Being both a bodybuilder and a chiropractor means I get a lot of questions from fellow athletes and gym members. I'm ok with that, because it makes more sense for a guy who is having pain or symptoms during his workouts to ask for advice from a health professional who understands what he is going through. Good luck asking your family practice doctor how to minimize low back stress when doing a set of 500 pound squats! (Don't even get started with bench press mechanics!) With that in mind, I've compiled the five most common questions about chiropractic and its relationship to the hazards of working out.
I have horrible low back pain when I do...(insert exercise)...Can chiropractic help?
This is the bread and butter of chiropractic. Studies have proven over and over the positive effect that spinal adjustments can have on low back pain. It is more effective than any other form of care. Athletes aren't little old ladies, or obese couch potatoes, though, so in finding a doctor, you may want to search out someone with experience with treating athletes. Certain chiropractors focus on adding rehabilitation and specific spinal stability exercises to their treatment protocols. This is going to benefit you the most. It may take a series of adjustments and treatment sessions to get the pain gone, and then even more to get rid of the bad habits that started the problem in the first place. Ask your potential chiropractor about additional training that he or she may have had in sports or rehabilitative methods of care.
My neck is always stiff, and I usually get headaches after training. Why is that?
This is often a result of poor form that I can see from across the gym. Far too many people try to generate extra force by tucking their chin toward their chest during the concentric (positive) part of the repetition. This leads to a situation known as upper crossed syndrome (see figure) where the upper neck flexors become weak, along with the lower neck extensors, but the big lower neck flexors and the upper neck extensors get over-dominant. This creates a decreased range of motion in the neck and a high level of stress that jams the skull into the neck. This usually also leads to headaches. Watch the form, and perform cervical retractions (pull your chin straight back and give yourself a double chin) at home to help alleviate this issue.
What can be done about the tightness between my shoulder blades?
Mid back stiffness is pretty common in the bodybuilder population. Let's face it. We love doing chest work and working on the "mirror muscles." Flexing those muscles in the front of your body increases the curve in your mid back, called a kyphosis. When this position holds over into your posture, the discs in your mid back end up supporting all the weight of your head and shoulders. Be sure to work on your back and rear delts to keep a good postural balance. A great exercise to increase mid back flexibility is dumbbell pullovers, focusing on the stretch at the negative end of the repetition. See your chiropractor to loosen up the spinal structure and work on postural correction.
The front part of my shoulder hurts when I'm doing different styles of bench press. Did I tear my rotator cuff?
The shoulder is an extremely complicated joint. It is not a true ball and socket joint. It is more like a ball and plate joint, where the ball part of the arm bone is held in the center of the plate part of the shoulder blade by a group of four separate muscles called the rotator cuff. When the arm bone begins creeping toward the front part of the joint, it can pinch on the tendons of the rotator cuff. This is a situation known as impingement syndrome. It can lead to partial or full tears, or cause excruciating pain even without a tear. The key here is to push your shoulder blades down toward your waist and work on not letting your traps shrug your shoulders up and further pinch these tendons. Strengthen the rear delts, and be sure to stretch your pecs out between sets. Switch to flye motions for a few workouts. Although this is the most common situation, be sure to get this checked by a sports physician.
Running on the treadmill gives me knee pain. What should I do?
The easy answer is: Don't run on the treadmill. You're a bodybuilder! Other forms of lower impact cardio (elliptical, recumbent bike, or even walking on the treadmill) are of equal or greater effectiveness in burning fat and getting a cardiovascular workout. However, for those of you crazy people who love to run...Much of the problem depends on where the pain is. If it is just below the kneecap, it is usually patellar tendonitis, which can be alleviated by selective icing and stretching and corrected with exercise that is not general enough to explain here. You can also try altering the incline of the treadmill to see if that makes a difference. Because the knee can present with so many options, I highly recommend seeing a chiropractor or orthopedic doctor who has specialized trained in knee issues. It may require some simple in office tests, or perhaps an MRI to determine the actual cause of pain.
So there you have it. Remember, see a doctor if your problem becomes serious, as these are just general guidelines, and each individual is different. If you have your own questions, you can e-mail me at [email protected], and I will be happy to respond. Until next time, stay healthy!
Dr. Craig Banks is the owner and practicing physician at Pinnacle Chiropractic Health & Wellness Center in Brimfield and Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. He is a Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician (CCSP®) and treats several local and professional athletes. He is also an NPC bodybuilder. More information is available at www.pinnaclechiro.com .
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