Many of us have heard that bracing our core—tightening the muscles around our abdomen—is essential for protecting our spine, especially during exercise. While it's true that core bracing can provide stability during exercises, doing it too much can actually cause problems. The problem arises when you brace your spine unnecessarily, such as while sitting at a desk or lying around. The forces on your spine in these positions aren't dangerous, but they can become harmful when we excessively tense our core muscles. Over-bracing can put too much pressure on your spine, which can limit the flow of nutrients to your spinal discs and lead to quicker changes in the disc. Here's a simple breakdown of how this happens and some easy ways to tell if you're over-bracing.

How Over Bracing Affects Your Spine

When you brace your core, you're tightening the muscles around your spine to keep it stable. This increases the pressure inside your abdomen, which supports your spine. However, if you keep your core too tight for too long, this pressure can become harmful.

When you brace, the muscles in your back contract in a way that compresses the spine. This is useful when you need extra support, like during heavy lifting. But if you're always bracing, like when sitting at a desk or lying down, this constant muscle contraction keeps pushing down on your spine. Because the discs in your spine absorb nutrients like a sponge, if there is constant compression on the sponge, the flow of nutrients into the disc will be limited. Over time, this constant compression makes it harder for the discs to get the nutrients they need.

Signs You Might Be Over-Bracing

It's not always easy to know if you're bracing too much, but here are a few simple tests and signs to help you figure it out:

1. Forward Bend Test:

•    Stand up straight and slowly bend forward to touch your toes.
•    Notice if your back muscles stay tight the whole time or if they relax at some point. If your lower back starts to round, then the muscles are relaxing.
•    If your muscles stay tight and your back remains flat, you might be over-bracing. 

Bracing is good for lifting weights or short term during a bad flare up. Relaxing is better when doing every day tasks like picking up a pen, or tying your shoes.

2. Deep Breathing Test:

• Sit how you naturally would
• Place one hand on your chest and one hand on your stomach
• Take a deep breath and feel if your stomach and chest expand
• If your breath is shallow and only your chest moves, you might be holding your core too tight

3. Sitting Posture Check:

• Do you sit bolt upright, not allowing your lower back to round at any point?
• Check if you tend to suck in your stomach or keep your core tight even when you're just sitting still
• If you do, you may be over bracing. It’s good to relax your postural muscles and slouch from time to time!

Tips to Balance Stability and Relaxation

To keep your spine healthy, you need to balance bracing with relaxation. Here are some tips to help you do that if you are over bracing:

1. Deep Stomach Breathing:

• Practice deep breathing techniques that use your diaphragm
• Place one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach. Breathe in slowly through your nose, directing the air deep into your lower belly. Your chest hand should stay still while your belly hand rises. Exhale slowly, focusing on relaxing your core and back
• This helps to ensure you're not holding your core tight all the time

2. Regular Movement:

• Move and stretch regularly throughout the day
• Stretches like the cat camel or seated pelvic tilts encourage your back muscles to stretch and relax

3. Listen to Your Body

• At regular intervals throughout the day pay attention to any signs of tension or fatigue in your back

• These can be clues that you're bracing too much and need to allow those muscle to relax

 Conclusion 

Bracing your core is important for protecting your spine during intense or high load activities, but too much of it can be harmful. By understanding the effects of over-bracing and checking yourself with these simple tests, you can maintain a healthy balance. This way, you'll ensure that your spine gets the nutrients it needs to stay healthy and flexible. Remember, a healthy spine is all about balance—stability when you need it and relaxation when you don't.

Thanks for reading,

Sam