THE BACK-SQUAT AND CERVICAL RADICULOPATHY

The back squat is hailed as one of the best exercises for achieving strength and fitness in the gym. Actually, that is very true. It is a compound exercise that recruits the muscles of the back, abdominal muscles, hamstrings, quadriceps, and the flexor and extensor muscles of the leg. The fact that doing this exercise alone works out so many muscles translates into a higher caloric burn, enhancing quicker muscle gains and overall fitness. I have been doing this exercise for a year now and I have mastered the right form. However, towards the last months before quitting it, I noted that while it was promoting transformative changes in my body, it was also causing me undesired effects. And that is what I want to speak about.

I noted that I was experiencing pain around my right arm, which radiated to my neck. I could not relieve this pain as much as I hoped with muscle relaxants and NSAIDs like ibuprofen. I initially thought that some minor triceps tears and instabilities of my shoulder joint due to injuries to my rotator cuff were causing me this pain. So, I stopped bench pressing for two weeks and only did my back squats routine in that time. However, the pain persisted. Eventually, I decided to quit the back squats for two weeks and resumed my bench press. My pain gradually subsided and I no longer needed the painkillers. What I was suffering from all along is known as cervical radiculopathy, which was a result of the pressure that the back squat was placing on my neck region.

So what is cervical radiculopathy? The body of a human being consists of vertebrae that make up the backbone. Between these vertebrae are nerves that supply the muscles of the body. There is a nerve designated as C7 and is located at the 7th cervical vertebral region located around the neck where there is a small bump as shown in Figure 1 below. Notably, this is also the very part that the back squat barbell rests when one is exercising. When one does these exercises several times in short periods of time (which was my big mistake) or lifts so heavy repeatedly, the high pressure placed on the vertebral disc in that region can crush it, compressing the C7 nerve. Because the nerve supplies the arms and forearms, one experiences pain that is radiated towards those regions. The neck also suffers, since the nerve originates around there. You will experience some irritating constant pain (usually on one side) of the neck and arm (1).

Figure 1: A depiction of the C7 region (Courtesy)

So, what can you do about this? The first thing is to quit back squats for some time. In that period you can use NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen as prescribed by a medical practitioner to reduce the pain until it goes away. In addition, you must incorporate physiotherapeutic methods to restore the normalcy of the vertebral disc. For instance, with both your hands, hold behind your neck around the C7 region and begin manipulating the region. Do that for 1 minute every one hour. Over time, your pain will go away and you will thank me later. Does this mean you will have to skip leg day completely? Of course not! Now you will have to adopt alternatives to work your leg muscles, such as doing leg press and sprinting.

Remember, we go to the gym to gain muscle, not pain!

References

1. Iyer S, Kim HJ. Cervical radiculopathy. Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine. 2016; 9(3):272–80. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4958381/pdf/12178_2016_Article_9349.pdf