Mike tyson wo used to bridge alot has recently had surgery for a degenerative disc, and it makes me think did all that bridging fuck him up? I've heard some people say it can cause it what do you think?
Depends on what you mean by neck bridging, there's a world of difference between lifting your hips off the ground with your neck held rigid and the type of over the top crazy shit where people roll their heads around under compressive load. One is probably safe, the other definetly isn't. I have an old grappling instructor who has a fused neck which required surgery from performing bridges where he'd go over to the point where he touched his nose to the ground.
Almost certainly. The cervical spine is like the lumbar spine - it requires stability. Training it through weighted flexion and extension is just about the most effective way to herniate discs. If you care about long term neck health, isometric work is the intelligent choice.
Logic and science says that bridging is bad. Loading any spinal component through a range of motion does not seem like a good idea. Isometric holds are probably where it's at, your spine wants to be a rigid column that transfers force, not a flexible attachment to weights.
So weighted abdominal movements, and something like weighted 45 degree hyperextensions are bad? Or only bad if the spine flexes?
It's only the top of the spine, like right above where a HB squat bar would go. The rest of the disks in the spine are designed to be compressed and hyperextended. That's their function
http://deansomerset.com/2010/12/21/why-spinal-flexion-isnt-going-to-kill-you/ It's probable that the greatest risk from weighted ab work is not the effect the movement itself has on the spinal discs, but that the strengthening of the iliopsoas that comes with most core flexion work contributes to lumbar lordosis/anterior pelvic tilt, which most people don't need any more of; walking around in lumbar hyperlordosis greatly increases your rate of disc damage. You have to take the same holistic view when assessing the pros and cons of neck work: if you're in cervical hyperlordosis (i.e. forward head posture) you shouldn't be doing neck extension work (like bridging) which will make the misalignment worse. Contrariwise, cervical hypolordosis (i.e. military neck), it's neck flexion work you should be avoiding. In either misalignment, vertical loading of the neck is going to result in asymmetrical loading of its discs, and eventual herniation. Keep the c-spine neutral though, and theoretically you should be fine. As Somerset states, spinal flexion is a natural movement and we should be able to load it; only if a movement is exacerbating an existing postural misalignment does it become definitely inappropriate.
You need stronger sternocleidomastoids, so neck flexion (isometric or weighted), paired with regular stretching the levator scapulae & upper traps.
Ive seen guys neck bridge to where their mouths touched the mat. Old guys too(coaches). Never heard of any prolems until this thread
