities if the abdominal muscles are weak. Risk is compounded when abdominal weakness is combined with hip flexor inflexibility.
How the heck can that knee change so fast for the good? Oh yeah! Now we’re talking. Hitting the gym, over lunch, and 8 out of the 10 cyclinders are starting to click.
What do I mean by that? I shoot some hoops as a warm up to lifting. I haven’t really been able to jump very well with the left knee and leg since the patella was broken. I’m right handed which means, in basketball, a jump shot is predominately lead by the left foot. Today was the best my jump shot has been in awhile. I even did some wind sprints. Almost full speed. Even decelerating was a whole lot easier. I was always really quick and agile on my feet and be able to do this again feels so good to be getting back an important part of me. I never really cared to much about going running, except cross training in the winter, but boy o boy do I ever now just because I can.
I even did weights with the legs, which I hit hard yesterday, because they were feeling so good. I upped the the leg press to 310 lbs isolating each leg. Even the leg extension, at 95 lbs, is getting fairly easy with the left leg.
Going on 3 years, with a lot of pain and discomfort in that left leg, and things are really turning around.
That’s all I see in my future. Going to head down to St. Louis this coming weekend for the Tour de Grove. I might double up every day and do Masters and cat. 2/3′s just to beat my leg into submission. It seems to be able to handle it lately. Actually, pushing it harder now seems to be making big improvements on the strength. Even if I pull the plug on the 2,3′s race it’s well worth it. Some people go pay to go to cycling camps ect…. I would much rather use my money on racing when possible.
This past weekend, in Iowa City, there’s a fairly good size uphill. The previous years my knee just felt like is was giving out. By giving out, I mean buckling under the pressure. This year I didn’t have that sensation. I still played it conservatively during the race up that hill. I don’t want to ruin what I’ve gained. A few times I hit the bottom of the hill in a bigger gear than normal and shifted once towards the top to keep the rpm’s up. Very smooth and rhythmic. It felt really good to be able to do that again.
Once last point about the crit, the downhill is a screamer. A little rough through the entrance, apex and coming out. My rear skipped once. I’m such a light weight that can happen. Using sewups here is a good idea for just this reason. In warm ups I hit 38 mph. During the race it was 32 mph with others leading through the corner. I should got out front a few times. I think 40 mph might of had everyone on the edge.
I’ve gone back to the gym starting this past week hitting it on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I had quit going about 2 month ago. At Joe Martin Memorial Stage Race, last weekend, I noticed that my left leg just isn’t quite as strong as the right. Well, this isn’t the first time I’ve noticed it’s just been an ongoing thing since I broke my kneecap in September of 2009. Below you’ll notice some information and links from ExRx.net . My go to site when I want to understand fitness movements and exercises.
What I’ve noticed, in the gym, is that my left hamstring is still a bit weaker than the right. I struggle to get 6 sets 6 reps with 95lbs with the left leg. The right leg no problem. I do these one leg at a time, instead of using two legs, so I isolated and not favor my right leg. ( scroll down for the rest of the article. Dang, I can’t figure out why there’s this white space )
Increased risk of knee injury (instability) occur during knee extension activities, specifically when knees are flexed more than 90°. When hip and knee are simultaneously extending during a compound movement, hamstrings counter the anteriorly directed forces of Quadriceps. Also see Knee Stability and Angle of Pull for force vector explanation. Hamstrings / Quadriceps strength ratios should be greater than 56% to 80% depending on the population tested.
I have an easier go, this time around, when using the leg press.
Knee Stability
Closed-chain exercises like leg presses and squats can improve knee stability. The stresses placed upon the joints and muscles during closed- chained movements are more functional and offer more natural stresses on the body as compared to open-chain exercises like leg extensions. Also see Hamstring Weakness.
The quadriceps also seem to have a lot of atrophy. I’ve been using the leg extension just like the hamstring curl that I described above. The left quad has gotten stronger. I’m able to do 95lbs fairly easier than a couple months ago. Easier but not fast. First I’ll work on getting it stronger. Than I’ll work on explosiveness.
Increased risk of knee injury (chondromalacia) occurs during knee extension activities. The patella becomes laterally displaced with the pull of the vastus lateralis. This patella tracking problem can produce wear on the inferior patellar surface. Greater pain is usually experienced during leg extension activities in which the knee is a greater than a 20 to 30 degree angle. Avoiding full range of motion (i.e. not locking out) during Quadricep exercise may not allow the Vastus Medialis to be fully strengthened since it is more fully activated at these final degrees of knee extension.
Also, I’m going to do the upper body workouts again. Mostly focusing on the core. From the arms, down the trunk, to the legs it all interconnects. So I better keep at the upper body to help the lower body. It’s a simple routine but effective and efficient. One push, one pull, ab crunches with resistance and lower back extensions with resistance.
I am still seeing improvement. The last go around, in the weight room, had me concerned that I wasn’t going to get any better. That weakness and hobbling would be the norm. That riding a bike would keep on being painful. There’s still a lot of room for improvement. It’s going to take a lot of time as going on 3 years has shown.
The lighter, funnier side of science. It’s an ever changing field of study and that’s good. If everyone was like me I would get a lot more done. Then again, if everyone was like me how could I be so questionable and contrary.
What he said What he meant:
It has long been known that… I haven’t bothered to look up the original reference but….
Of great theoretical and practical importance… Interesting to me.
While it has not been possible to provide definite answers to these questions… The experiment didn’t work out, but I figured I could at least get a publication out of it.
The operant conditioning technique was chosen to study the problem… The fellow in the next lab already had the equipment set up.
Three of the Ss were chosen for detailed study… The results on the others didn’t make sense.
Typical results are shown… The best results are shown…
Agreement with the predicted curve is:
Excellent…Fair
Good…Poor
Satisfactory…Doubtful
Fair…Imaginary
It is suggested that…I think
It is believed that…I think
It may be that…I think.
It is generally believed that… A couple of other guys think so too.
It is clear that much additional work will be required before a complete understanding… I don’t understand it.
Unfortunately, a quantitative theory to account for these results has not been formulated… I can’t think of one and neither has anyone else.
Correct within an order of magnitude… Wrong.
Thanks are due to Joe Glotz for assistance with the experiments and to John Doe for valuable discussion. Glotz did the work and Doe explained what it meant.
Is it wise to practice weight training and aerobic exercise on the same day?
That issue is surprisingly contentious in the sports world. Many competitive athletes, their coaches and athletic trainers have come to believe that aerobic exercise, if practiced in close proximity to strength training, reduces the ability of muscles to strengthen and grow. Conversely, many contend that weight training performed on the same day as aerobic exercise blunts the endurance training response.
To counter the study on cold application, next article, here is a study on heat application from the same researchers.
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of increased local muscle temperature independent of core temperature on glycogenesis during recovery from exercise when adequate carbohydrate provisions were supplied. Nine recreationally active males (age, 23 ± 4 years; height, 178 ± 6 cm; weight 79 ± 9 kg) cycled for 92 min and recovered for 4 h. During recovery the subject’s legs were randomly assigned as the heated limb (heat pack application) and control limb (exposed to room air). Participants received 2 carbohydrate feedings (1.8 g·kg(-1) of body weight) at 0 and 2 h of recovery. Core temperature, intramuscular temperature, and leg circumference were monitored throughout recovery. Skeletal muscle biopsies samples of the vastus lateralis were obtained at the beginning and end of the 4-h recovery period on both legs and analyzed for glycogen and lactate. Core temperature did not change from throughout recovery. Muscle temperature in the heated limb was higher by 15 min and remained elevated throughout recovery compared with the control limb (p < 0.05). Leg circumference was not different between limbs. Lactate increased from postexercise to 4 h postexercise regardless of trial (p < 0.05). Muscle glycogen concentration increased with recovery and carbohydrate feeding in both limbs (p < 0.05) but was 22% higher in the heated limb compared with the control limb (p < 0.05). This study demonstrates increased glycogenesis when local muscle temperature is increased independent of core temperature.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of local cold application on muscle glycogen re-synthesis after exercise. Recreationally active male subjects n=11 completed a 90-minute glycogen depleting ride, followed by 4 h of recovery. During recovery, ice was applied intermittently to one leg IL while the subjects other leg CL acted as a control. Intramuscular and rectal temperature was recorded continuously. A carbohydrate 1.8 g∙kg-1 bodyweight beverage was supplied at 0 and 2 h post exercise. Muscle biopsies were taken immediately after exercise from the vastus lateralis and at 4 h post exercise for the analysis of muscle glycogen and muscle lactate. Leg circumference was measured 30, 60, 120, 180, and 240 minutes into recovery. The IL was colder than the CL from 15 minutes after initial ice application until the end recovery P<0.05. Immediate post-exercise glycogen was similar between legs 55.3±7.4 vs. 56.1±7 mmol∙kg-1 wet weight for the iced vs. control, respectively. However, muscle glycogen was lower in the IL compared to the CL at 4 h post exercise 72±8.4 vs. 95±8.4 mmol∙kg-1 wet weight, respectively; P<0.05. Muscle lactate was lower in the IL after 4 h of recovery compared to the CL 1.6±.2 vs. 2.6±.2 mmol∙L-1, respectively; P<0.05. There was no difference in circumference between IL and CL. These data demonstrate a reduction in muscle glycogen re-synthesis with local cold application.
Example preventative / corrective exercise:
Examples of affected exercises:
