Morning Breath Club, Bending, and Lumbar Disc Injury

So I mentioned last week that I’m training in the wee hours of the morning these days due to a busy schedule.  I didn’t expect so many of you to be so concerned for my lumbar spine health.

First thanks for reading the blog, second, thanks for caring, third, congrats for reading Dr. McGill’s book, and fourth, don’t sweat it.

For those who’re in the dark about my comment above.  Here’s the scoop.

As you sleep, the lumbar discs are decompressed and will hydrate (aka, swell with water) which puts the annulus of the disc at a greater risk of injury during lumbar flexion activities.  According to Dr. Stuart McGill, in his book Lower Back Disorders, it’s best to avoid bending exercise until after the first hour of rising from bed.  After the first hour of being up, the disc dehydrates by about 90% of what it will all day, so after the first hour, the injury risk goes down.

Makes good sense.

Now let me give you some insight into what I’m actually doing.

I’m up at 4 a.m. (It was actually 3:59 this morning which is kinda scary…has my brain adjusted to the early hours…could I be a…gasp!…morning person?!).  I walk down the hall to “drop a little water weight” and then head off to the kitchen to mix up my workout drink. I get dressed for training and head back down the hall to the gym.

I’m in the gym at about 4:15 give or take a couple minutes (depends on how hard I had to argue with myself to leave my warm bed).  I then do some form of warm that includes dynamic mobility drills.  This is to wake up and raise my body temperature.

At no time from the time of rising until about 4:30-4:40 have I performed any lumbar flexion activities (even during dressing and putting on my shoes) as I’m very aware of the risk.  So I’ve got about 30-40 minutes of no flexion and only body weight loads at best.  If 90% of the water that will leave the disc does so in the first hour, I’ve got a good start and risk is already down. 

After this point it’s strength training and metabolic training.  Still no lumbar flexion activities (don’t confuse lumbar flexion and hip flexion).  Even if it wasn’t early in the morning, my approach would be the same. 

By the way, I would be just as concerned about lumbar flexion for someone who sits slouched at desk all day or just drove home from work and went right into their strength training program.  The passive posterior structures will tend to lengthen and the nucleus of the disc may shift due to periods of prolonged flexion and may place you at greater risk for instability and lower back injury if the spine is loaded before creep of the tissue is restored.

If you haven’t read Dr. McGill’s book, you may be as much as 6 years behind on your approach to treating and preventing low back injuries.

Bill