I’m a powerlifter and doctor of physical therapy. I’ve deadlifted 628 lbs in competition in the USAPL.
You do not need to decompress your spine after deadlifting.
Our body is capable of managing external loads of a very high degree, very well, if we train for it.
Our bodies are incredibly adaptable. I hope that’s what you’ll take away from this post.
In the remainder of this post we’ll discuss where the idea of decompressing came from, what is compression, is it bad, among other things.
Let’s dive in!
(oh and as an aside, if you’re having pain after deadlifts you can check out this popular article that I wrote on the topic and how to recover.)
Key Takeaways
- Spinal compression is fine and safe and you do not need to decompress your spine after deadlift or squat sessions
- We need compression through our joints to maintain bone density and muscle mass.
- People who are sedentary have higher rates of joint osteoarthritis in the knee than recreational runners.
What is spinal compression? What’s actually happening?
Gravity is pushing down at 9.8 m/s2 which is what keeps our planet and bodies functioning how they do. We need this compression and external force to maintain our bone density and muscle mass.
Spinal compression is a normal part of everyday life and adding additional compression via deadlifting or squats is also completely normal.
This compression is quite literally just the spinal vertebrae and intervertebral discs making a strong connection and the allowance of force to be transferred.
Too often I hear people saying that “oh, yea, compression is bad.” It’s an odd thing to say. Where in the world did we get this impression that the word and function of compression is bad?
Is it because we are claustrophobic or don’t like to feel “compressed,” as some innate survival mechanism?
I’m not sure, entirely.
What I do know is that many of us have this unexplainable aversion to too much compression.
Is spinal compression bad?
Spinal compression is not inherently bad. As with all things, the most true answer is, it depends.
If you are constantly exposed to very high levels of compression that are in fact producing discomfort then you should probably stop that.
If you were in a car accident, this level of compression is injurious. Additionally, if you fell off of the roof of a house, the level of compression caused by the impact with the ground will likely be injurious.
These are obvious examples of when compression would be bad. But how much is okay or normal?
How much compression is okay or normal?
The answer to this question is, it depends. Clearly falling off of a roof or getting in a car accident are traumatic events (literally called trauma for a reason), that produce a humongous amount of force.
On the other hand, deadlifting, squatting, and various other lifting and sporting activities produce load of a MUCH smaller magnitude and under a controlled setting.
The fact that the load is controlled and relatively much smaller than a traumatic event makes it much safer.
You’re probably thinking, “yea, Nate, no duh, what’s the point?”
My point is that everything we do in life will produce compression. If you are a competitive athlete who has reached the elite level and are quite literally a professional, I’d argue that maybe you will have a higher risk of developing symptomatic arthritis later in life, but, I don’t know that I actually have that hard data.
If you are a recreational athlete, lifter, hiker, etc. compression should be the least of your worries.
It’s a known fact that regular exercise, including lifting heavy weights is completely healthy, safe, and recommended to stay alive longer and more importantly live a high quality of life to the very end of life.
The fear of compression is an unhelpful barrier to doing the thing that is actually going to help you live longer and stay independent as long as possible.
Does compression and load cause faster degeneration than no load or smaller loads?
The only example that I’ve seen of this so far is in relation to runners and their knees which I’ll explain below.
An example of compressive forces in runners
In a recent study it was shown that recreational runners who experience more joint compression than non-runners had LESS osteoarthritis and pain.
People who ran were healthier and had less issues than sedentary people. This shows us, potentially, that running and some amount of joint compression is actually safe and needed to maintain the integrity of your joints.
On the other size of the spectrum, elite runners, did have more osteoarthritis later on in life.
Just like most things, moderation is generally the best bet for longevity and health.
