This blog is excerpted from a Well + Good article written by Rachel Lapidos on

Spine specialists learn everything they can relating to back and neck pain, all in the quest to help you have the most healthy stack of vertebrae possible. There are certain fitness exercises that are considered to be the worst for back health.

The most common back aggravating exercises tend to target the core. “You’ve probably heard that when people have some sort of a back injury, they’re told to strengthen the core because there’s a weakness there,” says Dr. Kirstie Griffiths, DC, a chiropractor and yoga instructor. Often, core weakness can lead to back tension and woes. That said, Dr. Griffiths points out that traditional core work can be “really high risk” for getting a vertebrae disc injury and can even make back pain worse.

There are two exercises to avoid making part of your routine work out regimen.

1. Sit Ups

Sit-ups happen to be the worst culprit of this. “What happens with a sit-up, in particular, is that you have all this core activation happening, but it tends to strengthen a muscle called the rectus abdominis, which is a superficial muscle that doesn’t really give stability to the spine,” she says. “On top of that, you get this rounding motion where you go from lying flat on your back to rounding up through the spine, which puts a lot of pressure and force through the spine that places you at risk of a disc herniation.”

2. The Superman

Your spine can also get hurt when doing the Superman exercise. “This is another classic core exercise that gets thrown into regular fitness routines,” says Dr. Griffith, who is not a fan of the ab-strengthening move. “You experience the same issue as you do with a sit-up when you are lifting the arms and legs from the position of lying on your stomach. It’s a high level of compression through the spine—way higher than what you should be sustaining, especially if you have had a back injury already or have risk factors for it.” Though she says that the exercise fires your extensor muscles, which are really helpful for your posture and strengthening the back, you run the risk of overdoing it.

Get Help For Spine-Related Pain Beyond Exercises

We encourage all our guests to maintain a careful and mindful exercise routine. However, if you are still in pain despite this special attention, it may be likely you have a physical abnormality within the spine that requires surgical repair. Our targeted, minimally invasive procedures were designed and patented by Dr. Bonati to treat spinal abnormalities WITHOUT the need for general anesthesia, highly-invasive open back surgeries, excessive scarring and a prolonged recovery. We can treat all levels of the spine.

If you are dealing with chronic pain, allow our team to review your case to determine if you are a candidate for the Bonati Spine Procedures. To get this review started, simply call us at 844-663-0310 or complete our online contact form and one of our patient advocates will reach out to you directly.

Read the full Well + Good article here: https://www.wellandgood.com/worst-exercises-for-back/