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Thread: Inflexible hamstrings due to herniated disk

  1. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dillon Spencer View Post
    I have nothing of any medical or therapeutic value to offer to here, but I've been following this thread with interest and something came to mind after your most recent post. From this article:



    Your friend is afraid to perform an exercise that will strengthen his back in a position of rigid, anatomically normal extension because it involves added weight, but is perfectly happy to wiggle his already damaged spine through flexion and extension because it doesn't involve added weight. I get that you don't want to discourage him from training, but I think he needs as much help getting his mind right as his back right. Have you had him do any reading around here, or are you just hoping he'll take your word for everything? Referring him to some of the many articles about back pain and back strength might be helpful, if you haven't done so already.
    That's a good idea. I'll show him some of the articles/videos. I have referred him to this site many times already, when I told him about this forum post. However I'm not sure if the article you quoted really applies to his situation. As I remember, Rip wrote about back pain from degenerative changes that occur over time. In that case, spinal flexion and overextension can lead to back pain, which is undesirable. But my friend's injury is of a different nature and as it appears, back extensions don't cause him pain, whereas the rack pulls may very well do. So I don't think that back extensions are counter indicated for him. They are probably better than doing nothing. I'll try to explain to him though, that back extensions won't make him much stronger and therefore not help him as much as the rack pulls would.

  2. #22
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    Yeah Rip was talking about degenerative changes over time. 22 years may not be a lot of time, but it's still time. You say your friend's injury is different, but how? He just woke up with a shitty back one day. Sounds an awful lot like the random low back pain that we tend to associate with people older than 22, but it's not like he suffered an acute injury that would suggest that he's somehow a special snowflake in this regard. Again, this is my completely inexpert musing. It's just when I read that he was scared of the bar, but cool with back extensions, that article came to mind. Regardless of that specific article's relevance, helping him get educated about the value of a strong back certainly can't hurt!

    To offer further "advice" that's beyond my qualifications, I actually like the idea of RDLs more than rack pulls. This is completely an n=1 personal experience thing, but I find it much easier to set my back with something like an RDL that starts at the top than I do with a deadlift or rack pull that starts at the bottom. Plus you get the added bonus of a loaded stretch for those hammies. Just my $0.02

  3. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dillon Spencer View Post
    Yeah Rip was talking about degenerative changes over time. 22 years may not be a lot of time, but it's still time. You say your friend's injury is different, but how? He just woke up with a shitty back one day. Sounds an awful lot like the random low back pain that we tend to associate with people older than 22, but it's not like he suffered an acute injury that would suggest that he's somehow a special snowflake in this regard. Again, this is my completely inexpert musing. It's just when I read that he was scared of the bar, but cool with back extensions, that article came to mind. Regardless of that specific article's relevance, helping him get educated about the value of a strong back certainly can't hurt!

    To offer further "advice" that's beyond my qualifications, I actually like the idea of RDLs more than rack pulls. This is completely an n=1 personal experience thing, but I find it much easier to set my back with something like an RDL that starts at the top than I do with a deadlift or rack pull that starts at the bottom. Plus you get the added bonus of a loaded stretch for those hammies. Just my $0.02
    Dillon, there may be a couple things at work here. Sometimes.....oftentimes, people who ask questions are not actually asking to have their question answered so much as they are looking for validation for their own point of view. If you go back to the original response, I suggested RDLs because that is a technique I use in the clinic to rehabilitate people with back pain when they are not able to set their back at the bottom for the deadlift. I do this for exactly the reason you mentioned. Despite your lack of qualifications (your own admission, not an indictment on my part), you came to, what I believe, is the most logical solution.

  4. #24
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    Hey OP, I’m recovering from L5/S1 herniation. I can DL and squat.

    You say your friend is squatting, is this not stretching them out enough? I would think a properly performed squat would help regain the flexibility with time.

    Also, my .02, be careful with those back extensions. They can be hell on the discs if not done right. I never do them.

    Good luck!

  5. #25
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    @A Large Hand
    Yes he can squat below parallel. I guess that's because the hamstrings don't shorten in a proper squat as explained in THE book. For that same reason, I don't believe that squats are of much use as a hamstring stretch. So far it definitely wasn't. I might be wrong though.
    He's done RDLs for the first time today by Will's recommendation. So far so good. It turns out that his flexibility is even worse on some days than what I described in my first post. Earlier in the week he couldn't bend at the hips at all without going into a strong knee flexion.
    Thx.

  6. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by David Brinkmann View Post
    @A Large Hand
    Yes he can squat below parallel. I guess that's because the hamstrings don't shorten in a proper squat as explained in THE book. For that same reason, I don't believe that squats are of much use as a hamstring stretch. So far it definitely wasn't. I might be wrong though.
    He's done RDLs for the first time today by Will's recommendation. So far so good. It turns out that his flexibility is even worse on some days than what I described in my first post. Earlier in the week he couldn't bend at the hips at all without going into a strong knee flexion.
    Thx.
    I'd really doubt you are actually dealing with a true hamstring length issue. If I were a betting man, I'd say this was a sciatic nerve tension problem.

  7. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by Will Morris View Post
    I'd really doubt you are actually dealing with a true hamstring length issue. If I were a betting man, I'd say this was a sciatic nerve tension problem.
    Can you expand on that? As in, how do you get past it? My wife has had so-called "tight" hamstrings for years, but she also has some issues with sciatica (and lower into the peroneal nerve, although it's gotten better since she's started NLP). She's been doing light, slow RDLs as part of her warmups for the squat and it's really seemed to help. Although she doesn't have much problem with deadlifts.

  8. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matt James View Post
    Can you expand on that? As in, how do you get past it? My wife has had so-called "tight" hamstrings for years, but she also has some issues with sciatica (and lower into the peroneal nerve, although it's gotten better since she's started NLP). She's been doing light, slow RDLs as part of her warmups for the squat and it's really seemed to help. Although she doesn't have much problem with deadlifts.
    This is one of the few instances where traditional therapy-type exercises can be of benefit. Seated sciatic nerve glides / supine sciatic nerve glides can be used to decrease symptoms. I use them quite often in the clinic when pulls and RDLs aren't sufficient enough to bring about complete symptom relief.

  9. #29
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    Good to know. She has had decent results from peroneal nerve flossing. I'll pass it along. Thanks.

  10. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matt James View Post
    Good to know. She has had decent results from peroneal nerve flossing. I'll pass it along. Thanks.
    I'd have her trial moving up the posterior thigh and doing more proximal based sciatic nerve flossing (less emphasis on the amount of knee flexion / dorsiflexion) and focus my efforts more on the head and the amount of hip flexion.

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