Squat Mid Back Pain Fix - Loading Strategies, Squat Variations, Heel Wedges (Harderwill Review)
Do you get tension in your mid back when squatting?
I used to get tension in my mid back when squatting, and for years I thought that was just a normal part of the exercise.
However, there is a subtle difference between maintaining a good relationship of the rib cage and pelvis, where the two are stacked above on another, and allowing these areas to become disconnected.
When the rib cage and pelvis are disconnected from each other during a traditional squat or deadlift, the back muscles must produce a lot of muscle action to stabilize the trunk. Without adequate support from the abdominals, diaphragm, or pelvic floor, the superficial back muscles develop a pattern of over-activity.
With repetitive performance of the squat with the rib cage translating forward and the hips staying back relative to the trunk, the mid back muscles can often become short and restricted (concentric bias) to the point where posterior structures of the spine are compressed and ultimately, may become sensitized.
It should be noted that many people will be able to squat with this strategy and "get away with it" while others may be more prone to developing discomfort with this strategy.
In this video, we discuss a loading strategy and exercise variations that are useful to help people who have been using a pattern characterized by forward translation of the rib cage and relative posterior orientation of the pelvis. This means that if you have had mid back tension or have a butt-wink that doesn't seem to want to resolve, you might want to substitute or supplement your regular squats with this variation.
A very useful tool for managing the stacked position of the rib cage and pelvis is a heel wedge, which ultimately makes it easier to achieve an upright trunk position and helps us learn to descend in piston-like fashion with the rib cage over the pelvis.
Many squat ramps and foam wedges are available and each has advantages and disadvantages. In this video, I demonstrate the use of Harderwill Squat wedges and discuss why I think there are true advantages to using these vs. other options.
If you want to pick up a pair, you can purchase at the link below (I earn a commission as an Amazon affiliate):
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