“Exercises to Avoid”
Many people are doing double leg raises from lying on their backs to hanging with supported elbows on pull up racks. Full sit ups also fall under this category. If you are doing any of these exercises, then you are probably damaging your spine. Many people think they are doing it correctly and are not. I believe that even if you are doing it properly then you are still probably doing damage.
Why? Because in trying to improve your abdominal strength you are also using the hip flexor muscles which attach and pull on the lower spine with each repetition. Over time the ligaments connecting this part of your spine become stretched out and don’t ever go back to the way they were.
I can tell by looking at a person’s back if they are doing or have done this exercise for an extended period of time. These people usually come to physical therapy with some type of back pain at some point in their life.
So . . . give them up! Do crunches to get your six pack! You won’t hurt yourself in the process.
