都错了?做仰卧起坐可能会对身体产生伤害

 Many sportspeople do sit-ups as part of a raft of exercises which aim to improve their core stability, but research from Thomas Nesser from Indiana State University suggests that improving your core stability doesn't necessarily result in better athletic¹ performance.

很多运动人士将仰卧起坐作为锻炼的一种方式，来提高自己身体核心区的稳定性。但是印第安纳州立大学的托马斯·内赛尔的研究表明，核心区稳定性的提高不一定会让你在运动上有很好的表现。

Whether or not they provide you with precisely² the physique or fitness you desire, could sit-ups bring unintended consequences such as back pain? Stuart McGill, professor of spine³ biomechanics at the University of Waterloo in Canada has been studying sit-ups for years and is convinced that the traditional crunch⁴ does indeed cause us harm.

不管仰卧起坐是否真的能助你实现你想要的体格或健身效果，它们有可能会带来如背部疼痛这样意想不到的后果吗？加拿大滑铁卢大学的生物力学脊柱教授斯图尔特·麦吉尔对仰卧起坐已经研究多年，深信这一传统的收腹运动确实会有损我们的身体。

都错了?做仰卧起坐可能会对身体产生伤害

He conducted dozens of studies in his spine biomechanics lab using the cadavers⁵ of pigs, repeatedly flexing⁶ their spines⁷ in a similar way as a person might when doing a sit-up, but for many, many hours at a time. When he examined the discs in the spine afterwards, he found that they had been squeezed to the point where they bulged⁸. If the same thing happened in a human this would press on the nerves, causing back pain, and possibly even a herniated disc.

在脊椎生物力学实验室，他在猪身上已经进行过几十次的研究。通过模仿人做仰卧起坐时的姿势，他不断地弯曲猪的脊椎，一次长达数小时。随后，他检验猪的脊椎盘，发现弯曲时隆起的部位已经被挤压成尖状。如果同样的事情发生人身上，这将压迫到神经，造成背部疼痛，甚至可能是椎间盘突出。

Pigs were chosen for this experiment because their spines are more similar to human spines than those of many other animals, but of course critics of these studies point out, that there are still many differences between people and pigs. Also these studies involved thousands of continuous cycles of bending. Even when training hard, people take breaks between sets of crunches⁹.

之所以将猪选为实验对象，是因为与其他动物相比，他们的脊椎与人类的脊椎相似度更高。当然，研究的反对者指出，人和猪之间仍有许多不同之处。此外，在研究过程中，对猪的脊椎进行弯曲的频次过多。而对于人来说，训练再刻苦，中间也会有休息。

Perhaps these results tell us what might happen at the extremes in the unlikely event that you were to do sit-ups for hour upon hour, but in real life it's clearly not the case that most people damage their discs most of the time when doing sets of 15 sit-ups. However, injuries can happen. Research published in 2005 on soldiers stationed at the US military's Fort Bragg attributed 56% of all the injuries sustained during the two-yearly Army Physical Fitness Test, to sit-ups.

也许这些研究结果告诉我们的是极端情况下的后果，就像你几乎不可能一小时接着一小时地一直做仰卧起坐。在现实生活中，大部分人一般只是做15组仰卧起坐。而即便如此，伤害还是有可能会发生。2005年对驻扎在布拉格堡的美军士兵的研究表明，在两年的陆军体能测试期中，56%的伤害归因于仰卧起坐。

Some people seem to be more prone¹⁰ to back problems caused by sit-ups than others. We might be fine doing 30 sit-ups a day for decades, but we might not and it's hard to know which group we fall into. It could come down to our genes¹¹. According to one paper, it's not wear-and-tear that causes most of the difficulties, but genetic¹² factors, which account for three-quarters of the differences between the people who do get back problems and those who don't.

对于有些人来说，仰卧起坐似乎更容易产生腰背问题。反之，一些人每天都做30个仰卧起坐，坚持了几十年，却没有任何异样。我们可能不知道也很难知道我们是属于哪一类人。这可能源于我们的基因。根据一篇文章指出，大部分的问题并非源于不断的摩擦和撕裂，而是遗传因素。人之所以有或没有背部问题，75%是因为遗传的关系。

So sit-ups might lead to back pain, but only in some people. It's a good excuse not to do them. But if you want to crunch those abs, is there a way of limiting the risk? Professor Stuart McGill recommends sliding your hands under your lower back to stop it flattening¹³ against the floor. This minimises the stress on your back.

所以，对一部分人来说，仰卧起坐可能导致背部疼痛。这是一个不做仰卧起坐的很好的借口。但是，若想要平坦的腹肌，有没有一种风险更低的方式?斯图尔特·麦吉尔教授建议，将双手滑动到下背部，避免下背部直接接触地板。这将最大限度地减少背部压力。

1 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

2 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

3 spine   

n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊

参考例句：

• He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
• His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。

4 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

5 cadavers   

n.尸体( cadaver的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Human cadavers were the only known source of hGH, and demand was intense. 人类尸体是hGH已知的惟一来源，而且需求广泛。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 口蹄疫疯牛病
• Will there be enough cadavers for each group this term? 这个学期每一个组都有足够的尸体吗？ 来自电影对白

6 flexing   

n.挠曲，可挠性v.屈曲( flex的现在分词 )；弯曲；（为准备大干而）显示实力；摩拳擦掌

参考例句：

• Flexing particular muscles allows snakes to move in several ways. 可弯曲的特殊的肌肉使蛇可以用几种方式移动。 来自电影对白
• China has become an economic superpower and is flexing its muscles. 中国已经成为了一个经济巨人而且在展示他的肌肉。 来自互联网

7 spines   

n.脊柱( spine的名词复数 )；脊椎；（动植物的）刺；书脊

参考例句：

• Porcupines use their spines to protect themselves. 豪猪用身上的刺毛来自卫。
• The cactus has spines. 仙人掌有刺。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 bulged   

凸出( bulge的过去式和过去分词 )； 充满； 塞满（某物）

参考例句：

• His pockets bulged with apples and candy. 他的口袋鼓鼓地装满了苹果和糖。
• The oranges bulged his pocket. 桔子使得他的衣袋胀得鼓鼓的。

9 crunches   

n.（突发的）不足( crunch的名词复数 )；需要做出重要决策的困难时刻；紧要关头；嘎吱的响声v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的第三人称单数 )；嘎吱作响；（快速大量地）处理信息；数字捣弄

参考例句：

• I can't bear the way she crunches the sugar. 我简直看不惯她嚼糖的那副样子。 来自辞典例句
• Crunches with a twisting motion (to hit obliques) are excellent. 做仰卧起坐时加上转体动作更好。 来自互联网

10 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

11 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

12 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

13 flattening   

n. 修平 动词flatten的现在分词

参考例句：

• Flattening of the right atrial border is also seen in constrictive pericarditis. 右心房缘变平亦见于缩窄性心包炎。
• He busied his fingers with flattening the leaves of the book. 他手指忙着抚平书页。