Is the Circle Arch Up a risky movent for your lower back?

I was doing Circle Arch Ups (SL/PE6) today at my gym. And a Physical Therapist approached me after a set asking me why I was doing them. He informed me that this is a risky movement because of the twisting and bending load you place on the disks in your spine. Is this true?

I can understand why the physical therapist thinks this as this is what we are taught at University/college. I would have said the same before I started Foundation.

Unfortunately my training never involved rotation/twisting as I believed it would cause injury. Not surprising I had terrible mobility and strength with any rotation. Thankfully this has improved over the last several years. I actually love the feel of the circular arch up and it has done wonders for my rotational strength. Before Foundation I had terrible back pain daily. I kept my spine in neutral and never rotated. Now my back feels great and I perform rotation stretches daily.

The Physical therapist would not know you have done the appropriate preparation worry to get to this level. Even if you tell them they will not really understand unless they are doing the program themselves and have felt the benefit.

Coach is not going to give us access to a program that will hurt us. So keep going and enjoy the benefits of the arch ups through all ranges.

Haha! The physical instructors and physios who train at my workplace gym have long since given up trying to warn me off stuff like this Had some excellent discussions on Cuban presses, so much SL work, and of course inside squats and dislocates.

They can't understand why I'm the only one there everyday who isn't complaining about joint pain etc

Just make sure that if anyone newer to training asks you about things you are doing, stress that most things are safe provided you work up to them. A lot of people underestimate the leverage manipulation in GST and do not appreciate the risks of just jumping unprepared into it. I feel there is a touch of responsibility on our part to emphasize that when it comes up (of course people will do what they want but...)

The discs are designed to rotate, bend twist, compress and decompress. 

 

Osteopaths learn that flexion and rotation cause increased internal pressures to occur within discs, but not that those movements are inherently bad for you. We learn about the importance of force transference and dissipation in myofascial and skeletal elements and when these systems are working adequately, we can perform all sorts of movements without the risk of injury.

 

The idea of rotation and flexion being bad for discs is good advice when someone is suffering from a disc problem (bulge/prolapse) and healing is the primary focus, but it has become widely misunderstood by many professionals including Osteopaths, Doctors and Chiropractors too. I have recently had a cut on my knuckle of my little finger (form changing a car wheel at the recent Masterclass in Stroud :-) and it took almost 4 weeks to heal, simply because I kept bending the knuckle and reopening the wound as it was trying to heal.

 

After 3 weeks of stupidity I finally taped it straight and it healed within 2 days :-)

 

The analogy is the same for discs. Minimise stress during healing (4-6 week period, roughly) avoiding loaded flexion, heavy lifting, excessive rotation etc. But for rehab you need exactly what is in F1!