How common is it to have to hold the stud in the ball joint with a hexagon wrench in order to screw the nut back onto the sway bar?

I ask because I did not use a hexagon wrench at all. The nut came off no problem with an impact wrench, and went back on just fine I think. It torqued correctly as far as I can tell (32 ft-lb). I used a ratchet for general tightening and nothing was twisting or spinning as far as I could tell.