Do You Need A Neutral Spine When Lifting? The Reality Of Lifting And Back Pain.

Learning good form and keeping a neutral spine has been a central component of strength training for decades. Over the past few years, it has grown into an obsession, even spilling over into fear territory.

Now, you'll likely hear numerous warnings about the dangers of what happens when you don't use good form and flex your spine. It creates the perception that the gym is a dangerous place, the risk of injury is high, and your spine is essentially balsa wood that cracks under the slightest pressure.

Do you really need to keep a neutral spine when lifting?

No, and the overemphasis is likely making you susceptible to injury.

Do You Need To Keep A Neutral Spine When Lifting?

No, and it's nearly impossible when you're using significant weight. The vast majority of lifters experience a range of spine flexion on larger lifts.

1. Strongman competitors experience a large degree of spinal flexion, and some athletes experience full flexion on some lifts (McGill et al., 2009). 

• Stone Lift: 
  • Lumbar spine flexion: 49.9° = 146.1% maximum flexion
  • Lateral bend:  7° = 54.4% maximum flexion
  • Twist: 7.7° = 102.7% maximum flexion
• Tire Flip (309 kg)
  • Lumbar spine flexion: 32.9° = 97.5%maximum flexion
  • Lateral bend:  3.5° = 26.3% maximum flexion
  • Twist: 5.8° = 67.8% maximum flexion
• Log Lift (75 ± 15 kg) 
  • Lumbar spine flexion: 32.9° = 97.5%maximum flexion
  • Lateral bend:  3.5° = 26.3% maximum flexion
  • Twist: 5.8° = 67.8%  maximum flexion

2. In the starting position for the deadlift, competitive weightlifters and powerlifters flexed their lumbar spine approximately 25 ± 11°, relative to standing (Edington et al., 2018).

3. Experienced lifters see lumbar flexion of 28° during the good morning exercise with a load (50% 1RM).  No additional lumbar flexion occurred when using loads all the way up to 90% 1RM (Vigotsky et al. 2015). 

As you can see, a neutral spine isn't required to lift heavy weights and is likely near impossible. 

However, the key to these lifts is learning proper bracing techniques and building a powerful core. 

This doesn't mean that form doesn't matter; it does. 

It means that with proper training, application of progressive overload, and learning bracing, your back and core can become very resilient. 

This should be your goal when training because "perfect form" rarely happens in the real world. 

Does A Flexed Spine Cause Back Pain?

Numerous research studies and reviews have suggested that there is no strong correlation between a flexed spine and back pain during lifting.

In a recent large review, Saraceni et al. (2020) asked this exact question: Is There a Relationship Between Lumbar Spine Flexion During Lifting and Low Back Pain?

In short, they found no direct link. Some key statements taken from their review.

1. "No study that has directly measured the lumbar spine during lifting has found a relationship between (lower back pain) and greater lumbar flexion."

2. "Current advice to avoid lumbar flexion during lifting to reduce (lower back pain) risk is not evidence-based."

3. "Given the strong evidence that (lower back pain) is influenced by various biopsychosocial factors, including negative (lower back pain) beliefs and fear of movement, persisting with the current advice to avoid lumbar flexion during lifting due to an increased risk of LBP is not justified."

Pay attention to number 3. They suggest that the various psychosocial factors, including fear of lifting and negative beliefs, can actually influence back pain.

It's important to note that many of the studies in this review weren't using heavy loads you see in the gym, but rather real-world weight. 

However, it demonstrates that the fear of back injury from a flexed spin has likely been exaggerated. 

Instead of being scared of lifting with a flexed spine, your goal should be to build a back that can withstand lifting with a flexed spine and imperfect form.

What Are The Best Exercises To Build An Injury-Free Back?

The best exercises that build a strong back that won't break are functional exercises that allow a mix of overloading, place the body in awkward positions, use uneven loading, and dynamic movement. 

Some of these include;

Palloff Press

Rack Pulls (At Knee-Level Or Above)

Farmer Carry And Suitcase Carry

Sandbag Pick And Carry

Gorilla Walks

Go check out this article for more!

Is Perfect Form Important When Lifting?

We want to be clear that we are not saying that form doesn't matter or that you should purposefully use poor form. This is especially true when you start training, as you haven't developed foundational strength.

However, your back and core training should include several variables;

• Still use progressive overload. These muscles are like all muscles and need continual increases in stress to build. 
• Use a range of loads, especially heavier weights. Most core training includes high-rep, low-load movements, but this won't build the strength you need.
• Use movements that put you in awkward positions. If possible, use exercises that train the spine in a flexed position.
• Use movements that demand core stability. This includes movements like farmer carries or suitcase carries (any carry).

More importantly, we want you to look at training and your back differently. You're not made of glass, and when you train properly with the right exercises and proper progressive overload, your back can become indestructible.

FAQ

1. Do You Need A Neutral Spine When You Lift?

Lifting with a flexed spine is not inherently dangerous and likely occurs in many lifters (McGill et al., 2009).

2. What Is The Best Way To Prevent Lower Back Pain?

Building a stronger back through using proper movements and progressive overload. (Chen et al., 2025; Wang et al., 2025). 

3. Do Deadlifts Cause Lower Back Pain?

No, especially when trained correctly. However, a good alternative is to trap bad deadlifts if you're concerned.

4. What Causes Lower Back Pain?

There are numerous possible causes, but 90-95% of lower back pain is considered to be "non-specific back pain". This means an exact cause can not be identified (Mao et al., 2024).

5. How Can You Treat Lower Back Pain?

This depends on what the exact issue is. However, several studies have pointed to two protocols: walking and performing hip-hinge movements (Haddadj et al., 2025; Tataryn et al., 2021).

How To Lift For Functional Fitness?

Stop being so afraid of the gym and lifting weights. 

The gym is where we go to build a strong, resilient body in a controlled environment, so we stay injury-free in the real world. It's not where we go to minimize stress on the body; stress is what builds the body!

Building a strong body requires a properly designed resistance training program that follows the fundamentals of progressive overload. Don't use poor form on purpose, but don't stop lifting because you can't keep a perfectly neutral spine and your shoulders come forward.

References

1. Chen, R., Yang, C., Tang, X., Han, S., Kuang, M., & Li, X. (2025). The relationship between muscle mass and low back pain: a cross-sectional study. European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society, 34(7), 2597–2604. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-025-09026-1
2. Edington, C., Greening, C., Kmet, N., Philipenko, N., Purves, L., Stevens, J., Lanovaz, J., & Butcher, S. (2018). The Effect of Set Up Position on EMG Amplitude, Lumbar Spine Kinetics, and Total Force Output During Maximal Isometric Conventional-Stance Deadlifts. Sports (Basel, Switzerland), 6(3), 90. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports6030090
3. Haddadj, R., Nordstoga, A. L., Nilsen, T. I. L., Skarpsno, E. S., Kongsvold, A., Flaaten, M., Schipperijn, J., Bach, K., & Mork, P. J. (2025). Volume and Intensity of Walking and Risk of Chronic Low Back Pain. JAMA network open, 8(6), e2515592. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.15592
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5. Mao, Q., Wang, Y., Xu, S., Wu, D., Huang, G., Li, Z., Jiao, L., & Chi, Z. (2024). Research hotspots and frontiers in non-specific low back pain: a bibliometric analysis. Frontiers in neurology, 15, 1464048. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2024.1464048
6. McGill, S. M. (2010). Core training: Evidence translating to better performance and injury prevention. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 32(3), 33–46. https://doi.org/10.1519/SSC.0b013e3181df4521
7. McGill, S. M., McDermott, A., & Fenwick, C. M. (2009). Comparison of different strongman events: trunk muscle activation and lumbar spine motion, load, and stiffness. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 23(4), 1148–1161. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e318198f8f7
8. Saraceni, N., Kent, P., Ng, L., Campbell, A., Straker, L., & O'Sullivan, P. (2020). To Flex or Not to Flex? Is There a Relationship Between Lumbar Spine Flexion During Lifting and Low Back Pain? A Systematic Review With Meta-analysis. The Journal of orthopaedic and sports physical therapy, 50(3), 121–130. https://doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2020.9218
9. Tataryn, N., Simas, V., Catterall, T., Furness, J., & Keogh, J. W. L. (2021). Posterior-Chain Resistance Training Compared to General Exercise and Walking Programmes for the Treatment of Chronic Low Back Pain in the General Population: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports medicine - open, 7(1), 17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40798-021-00306-w
10. Vigotsky, A. D., Harper, E. N., Ryan, D. R., & Contreras, B. (2015). Effects of load on good morning kinematics and EMG activity. PeerJ, 3, e708. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.708
11. Vlaeyen, J. W. S., Kole-Snijders, A. M. J., Boeren, R. G. B., & van Eek, H. (1995). Fear of movement/(re)injury in chronic low back pain and its relation to behavioral performance. Pain, 62(3), 363–372. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3959(94)00279-N
12. Wang, P., Lu, X., Wen, M., Li, X., Gao, Q., & Qin, R. (2025). Association between muscle strength and low back pain among middle-aged and older adults: a cross-sectional study. BMC public health, 25(1), 1869. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-23050-2