Squats & Spine Compression

In this QUAH Sal, Adam, & Justin answer the question “My dad’s doctor told him he shouldn’t squat because it compresses your spine when you load weight on your back. Instead, he just does leg presses. Is there any research you’ve seen about squats compressing your spine?”

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“Squats & Spine Compression“
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[Juli]

Proper back squat is not dangerous for your back because... trust me bro ?

[hyperretroactivehyperretro]

I can tell you that if you have stenosis you should not load on your back. Hold dumbbells. Or do front squats.

[lenno]

How did our ancestors ever survive without doing heavy back squats?

[phuzzman]

You guys are spreading misinformation. There are literally dozens of people on YouTube that can show you pictures of their spines and how they are compressed. Even people who don’t lift will end up being shorter in their old age, due to spinal compression, and that’s just gravity. On the contrary, doing things like the teeter will help you decompress the spine. This actually helps the fluid between disks regenerate.

Just search on youtube “spinal cord compression | why I no longer squat”

[StockyDude]

There’s a huge difference between Earth gravity and the compressive force from 315 lbs on a barbell squat. Yes, the squat can help develop the core muscles that stabilize the spine. Unfortunately, after your mid-20’s, your vertebral discs cannot be made stronger and will gradually wear out and nerves will start to get pinched. Even if you want to keep squatting, you will inevitably need to lighten up the weight, especially if you were very physically active in your 20’s and 30’s. Very few people have the genetics to maintain vertebral disc strength into their 50’s. Some people start out with thicker than normal vertebral discs, but most are not so lucky.

[HaterX]

Yikes. These guys are ridiculous. Do they not know what weight ratings are. He said because when he walks each step is 200lbs so if you add up all the steps youd be horrified at the amount of pressure. Thats not how it works. Like any other mechanical device your spine has a weight rating. If you imagine your spine as a suspension and has for example 200lbs amount of weight rating then it can take that amount of force day in and day out no problem . As soon as you exceed that weight rating by loading it with 300lbs then your fucked. Like your femur can withstand 6, 000 pounds of force. But as soon as you suddenly drop 7000lbs of force on it you'll shatter it . And saying that squats dont compress your spine is ridiculous. Your literally saying the physics of gravity dont exist. Let's load him with 5000lbs and see if his spine dosnet compress

[fitnessshorts]

front squats goblet squats zercher squats are good

[filipepeixoto]

For me back squats make my low back pain worst, but Front squats do the oposite.

[JamenLS]

Back squats are terrible. The more weight, the worse. Coming from a career athlete in football and track. Do things horizontally. Do not compress your spine!

[qhpainters]

One day I got done with a workout, and it also involves doing squats. A day later or two days later my back was just killing me.

[inspiredbeats]

How many people can do barbell squats properly? Squats and deadlifts are highly technical lifts. Most people will end up with back problems doing them over a long period of time. A trap bar, vertical leg press, split squats, T-bell squats, belt squats, leverage squat machine, squat harness or even a safety squat bar are all better options than the barbell squat. Any exercise that can cripple or kill you is not good for you. Also, the vertical leg press is a much better and safer leg workout than a barbell squat. He is talking about the 45 degree leg press that is bad for the back. Also, how many people have crippled or killed doing leg presses or trap bar deadlifts?

[great]

But what about bouncing the bar on your back at the top of the squat? Isn’t that going to compress the spine? And can make you shrink?

[OkayJustWatch]

ILL STICK TO LEG EXTENSIONS & DUMBELL LUNGES

[lancelotlink]

These guys only say this crap because they are young and have not yet screwed up their backs. Here's what you should know about lifting and your spine. You will find that the more you challenge your muscles, they will grow and get stronger. But the discs in your spine DO NOT. They will compress when loaded. They degenerate and will not regenerate. They have little or no blood vessels. They are in some ways like adult teeth- you get one set and that's it. Over time they will compress and possibly bulge or even herniate. When these type of issues happen they can push on the nerves and leave you in a debilitating state. So it's possible to grow massive legs and muscles in general but your spine will NOT be massive, it will degenerate. Your core muscles can help take some of the pressure off of your spine but definitely not all of it. Check out the great bodybuilder Ronnie Coleman and his current state. Now that dude was about as massive as anyone could be, but it did not save his spine.

[redpillpusher]

the exercise itself is not dangerous its the person doing the exercise that makes it dangerous.

[lanchanoinguyen]

Proper squat is not too dangerous but it still be harmful to your spine.Remember that when you do squat, not only your spine is compress but the main point is that the spine got curved anyway and that cause alot of problems.Don't do back shoulder squat anyway.

[jamesstewart]

I get twinges in my outer/mid lats when doing heavy leverage squats, why ? I think it’s compression but not sure how to fix it

[veerinj]

I'm starting to like this podcast.

[jamesstewart]

Doctors are jack of all trades, masters of none 🤣🤣