No, Specific Exercises Will Not Cause Injury

There seems to be a recent trend by the public and the media to demonize specific exercises for their potential to open up the gates of hell and blast your body into oblivion. Perhaps this is not all that surprising considering that physical therapists themselves can use such language (well, not usually verbatim!) when instructing clients on the do's and don'ts of exercise prescription.

This is simply not true. There are no 'bad' exercises. However, the link between getting hurt and lifting is not a direct one, and certainly not due to a specific lift/exercise. There is poor execution, poor set up and cueing, and/or poor loading/programming, but don't blame it on the exercise. That said, everyone and their dog has heard of someone getting hurt from lifting heavy shit and perhaps this is where both the media and well intentioned therapists go wrong.

This CNN article is an example of such uninformed collaboration. The article is rife with both scientific and practical error, not to mention committing probably the worst sin that we can possibly commit: doing unintentional harm (nociception, in this case) to our clients.

Have a view at my response to the CNN article. Also, for those looking for a more research based response, check out this post where I respond to a physical therapist's column about avoiding certain exercises in rehabilitation and health settings.

Rebels Rant on Exercises PTs Know Cause Injury

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Dr. Scotty Butcher, BScPT, PhD, ACSM-RCEP, is an Associate Professor in Physical Therapy at the University of Saskatchewan, co-founder of Strength Rebels, and consultant at Synergy Strength and Conditioning in Saskatoon, SK, Canada. Formerly certified as a CSCS and currently training as a powerlifter and part time CrossFitter, he has a passion for strength training and translates this to promoting quality exercise training and rehabilitation practices for clinicians and students. His focus in research, teaching, and clinical work is on the hybrid rehabilitation/strength training approach, and shares his views through blogging and vlogging. Connect with Scotty on Twitter (@InkedProfScotty and @Strength_Rebels), Facebook, and YouTube.

Interested in live cases where I apply this approach and integrate it with pain science, manual therapy, repeated motions, IASTM, with emphasis on patient education? Check out Modern Manual Therapy!

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