Myths and Legends of the Neutral Spine Position

Unfortunately, I was only training myself into a position of stability that was not really natural or common in everyday life, at least for extended periods of time. It was also extremely conscious, meaning not very energy efficient and not very forgiving to the absent minded…

So, I became very flexion intolerant, I was incredibly stiff and nearly unable to pick anything off the ground with even a slightly rounded back. Twisting motions were also very challenging and I always felt tight in my mid back and shoulder too. I had trained myself to get into a squat with a straight back to pick something up and I always cringed and suffered if I had to lift an awkward load. Even leaning out over the hood of the car to change my battery would cause me grief and pain. I was only “functionally” strong when I was in the weight room, braced in a neutral spine position. Otherwise, I was out of luck and had to really fight for it or skip activities altogether sometimes.

Fast forward a few more years with lots of training “mileage”, I suffered a major low back injury after my first year as a professional Scottish Highland games athlete. This time I had fully prolapsed (blown) two discs and I was having numbness and tingling down my legs with extreme stiffness and soreness. I was virtually in pain all the time. Trying to throw and keep up my weightlifting was an exercise in futility. After a great deal of soul searching, physical therapy, and chiropractic care I was able to reach a functional level of pain management and movement, but I knew something was still missing. I was only strong and able to move well while throwing, and I became relegated to doing a very limited number of activities outside of the weight room.

If I had to move outside of my comfort zone I usually felt a twinge of pain and had to retreat back to my safe, familiar movements. Fortunately, after my own extensive research and creative movement practice, I found both the StrongFirst and Original Strength systems. They integrated really well with one another. Pressing RESET and using kettlebells created a great bridge from my familiar braced, tight, strict movements to a more playful, restorative, athletic approach to training and life. In the Original Strength System we simply call this owning our “X” and reclaiming our “reflexive strength”.

The point is, I tied myself back together, reflexively, and I became really strong outside of the weight room without fear of moving into injury and pain. I found freedom in my strength. As a teenager in highschool, I had lost some of my reflexive strength and natural athleticism due to sitting at a school desk for over six hours a day. This is likely what caused my back pain for so many years. You can read more about my evolution back to the Highland Games that lead to a National Championship and a handful of World Records here on the Originalstrength.net site.

So, whether you have already hurt your back in some way like me or you have fear around the potential risks of moving, I’ve come to conclude that the worst thing you could do is NOTHING. Whether out of fear of hurting your back, general lack of effort, or confusion about where to even start, doing nothing will only assure you will stay in the dysfunctional “pain cave” or become very limited in your function and weak in all ways.

We are made to move often, and we have a beautiful, natural design that doesn’t require extremely rigid postures. We are also made to be strong, and we must be strong. The research is very clear that weak, deconditioned people get hurt the most. Research also shows that low back muscles become atrophied within days of disuse. Bed rest after injury is not the answer, it’s bad for just about everything after more than a few days.

Aside from doing nothing, the second worst thing you could do is to always be impeccable with neutral spine lifting in life situations, or only performing strict, traditional strength training like bench pressing, squatting and deadlifting. These lifts will leave you vulnerable to attack in every sense, whether on the battlefield, playing field, or simply playing with the dog. How many times have you heard someone say, “my back just went out,” while usually doing something simple like bending over to pick up a sock on the floor? Hint: It doesn’t just “go out” and your back isn’t “in” or “out”, this type of injury is likely a symptom of long term issues.

We do need to be able to find and use our strong, natural, neutral range most of the time as Dr. McGill suggests. However our bodies will be best served by intentionally training at odd angles and positions, slowly and intentionally with a progressive plan – a plan with some wiggle room for fun and random variety along the way. Basically, we need to be able to move and train in a controlled risk environment and rebuild our “reflexive strength.” This requires listening to our bodies and doing these lifts with progressive loads and lower volume of work, from my experience.