#35 - Functional Anatomy of the Spine in Barbell Training with Dr. John Petrizzo, PT, CSCS, PRSCC, SSC

Low back pain is one of the most common injuries in the general population. In all sports, including barbell training, powerlifting, and resistance training, back pain is just as common. Therefore, we should not believe that squats and deadlifts are bad for your back. In fact, they are important for increasing the health and resiliency of your spine, and decreasing your pain.

In this episode of the PRS Podcast, PRS Clinical Coaches, Drs. Rori Alter, Alyssa Haveson, and John Petrizzo discuss the functional anatomy of the spine and the role it plays in barbell training. They discuss why the spine is much more stable and resilient than medical, chiropractic, and physical therapy doctors often believe it to be, explain how barbell training improves your spine health, and how to reduce your risk for low back pain with squats and deadlifts.

This episode is an educational experience for barbell trainees, powerlifters, Crossfitters, weightlifters, and other strength lifters to deeply understand their spine to improve their training and decrease their risk for low back pain.

If you're a chiropractor, physical therapist, medical doctor, strength coach, or student clinician, this episode is a great review and application tutorial regarding the spine and barbell training.

In this episode we discuss:

• Spinal Structure

• Segments of the spine

• Curvatures of the spine

• Vertebral body structure

• Intervertebral discs

• Spinal Stability

• Boney alignment of the spine

• Spinal ligaments

• Spinal muscles

• Intra abdominal pressure

• Disc Structure & function

• Anatomy of the intervertebral discs

• Disc bulge versus disc herniation

• The jelly donut analogy

• Spinal Peripheral Nerves

• Their role in back pain

• Spinal Radiculopathy

• MRIs & Imaging

• Do you need an MRI?

• How the spine functions in barbell training

• Rigidity & force transfer

• Program management for injury risk reduction

Check out the video of this episode on Youtube for images to go along with everything we discussed in this podcast episode.

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Get in touch with the show!

Web: https://www.progressiverehabandstrength.com

Email: [email protected]

Rori IG: @rorimegan_prs

Alyssa IG: @alyssahope_prs