Question
Hello,

I am a gymnast and on my team there is a girl who couldn't really train for the last 2 months. She is constantly rubbing her back and she says she injured it a year ago. I don't know what it is exactly, but she said it happend from bending over repetetively, kike in walkovers and stuff. This girl is really sad, because she says she can do nothing without pain.

I am pretty scared now this might happen to me too. I already had some injuries that kept me out of training for weeks, and this is really nasty. As I am already 20, I do not want to be careless with my body, because I want that tumbling/sports will always be part of my life, at least for the next years!

I often do backbends as I am really flexible in general. I can do a front walkover easily, and I have just learned a backbend rollover. It is no problem if I am warmed up properly.

So I actually wanted to improve my back flexibility in the future. I wanted to perfect the backbend rollover and practice on needles and arched handstands/elbow stands.

But if this puts me on a big risk for injury, I will just strecht my shoulders and don't stretch the back anymore, or just a little bit.

I am 20 soon, but till I was 14 or 15, I was never doing backbends, or just a very few in ballet, but I was always pretty flexible. I started doing them occassionally at age 16 and till one year I train regualary, but in the last time I tried to avoid them.
My trainer said that "no movement is really harmful for your body" but you should try to not do everything from your lumbar spine. But I don't now how I can bend my middle or upper spine? All the backbenders bend above their lumbar spine.

I banned all the "active" stuff, like walkovers, and limbers. I also don't "fall" into it or "stand up" out of it, but instead lie on ground and press up into it.
I acutally wanted to learn a deeper backbend, because I wanted to have a needle and a better backbend rollover. I have never ever had any kind of pain in my back and I really don't want to risk it!


I would really like to do a needle, but I don't know if even those static stretching things, like sitting in a split and reaching toward your leg or just do a bridge and press towards your legs more and more, can also cause injuries?

I they would set me on risk for that, I will just focus on stretching and strenghtening my shoulders, because health and being able to do the sports in the future is what counts to be!

Answer
Hi Alex,

Any sport has the potential for injury. I would suggest seeing a chiropractor or therapist that can examine for muscle imbalances, potential areas of orthopedic concern and perhaps do some x-rays to make sure there is nothing structurally that would indicate a problem now or in the future. If there are no issues to address, then a good trainer should be able to advise you.

All the best!

Dr. Steve