Thread: Shoulder training & back problem

well, how bad is your scoliosis?? Some people have what is called functional scoliossis which also them to do most things that everyone else can.

In all honesty, every thing you do in the weight room has some sort of compression on the spine, so if you are working out currently and you are not having problems then you may be okay.

Here are some suggestions I have:

1) don't do anything seated as sitting down, especially on overhead presses, is going to really compress the spine as you are leaving yourself no room to absorb the reactive forces and inertial demands being placed on the body. Most people who sit end up sliding forward a little, making it more of an incline bench press anyway except with no lumbar support, leaving the spine in a dangerous position.

2) When doing standing presses try and stay upright. Most people lean backwards, again making it almost an incline bench press, this will compress your lumbar spine. When I do standing barbell presses and when I teach it I have the person start with the bar down under their chin and look forward. Then pull there chin in, still looking forward, never looking up as this usually leads to some spinal extension. Then start moving the bar and when you get it to about eye level you want to pusk your shest and head through so that you are underneath the bar for the lockout, the bar should be above you so that if you were to drop it it would split you right in half. Most people end with the bar out in front of them a little bit, at an angle...this will not only lead to a great amount of shoulder stabaliztion, expecailly as the weight gets heavier, and much more compression on the spine as you are forced to stabalize a weight that is out in front of you instead of lining up over your center of gravity.

hope those suggestions can help you out a little bit.

Originally posted by P-funk
well, how bad is your scoliosis?? Some people have what is called functional scoliossis which also them to do most things that everyone else can.

Well, it's not that bad really. Apart from the fact that my shoulders/thoracical/abdominal regions are somewhat uneven I don't have any problems. And I don't have any pain or anything like that either, so it's not that serious really. I'm gonna have it checked out one of these days (hopefully!).

BTW, somebody suggested that I do my bb curls on an incline bench, but as far as I can understand what you're saying that really wouldn't be ok, as it would put even more pressure on the spine. Correct?

So it sounds like you should be able to get away with most training. Feel out the exercises and see how they are. I trained a women once that had functional scoliosis. Her docotor said she could even do straight leg deadlifts, which is usually a no no for most who have scoliosis.

Originally posted by cmf85ro
BTW, somebody suggested that I do my bb curls on an incline bench, but as far as I can understand what you're saying that really wouldn't be ok, as it would put even more pressure on the spine. Correct?

No, you can get away with the incline bench for bicep curls because of the angle and the lumbar support. Bicep curls can really put pressure on the lumar spine, especially when the bar is out in front of you (when your arms are parallel to the ground), as your body is really trying to solve for equilibrium because your center of gravity is shifting, due to the fact that you are displacing appendages (with weight) into space. I was speaking mainly about overhead presses and sitting down.