Is it possible to play sports with osteochondrosis: all the pros and cons

Sports and osteochondrosis: compatible or not?
Therapy for osteochondrosis in any localization will not be successful without daily exercise therapy or gymnastics. Some sports are also very beneficial for this degenerative disease. Neurologists recommend swimming, water aerobics, Pilates, and Nordic walking to patients. But some workouts put excessive stress on the spine, causing painful relapses. Therefore, only the doctor decides whether a patient with osteochondrosis can play sports.

CT scan of the lumbar spine for osteochondrosis.

Osteochondrosis and training: pros and cons

Osteochondrosis is quite compatible with many sports. This pathology, accompanied by the destruction of intervertebral discs, is often clinically manifested by numerous neurological disorders. Due to infringement of the vertebral artery and spinal roots by hernias, osteophytes, and muscle spasms, the patient’s general well-being worsens.

And regular sports training has a positive, healing effect on the entire body:

• improve blood circulation, stimulate the flow of nutrients into damaged vertebral structures;
• dilate blood vessels, providing oxygen flow to the brain, soft, cartilage, and bone tissues;
• eliminate compression of blood vessels and nerve endings by strengthening the muscle corset of the entire back;
• stabilize the vertebral bodies and intervertebral discs, prevent their displacement and the formation of hernial protrusion;
• improve the functioning of organs of all human vital systems.

Participating in some sports involves excessive stress on already damaged discs and vertebrae. Undoubtedly, during training, the blood supply to tissues with nutrients necessary for regeneration improves. But the rate of disk destruction will significantly exceed the rate of their recovery.

Alternative techniques

Today there are many other options for strengthening the back muscles and eliminating the prerequisites for the development of pathological changes in the spine. This:

• qigong;
• Tibetan gymnastics;
• V. Dikul's technique.

Qigong

The technique is taken from Chinese alternative medicine and is a holistic system that includes physical therapy, breathing exercises and meditation. Translated, “qigong” means energy flow and movement. Thus, the method represents a certain philosophy. It promises quick recovery from injuries, relief from back pain and increased flexibility.

Tibetan gymnastics

The method includes universal exercises that can be used for various diseases of the spine. They help strengthen the entire body and are based on muscle stretching techniques.

Usually it takes about 15 minutes to complete the entire set of exercises. As a result, joints are strengthened, blood circulation is improved and pain in the back goes away.

V. Dikul's technique

Its creator is Valentin Dikul, who, as an athlete, suffered a compression fracture of the spine in his youth and faced a long and difficult recovery period. During it, he tested many methods of exercise therapy and developed his own technique to eliminate spinal deformities and improve the patient’s condition in the presence of osteochondrosis and intervertebral hernias.

Useful tips

For the treatment of cervical, thoracic, and lumbar osteochondrosis, regular sports training is useful - at least 4 times a week. This regime allows you to constantly not only maintain the muscular frame of the back in good shape, but also constantly increase the strength and elasticity of muscle tissue.

Before training, be sure to warm up to prepare your muscles for the upcoming loads. And after completing the main classes, stretching exercises are useful, for example, hanging on a bar for 5 minutes.

Hanging on the bar.

Exercise therapy for the cervical spine

For disorders in the cervical spine, the main efforts are aimed at strengthening the neck muscles. Initially, exercises are prescribed to activate blood circulation. At the second stage, classes are directly therapeutic in nature, and at the third they are aimed at consolidating the achieved results.

Traditionally, exercises for the cervical spine are performed from a position lying on the stomach or back on a hard surface. The following can be cited as basic ones. Starting position – lying on the floor with straight arms and legs:

1. Raise your head 10–15 cm from the floor, fixate in this position for 10 seconds, and then smoothly lower to the starting position. Repeat 3 times.
2. Place the hands on the shoulders and make circular movements with the elbows in both directions so that on each side they touch the floor 4-5 times. The exercise will be repeated 5 times.
3. Hands are raised up so that the fingertips are strictly directed towards the ceiling. Then the shoulder blades are lifted off the floor enough to create tension in the neck muscles. At first, repeat up to 8 times, but gradually it is recommended to increase the number of repetitions.
4. Straight arms are moved behind the head. As you inhale, bend your legs at the knees and press them to your chest, and extend your arms forward. As you exhale, return to the starting position. It is important that your head is pressed to the floor at all times. Repeat 6 times.
5. Press the back of your head onto the floor, maintaining a tense state for about 4–5 seconds. Repeat 6 times. During the exercise, some discomfort may occur in the back of the head, but in this case it is acceptable.
6. The head is lifted off the floor and turned to the left, fixed for 5 seconds, turned to the right and fixed again for 5 seconds. Repeat 6 times with a 1-2 minute rest break between repetitions. If it is difficult to hold your head for 10 seconds, the exercise can be divided into 2 stages: raise and turn your head to the left, hold, lower and then raise your head again, turn to the right, hold and lower.
7. Hands are placed on the belt, and legs are bent at the knees. As you inhale, press your knees to your chest, and as you exhale, return them to their original position. Repeat 5 times.

Starting position – lying on your stomach:

1. The hands are joined into a lock and folded at the back of the head so that the elbows are parallel to the floor and the forehead rests on the floor. The head is raised and held in an elevated position for 5 seconds. Repeat 4 times.
2. Imitate crawl style swimming 8 times.
3. Place your palms in a lock and place your head on them. The legs are bent at the knees, trying to reach the buttock with the heel.

Permissible types of physical activity for osteochondrosis

After relieving severe pain and inflammation caused by soft tissue damage, the patient is referred to a physical therapy doctor. He studies the results of instrumental studies, prognosis for recovery and physical fitness of a person.

After analyzing all the data, the doctor recommends those sports that are most beneficial for the patient. He will tell you how to dose the load so as not to provoke another relapse.

Swimming

This is the most frequently recommended sport for osteochondrosis of any localization. Due to the difference in pressure on land and in water, the intervertebral discs are not subject to excessive stress. Swimming on your back is especially beneficial - posture improves, blood circulation accelerates, and displacement of vertebral structures is completely eliminated. During the first training or with severe osteochondrosis, you can use inflatable pillows or rafts.

It is possible to perform exercises in water that would be strictly prohibited on land. Therefore, rehabilitation of patients often takes place in swimming pools equipped with bridges, ropes, and handrails. With their help, the therapeutic effectiveness of water aerobics increases significantly.

Swimming is useful for pathologies of any location.

Physiotherapy

Therapeutic exercise and gymnastics are one of the effective methods of treating osteochondrosis. It is especially effective in combination with physiotherapeutic procedures, classical, acupressure, and vacuum massage. A set of exercises is compiled by a physical therapy doctor, taking into account the stage of the pathology and the number of complications that have developed. He is present at the first training sessions and controls the technique of performing movements.

After the patient’s well-being improves and basic skills are acquired, training can be continued at home. Doctors recommend hanging on a bar to increase the distance between the bodies of adjacent vertebrae, and training on exercise machines, for example, the Evminov board.

Gymnastics for osteochondrosis.

Pilates and fitness

Not all areas of fitness are therapeutically effective for osteochondrosis. The most useful are Nordic walking, fitball, and callanetics. But most often, exercise therapy doctors advise patients to Pilates, a system of physical exercises designed specifically for the rehabilitation of patients with pathologies of the musculoskeletal system. Training takes place both under the supervision of instructors and at home.

During classes, deep breathing is practiced with concentration on certain muscle groups. Movements in Pilates are smooth, with a small amplitude, frequent or slow. This exercise technique allows you to strengthen your back muscles in just a few weeks of regular training.

Pilates.

Yoga

Yoga is used to relax skeletal muscles, relieve painful muscle spasms and stiffness in the neck or lower back. This is the name for a set of various spiritual, mental and physical practices that help improve a person’s well-being and bring recovery closer. During yoga, the patient assumes various body positions in which certain muscle groups are stretched. They become more elastic due to improved trophism, saturation of cells with oxygen and nutrients.

Not all asanas are useful, especially for cervical osteochondrosis. Therefore, you should consult a physical therapy doctor about the safety and advisability of this method of therapy.

Callanetics

This is a system of complex static exercises, the implementation of which is aimed at contracting and stretching muscles. Callanetics is a bit like yoga, but unlike it, during training all muscles can be used at the same time. Classes involve a person being in an uncomfortable body position for a long time. Therefore, this system of exercises is indicated for people with good physical fitness.

Callanetics.

Shaping

This is a type of rhythmic gymnastics, initially aimed at changing shape and reducing body weight. A positive effect of regular exercise on the condition of the spinal column has been noticed. But for osteochondrosis, only those exercises are used that do not lead to unnecessary stress on the vertebrae and discs.

Doctors recommend doing shaping while sitting or lying on your back or stomach. You should choose stretching exercises, but avoid intense crunches.

Shaping.

Contraindications

Although regular moderate physical activity is very beneficial for the spine and the body as a whole, in some cases it is not recommended to engage in physical therapy.

• acute infectious diseases;
• atrioventricular block;
• oncology;
• mental disorders;
• uterine and other bleeding;
• high risk of developing thrombosis or embolism of blood vessels;
• severe disturbances of cerebral or coronary blood flow;
• serious diseases of the cardiovascular system;
• respiratory failure.

In some situations, only certain types of exercise are prohibited. Therefore, in order not to harm yourself, you should still trust the development of the exercise therapy complex to a specialist.

It is necessary to stop exercising and consult a specialist if pain occurs while performing an exercise.

Therapeutic physical education does not involve overcoming oneself and performing exercises through pain. Not a single exercise should bring pain, and their occurrence indicates an incorrect selection of exercises or a violation of the technique of performing them.

It is worth postponing exercise therapy classes for a while if:

• development of complications of existing spinal disease;
• exacerbation of a chronic disease;
• arrhythmia and surge in blood pressure;
• getting injured.

As soon as the patient's condition improves, physical therapy can be started or resumed. The load is increased gradually, without trying to achieve past results, especially during the recovery period after injuries or surgical interventions.

Ambiguous forms of physical activity

If before the development of osteochondrosis a person regularly jogged or rode a bicycle, then it is difficult for him to give up his favorite sport. But doctors often insist on stopping training due to the high risk of progression of the destructive process.

Run

During running, vertebral structures are subjected to static and dynamic loads - the vertebral bodies shift relative to each other, further injuring damaged intervertebral discs. For osteochondrosis of the first or second severity, the doctor may allow short runs, which must alternate with walking.

Running for osteochondrosis.

Bike

When riding a bicycle, the spine is in an anatomically incorrect position for a long time. This provokes circulatory disorders, deterioration of trophism and excessive tension in the skeletal muscles. It is allowed to ride a bicycle with cervical or thoracic pathology using orthopedic devices - Shants collars, elastic bandages with rigid inserts. This sport is prohibited for osteochondrosis of the lumbosacral localization.

A ride on the bicycle.

What conclusions can be drawn?

Daily exercise becomes an excellent prevention of involvement of healthy spinal structures in the destructive-degenerative process. They also help eliminate neurological symptoms - surges in blood pressure, headaches, dizziness, and a feeling of shortness of breath.

But the type of sports training should be agreed upon with your doctor. Otherwise, after a temporary improvement in well-being, not only the condition of the spinal segments will deteriorate, but also the functioning of all vital systems.