Squat Talk: Spine Position and Bracing

     Spine position and bracing technique in the squat: this tends to be a hot topic area in my experience. To start, let’s go over the possible positions that your spine can end up in when squatting. 

     First, a neutral spine. A neutral spine is described as a natural lordosis of the lumbar spine, slight kyphosis of the thoracic spine, and natural lordosis of the cervical spine. This position is ideal if you are lifting for general health and wellness.

     Next on the list is an extended position of the spine. This position is not necessarily bad, but there are some considerations to take into account if you decide to go this route.

      Then we have spinal flexion. Let’s just put it this way, and make this one black and white: you do not want to be going into spinal flexion under load, when squatting (figure 1)!

 

 

Figure 1: Lumbar flexion under load. Depending on how you interpret the picture (left), it could also be a fart. You also do not want that because it will cause a loss of intraabdominal pressure. :)

     The spine also bends sideways, but if you are doing this in your squat, either you have something real funky going on, you didn’t set yourself up in the middle of the bar, or you unevenly loaded the weights.

Now that we’ve covered some of the positions and motions of the spine, how do these play into health and performance?

     From a health and wellness perspective, a neutral spine is the best position to be in, possibly with some slight extension. Holding this position during the squat will help develop strong core stabilizers to keep your muscles holding your spine in a nice position into your golden years. 

From a different perspective, there is the more extended spine position. I see this in lifting events such as those for powerlifting and Olympic lifting. In these instances, extension is required to lift maximal loads for a one-rep maximum. Going into more extension, or arching, will give your spine a relatively more stable position, partly due to the spine’s biomechanics and the fact that extension is the closed packed position of the lumbar spine. Structurally speaking, then, extension provides more stability, along with keeping a strong stable core contraction during the movement and bracing, allowing you to put more weight on the bar. 

Is this sustainable for the long term?

I lean towards “no.” If we are talking top-level performance in weight lifting, then this is the direction you would want to be going in. By all means you definitely don’t want to be going into lumbar flexion when lifting maximal amounts of weight when squatting. This extension can be seen well in the bottom position of a squat in powerlifting, and the bottom of the catch position during an Olympic lift. This technique will help you maintain a more upright position when under heavy loads. This is the nature of the sport, and so for these athletes to be in extension doesn’t worry me much. If we’re talking about general health and wellness and spine health, however, it would be best to go with a neutral spine when squatting.

Regardless of which route you choose here, you should be able to brace your core and support your spine using its natural “lifting belt mechanism.” This is sometimes referred to as a Valsalva technique, or “drawing in air.” This technique entails breathing into your stomach from the bottom up and contracting your core musculature to increase your intraabdominal pressure, which naturally provides stability to the spine (figure 2). Everyone was born with their own natural lifting belt. I highly recommend that you learn the Valsalva maneuver to maximize your performance and spinal health. Learning how to do this will also help you better utilize an actual lifting belt, if you choose to use one. Don’t just rely on external aids to provide support to your joints. There are some precautions to take before performing a Valsalva technique; for example, if you have dangerously high blood pressure you should avoid it.

Figure 2: Drawing in air, providing support to your lumbar spine.

In summary, keep your spine healthy for the long run. Your body will thank you for it.

Ryan Goodell, CSCS

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