Kettlebell Swings and Back Pain

I’m definitely one of the lucky ones. Aside from a minor twist or jerk here and there, I’ve never been plagued with back pain.
And I attribute a lot of that “luck” to my ability to skillfully use my kettlebell…or more specifically, to skillfully SWING my kettlebell.
The funny thing is, when most people look at a proper kettlebell swing, they automatically think “That’s going to hurt my back”.
But if you dissect the swing further, you should notice – watch my demo videos that came with Swing Logic – that my back doesn’t move at all.
My spine is fused and the movement of the swing comes from my hips.
So what’s the deal with kettlebells and back pain?
Well, here’s a study that may shed some light on the swing and why it doesn’t hurt your back…or does it?
In the study published in “The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, vol.26.1.Jan.2012), McGill and Marshall from the University of Waterloo, Canada, came up with some interesting conclusions.
Unlike traditional barbell lifting, kettlebell swings, create loads or forces on the spine that are “inverted.”
Because of the arc-like trajectory of the Swing, there is relatively high posterior shearing force in relation to compressive force.
A shearing force is a force that can tear. A compressive force is the force that compresses tissue – your spinal discs – together until it explodes/ruptures (that’s what a herniated disc is, btw).
In traditional barbell lifting, there are higher compressive forces compared to shearing forces.
This means that you should have sufficient spinal stability – and sufficiently more spinal stability to swing a kettlebell than lift a bar.
So this means 3 things…
1. Compressive forces are traditionally associated with back injuries – herniated discs.
Kettlebell Swings have low compression forces, therefore, when done correctly, they won’t hurt your lower back.
They’re more “forgiving” than barbell lifting.
And that means that you can do a lot of them to strengthen your back and keep yourself from getting injured.
This explains why so many people experience positive results from Swings.
That’s great news, but…
2. Shearing forces can still cause back injury, so if you’re swinging your KB and have back pain, stop swinging!
Your pain most likely means that you either have insufficient spine stability and/or your technique is incorrect.
This means Swings actually ARE bad for your back in certain cases.
And this explains why there are some people who find that Swings and kettlebell ballistics in general hurt their lower backs.
So…
3. If you even suspect you fall into category #2, you need to add in some spinal stability exercises and polish your technique.