Kickboxing Exercises and Back Injuries

Kickboxing Exercises and Back Injuries
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Back injuries are common in all walks of life. They can be the result of a sports injury, an automobile accident, a household fall or the aging process. After the initial pain has subsided, it's important to do exercises to help you regain range of motion, mobility and strength in the back. Kickboxing exercises may give you a chance to recover from a back injury.

Function

When you are in a sport in which contact and explosive shots are a regular part of the action, there's a chance you will suffer injuries. Back injuries can easily occur in kickboxing. The stunning power of a roundhouse kick or a series of power punches to the abdomen or rib cage can have a debilitating impact on the back and can result in disc damage to the spine.

Preparation

In order to improve strength in your buttocks, hips and abs as well as your back muscles to withstand the heavy blows that are a part of kickboxing, you must do significant strength training. The bench press, lunges, dead lifts and the military press will help you develop the strength to absorb punches and kicks without suffering serious damage.

Features

Building up your core muscles will help you build strength in your back and allow you to recover from an injury. In order to work on your core muscles, the best exercises to do are ab crunches, hip circles, pushups and bridges. In kickboxing, you will constantly be putting your body under pressure by twisting to deliver kicks and punches and often using the same movement to avoid them. These exercises will strengthen your core to help you survive against an opponent that is trying to punish you with devastating kicks and punches.

Recovery

Even those kickboxers who are in the best shape will suffer back injuries from time to time. Whether its from delivering powerful kicks and punches, getting hit with them or making quick moves to get in position to deliver a shot, your back is under constant pressure. The key to surviving back pain is to ice the injury as soon as you feel soreness to reduce the swelling and inflammation. Then use heat to reduce pain. Over-the-counter pain medications like analgesics and opioids can also be used to help you get back into action in the ring after suffering back pain.

Warning

While a back injury can be painful, it is important to start exercise therapy relatively quickly. Your initial inclination may be to rest, but Dr. Peter Ullrich of the NeuroSpine Center of Wisconsin says you should start doing exercises in order to regain strength, range of motion and flexibility. Consult with your doctor before doing kickboxing exercises because your doctor may have advice on exercises you should do and others you should avoid when rehabbing a back injury.

References

Article reviewed by M. Gladden Last updated on: Nov 21, 2010

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