eli5: How does a weightlifting belt prevent injuries?
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It supports the lower back reducing the strain on that part of the anatomy, the effect is limited, but it does work.
The idea behind it is that it’s supposed to help you maintain correct posture while providing support for the muscles.
I can’t speak for how well they work but the guys I’ve talked to about them seem to like em well enough
That little bit of material goes a long way. It provides extra support, adding pressure to your abs, which help stabilize your spine. It also forces you into better posture for the lift.
The spine has a slight S shape to it. The part where you wear the belt, just above the hips (the lumbar spine), is the place where this S curve is highly exaggerated. Doing heavy lifts like squats and deadlifts places a ***shearing stress*** (imagine two forces pushing in opposite directions on a stiff object, like a pole) on the spine, and that force can be concentrated on the lumbar spine the more it flexes into the S shape. The belt helps the user’s spine to resist this type of flexion (in other words helps them maintain a neutral spine where the back stays more or less flat rather than more S shaped) in the lower spine. Not wearing a belt can easily lead to injuries like bulging discs or worse, caused by the aforementioned shearing stresses.
Advanced lifters don’t just put on the belt and lift, they use it ***actively*** in a technique called ***bracing***. This involves filing the lungs with air, as well as flexing the core muscles against the belt in attempt to make the torso as rigid (and therefore ‘strong’) as possible. This stabilises the vertebral column as much as possible during the stresses of heavy squats and deads.
It increases the internal pressure of your core, giving your abs something to press against and thereby reducing core instability. A stronger core is a stronger lift, as your body can use less energy to stay upright and can use that energy to recruit more muscle fibers in your legs. In my experience I can lift 5%-10% more with a weight belt. Check out YouTube videos of weight belts snapping and you can see how much value they add to the lift.
Generally when deadlifting/squatting with proper form you’re taught to brace your core(Done through the process of breathing in and flexing your ab’s simultaneously). This allows you to lift more weight as well as protect your spine. Adding a weight belt gives you something to brace against when lifting heavier weight to further stabilize your core.
It’s not just a set it and forget it injury prevention like ankle tape or a knee brace or something, but if you know how to use it they’re almost necessary to avoid injury when trying to max out.
Let me just throw this out there for anyone who isn’t fully aware:
A WEIGHTLIFTING BELT DOESNT PREVENT INJURY.
What it does it provide stability to your core which allows you to you squat, clean, snatch and/or deadlift more weight. The less energy your body needs to use stabilising through the lower back, the more energy it has to keep your shoulders tight/ extend your quads/ retract your scapula/etc. It makes you stronger. It’s not a tool to prevent injury. It’s not a substitute for good form. That’s not the function of a belt.
It does not prevent injuries in any way and anyone saying it does is wrong.
For some people, it does allow them to lift more weight because the belt provides a structure for you to brace against increasing inter abdominal pressure meaning you’re lifting from a more solid position reducing energy leakage and transferring more force into the lift
No support in data that it does. But it certainly feels like it ads some security on heavier weights
IMO it doesn’t, at high weights it gives a comforting feeling to ‘brace’ against it by holding air in your diaphragm. But it doesn’t prevent injuries and it encourages people to lift beyond their physical means. Better to learn proper technique and develop stabilising muscles rather than lift more than you really can for ego, by using a belt, and having an overall weaker posterior chain as a result.
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