My book Spinal Fitness runs 20 chapters plus appendices, and its mechanics trace to one source: Dr. John S. Scherger, D.C. (June 28, 1950 to June 11, 2016), a Pettibon-trained chiropractor who founded the Athletic Spinal Fitness Institute in Ridgefield, Washington, and he was my chiropractor and my mentor. I wrote the book to make his mathematical proofs and corrective exercise protocols accessible to individuals, trainers and organizations.
What Dr. Scherger taught me first
Dr. Scherger was the first person to show me that the human body, spine included, operates according to mechanical laws that can be understood, measured and improved. That realization changed how I approached pain, posture, movement and performance. The fulcrum, the sit-up, the pelvic tilt, neck flexion, spinal curvature and the mathematical case for the S-shaped spine all trace back to his work and teaching.
His starting formula: mechanical advantage equals the effort arm divided by the resistance arm, applied to every spinal joint. The deep spinal muscles attach close to the vertebrae, so the effort arm in the spine is fixed and short. That leaves one variable a person controls: the resistance arm, the distance between the spine and the load. In his broad comparison, proper structure does the job with about 77 pounds of total muscular effort and 1,218 pounds of compression, and improper structure needs about 1,166 pounds of effort and 2,708 pounds of compression. That is a 15-to-1 difference in effort and about 2-to-1 in compression.
Appendix C of the book presents his correction to classical lever teaching as it applies to muscles and joints. The arm that sets mechanical advantage is the effective lever arm, the perpendicular distance from the line of force to the fulcrum, and that arm changes at every joint angle. In the spine, one lever system is 2 vertebrae: the upper vertebra is the resistance arm, the lower vertebra supplies the stabilizing effort, and the joint between them is the fulcrum. The analysis therefore goes joint by joint, because the forces at L2-L3 can differ from the forces at L4-L5 in the same movement.
Where I came from before the book
Before wellness, I worked in 4 roles: nuclear quality engineer, residential land developer, home builder and nonprofit corporation manager. That technical foundation shaped how I approach the body: as an interconnected system of structure, force, energy and adaptation. After severe allergies, chemical sensitivities, toxic exposures and a near-disabling accident, I searched for answers, and I rebuilt my health through nutritional balancing, detoxification, corrective exercise and environmental health strategies, and my personal recovery under the guidance of Dr. Scherger transformed my life and inspired this book.
I have worked in the wellness industry since 2010, completed Nutritional Balancing Science training and became a NASM Certified Personal Trainer. Through products, education and one-on-one guidance, the work has reached thousands of people in 91 countries. I hold 10 US and 6 international patents, and 9 of the 10 US patents are commercialized through Nuco Enterprise Solutions LLC, which operates CreatrixSolutions.com and WellnessShoppingOnline.com. At an age when many people expect decline, I feel stronger, healthier and more vibrant than I did in my 20s.
The 3 spine models in Chapter 1
Chapter 1 places the method beside 2 better-known models. McGill explains spinal stability: back pain often improves when endurance and stiffness control are built around a neutral spine. Janda explains muscle imbalance: chronic posture, repetitive work and poor movement habits create predictable patterns of tightness and weakness. Scherger explains how spinal curvature, gravity and the direction of force decide whether the joints are stabilized or driven into shear.
His contribution is the measured cost of a posture: how much effort the muscles must produce, how much compression the joints receive, how much shear the body must control and how many anatomical structures it must recruit. In his football contact analysis, poor posture needs about 349 pounds of effort and 4 muscles plus 3 joints to stabilize the same contact that good posture handles with about 191 pounds, 2 muscles and 1 joint.
The first proof was on a football field
Beginning in the mid-1980s, Dr. Scherger led a project on training and care of the spinal column with Ron O’Neil, head athletic trainer for the New England Patriots for 18 seasons; Dick “Smitty” Smith, coach or manager for 6 Olympic teams and 22 world championship teams; Jennifer Stone, senior athletic trainer from the United States Olympic Center; and Robert Beeten, director of the US Olympic Sports Medicine and Research Center. Players with a pronounced lumbar curve moved quicker, lasted longer, showed greater flexibility and hit harder, and their curves flattened as the season accumulated trauma. By 2000 the sit-up, the pelvic tilt and the Power Cushion were in the Patriots’ medical training room, and by 2002 they were in the weight room.
How the book is organized
Chapters 1 and 2 make the workplace case: why backs break and what an injury costs. Chapters 3 to 6 are the physics of gravity, the neck curve and disc pump, effective momentum and training architecture. Chapters 7 to 11 are the system: exposure mapping, the correction loop, the 5 steps, a 90-day company rollout and the desk, driver and warehouse standards. Chapters 12 to 16 teach one step each, Chapter 17 covers screening and the Spinal Fitness Assessment Index, Chapter 18 covers space travel, Chapter 19 is the movement manifesto, and Chapter 20 covers the recovery environment of light, heat, air and minerals. Study questions close the chapters, with answers through the Spinal Fitness online course.
The 5 steps run in a fixed order: Back Trac rolling, the Pelvic Tilt over a fulcrum, the Sit-Up over the PowerCushion, Neck Flexion at 6 reps 6 times a day, and the Spinal Twist with the Neck and Back Shaper rolls, with supported rest capped at 18 to 20 minutes. The rule under every step is the same: muscular strain is acceptable, and pain, numbness, tingling and dizziness are signs to stop, get evaluated, and then proceed with a therapeutic exercise program designed by a Spinal Fitness expert.
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This article is for educational purposes only.
