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Research Finds You Can Put Your Back Into It

So lift a little harder - by Alex Pierotti
  • 04 Dec 2019
Research Finds You Can Put Your Back Into It
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Growing up, we were always told to keep our back straight to avoid injuries. But now researchers from Curtin University may have finally dispelled that myth.

New findings published in the Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy suggest that neither lifting with a straight or bent back resulted in a higher chance of injury. 

“There is no evidence that lifting with a flexed or round back increases your risk of back pain,” said Professor Peter O’Sullivan, who co-led the study. 

But researchers stress that their paper doesn't mean one form is safer than another. Rather, there is not enough evidence to suggest that lifting with a straight back is more risk-free. 

There is a caveat however: studies have not been done on lifting weights heavier than 12 kilograms.

Other experts aren't surprised with the verdict.

“We have known this for decades. The emphasis on keeping the back straight is a bit of a dogma that’s lasted through the ages. It’s like the idea you should sit bolt upright at a computer – that’s not true either,” says David Hall, a work safety expert and spokesman for the Australian Physiotherapy Association, speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald.

While the results are comforting, this certainly isn't a licence to stray away from good form in the quest to shift more tin. Isolating muscles without recruiting your back will help deliver more gains. 

Alex Pierotti
Alex Pierotti
Alex Pierotti is the Digital Content Editor for Men's Health Australia, with experience reporting on health, fitness and sport. With a Journalism degree from UNSW under his belt, he got his start working in TV, working on the live broadcast of the Intrust Super Shute Shield on 7TWO before making the switch to print and digital at Pacific Magazines.

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