Back Problems Related to Leg Press

[grnmchn]

Not sure if ya'll remember, but I have had lower back pain for about a year now and was diagnosed with DDD (Degenerative Disc Disease). As a result, I have been advise to not do squats or Dl's. So that pretty much leaves me with isolation leg movements. I have been staying away from leg press b/c I was unsure how my back would respond. My gym has a plate loaded angled leg press. Do you think this type of movement will hurt my lower back?

[THE BOUNCER]

is your back supported by a seat or is it the kind that puts the weight on the shoulders? anything that pushes down on your shoulders is bad. anything that supports your back in a seat is fine.

[grnmchn]

Yeah, it has the back support where you are basically seated on the floor with the sled on an angle up.

[redback]

Im not an expert but i would think your lower back would be ok on this movement as long as your sitting correctly and not "slouching" and keeping strict form.

On another note, im extremely paranoid on this machine. The one at my gym is the same as yours but it has the smallest welds. Im paranoid the little hooks are gona snap and the thing is gona crush my knees in between sets. I have had visions of this shit lol. Everytime i finish my set i have to keep my legs up on the plate or get up outta the seat. Yeah i know im a pussy.

[NYCmitch25]

honestly... get some advise and time with a specialist. I dont think your very informed about it (i know you not a doc). you may possible be able to go back to doing squats, leg press, etc.


Degenerative disc disease is a misnomer
A large part of many patients’ confusion is that the term “degenerative disc disease” sounds like a progressive, very threatening condition. However, this condition is not strictly degenerative and is not really a disease:

Part of the confusion probably comes from the term "degenerative", which implies to most people that the symptoms will get worse with age. The term applies to the disc degenerating, but does not apply to the symptoms. While it is true that the disc degeneration is likely to progress over time, the low back pain from degenerative disc disease usually does not get worse and in fact usually gets better over time.

Another source of confusion is probably created by the term "disease", which is actually a misnomer. Degenerative disc disease is not really a disease at all, but rather a degenerative condition that at times can produce pain from a damaged disc.

[grnmchn]

Originally Posted by NYCmitch25

honestly... get some advise and time with a specialist. I dont think your very informed about it (i know you not a doc). you may possible be able to go back to doing squats, leg press, etc.


Degenerative disc disease is a misnomer
A large part of many patients’ confusion is that the term “degenerative disc disease” sounds like a progressive, very threatening condition. However, this condition is not strictly degenerative and is not really a disease:

Part of the confusion probably comes from the term "degenerative", which implies to most people that the symptoms will get worse with age. The term applies to the disc degenerating, but does not apply to the symptoms. While it is true that the disc degeneration is likely to progress over time, the low back pain from degenerative disc disease usually does not get worse and in fact usually gets better over time.

Another source of confusion is probably created by the term "disease", which is actually a misnomer. Degenerative disc disease is not really a disease at all, but rather a degenerative condition that at times can produce pain from a damaged disc.

Thanks bro. I'm no expert on the subject, but I have read a couple articles about it. It's definitely not a crutch to me, and I don't use it as one. I'm sure I could go back to doing them, but my advise from the doc was not to do any lifting that vertically compresses my spine. It's just not something I want to take a chance on. I'd like to be physically able to play with my daughter as she grows up...I am not worried that my disc is getting worse, but the pain from certain activities hurts. I'm not trying to be a world class bb and I don't train like it. I workout as hard as my body allows for my goals.

[Control]

Originally Posted by grnmchn

Not sure if ya'll remember, but I have had lower back pain for about a year now and was diagnosed with DDD (Degenerative Disc Disease). As a result, I have been advise to not do squats or Dl's. So that pretty much leaves me with isolation leg movements. I have been staying away from leg press b/c I was unsure how my back would respond. My gym has a plate loaded angled leg press. Do you think this type of movement will hurt my lower back?

You can definitely hurt your lower back doing leg-presses, no doubt about it. If you lower the weight to the point where your hips "roll" back and your ass starts to come off the seat you're putting your lower back in a very dangerous position. This goes for anybody btw, not just people with your condition. What I would do is move the seat all the way forward (which sucks because the weight crushes your rib-cage at the bottom of the rep) and do high rep sets, making sure you aren't lowering the weight so much that your hips roll back (you shouldn't have a problem with the seat forward). Superset these with leg extension and you should be able to get a decent quad workout. I take it your DR. doesn't want you doing hack squats?

[nda246]

The leg press/sled tends to cause posterior pelveic tilt when the wheight is brought down real low. The problem is that the leg press is more effective the closer you can bring you knees to your chest.

A plate loaded squat machine would be best but doing individual leg exss like lunges or split squats are great and you can also do single leg SLDL to all but eliminat low back problems with leg training.

Most guys dont like lunges or split squats because of the lighter wieght but they fry my legs. I prefer two leg SLDL but I dont have back problems