neutral spine position

I posted the posture question up to Chad Waterbury last week.

given my recent pains I’ve been doing tons of readin reagarding the spine, and one thing that seems to come up in all the reputable coaches writings is maintaining neutral spine/back position.

This seems counter-productive to me. If you are always attempting to maintain neutral, doesn’t that amount to lack of use?

Lack of use, everyone agrees, leads to dysfunction in both strength and flexibility. But maintaining neutral is also VERY protecting to the back.

Can anyone comment on this seeming paradox? how the heck do you balance them?

confused as usual,
-sean

p.s. Chad, if you read this, I underestimated how hard it would be to get pool noodles in Connecticut in late February. Seeings how the average temp has been about 15 degrees and we’ve had a few feet of snow, the stores don’t have the summer supplies out yet. Been using rolled towels for the moment. Ordered some off a website yesterday. Making good progress though.

Cheers.