I am not a medical professional. However, it seems obvious to me that, when using a seated cable row machine, some trainees bend much to far forward. Any time you bend your lower back, you risk tearing the connective tissue between your lower vertebrae. Grabbing hold of a heavy weight while your lower back is over-extended increases the chance of injury. I suspect this is what happened to you.

I’m not aware of any studies that cover exactly this topic, but one doesn’t need an experiment to deduce from a basic understanding of biomechanics and psychology that these machines encourage people to bend too far forward.

I recommend searching in google scholar or PubMed for medical studies on the subject. You might also try emailing some academic doctors who do research on back pain. Sorry I couldn’t be more help.

On October 4 I hurt my back on the seated cable row machine. I’ve been to the Emrgency Room due to horrible pain, and the medical people think it is a sprain-strain. I have experineced much pain and at times could not walk or get out of bed from it. I was getting worse until about 2 days ago (today is Oct 25) but still have not fully recovered by any stretch of the imagination.

Where did you get your information that this machine is dangerous? If there is strong evidence you could provide me with, I may attempt to convince the gym owner to remove this machine from his gym. I know it’s dangerous but I would need strong evidence to convince him of that.

Sincerely,
Mike