Lower back issues and lifting barbells

tarothelp

I have lifted in the past doing CrossFit .....after being sedentary for a few years sitting at a desk all day not really working out much... I am back at the gym since November ....however upon lifting this time I injured my lower back which is frustrating because now I am afraid to do deadlifts..... I believe it was a dead lift that caused the strain in my lower back this time around. Anyone else suffer this kind of setback? For me nothing. Eats lifting heavy weights! I am using the machines and I did some light squats with the bar today but I do miss deadlifts!

ew_david

Yes, I had pain that I continued lifting through because I loved lifting and I made myself worse. I'm on a complete break from barbell training; I do bodyweight workouts now.

It was hard to let go of lifting, but the pain I was in afterward wasn't worth continuing, so I stopped.

Saaski

Have you been to physical therapy for the injury? I also have lower back issues, and PT did a lot of help me strengthen it. It's also probably a good idea to ease back into deadlifting if you do it. Making sure that your form is good, that you aren't going too heavy too soon, etc.

subcounter

Make sure you are doing stretches religiously, especially if you're doing heavy deadlifts. I would check the Fixing Broken Back series from OmarIsuf, it helped me a ton, and I have no pain now on my lower back, and I always do these stretches along with many others. I should mention, this was what worked for me. Yours could be a herniated disc, or any number of things. Lets hope its something not as serious as below:

This is 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIkwxZhwltU

This is 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg6xwgw0Ddg

Unknown

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Cylphin60

subcounter wrote: »

Make sure you are doing stretches religiously, especially if you're doing heavy deadlifts. I would check the Fixing Broken Back series from OmarIsuf, it helped me a ton, and I have no pain now on my lower back, and I always do these stretches along with many others. I should mention, this was what worked for me. Yours could be a herniated disc, or any number of things. Lets hope its something not as serious as below:

This is 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIkwxZhwltU

This is 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg6xwgw0Ddg

I recommend doing these, or other stretches or a combination whether you continue to hit the weights or not. Your back will thank you I injured my back 30+ years ago, and to be fair I keep my weights lighter because it still complains on occasion and I don't want to push my luck, but an injury (especially back) should be properly cared for regardless of what you do for exercise.

Best of luck going forward.

Lizarking

Yeah. Check out the book "Back Mechanic" by Dr. Stuart McGill. It set me straight after 5 years of suffering horrendous low back pain.

SonyaCele

let your back heal and then make sure your deadlift form is spot on perfect and you are using the right muscles, so you aren't putting bad stress on your lower spine

Lizarking

I wanted to add: A lot of low back "fixes" I found in youtube videos... turns out they were contraindicated with my back problem and may be with yours.

tarothelp

Those are some great resources for stretches thanks very much! I do see a chiropractor who is helping me a great deal. My stretch is to lie on stomach up on my forearms to squish the vertebrae in the opposite direction as the fluid was coming out from a tear in Btwn the vertebrae. It helps. Im no longer in pain but still some weakness and yes leg presses are my alternate now. I did squats with the bar for the first time since today. Man it felt good! It is a issue with the disk. Compressed. Frustrating isn't it?!?!

DancingMoosie

Yes, I've had chronic low back pain as well as acute pain from lifting incorrectly or too much weight. Once healed, I went back to look up correct form and basically started over, relearning the deadlift. I changed my stance, focus on back straight, core tight. I kept the weight lower for longer, did more sets with less reps until I was ready to progress.

tarothelp

Dancing moosie: how did that work for you? Any setbacks? Did the pain come back?

jjpptt2

I've been there... tweaked my back several times due to poor DL form.

I'm since switch to trapbar deads with moderate/heavy weight (vs heavy/heavy) and more volume, with greater emphasis on technique. Works for me.

cwolfman13

tarothelp wrote: »

Those are some great resources for stretches thanks very much! I do see a chiropractor who is helping me a great deal. My stretch is to lie on stomach up on my forearms to squish the vertebrae in the opposite direction as the fluid was coming out from a tear in Btwn the vertebrae. It helps. Im no longer in pain but still some weakness and yes leg presses are my alternate now. I did squats with the bar for the first time since today. Man it felt good! It is a issue with the disk. Compressed. Frustrating isn't it?!?!

I had a slipped disk (compressed disk) in July...physical therapy did way more for me than my chiropractor did...I see a chiropractor regularly, but it was the PT that really got me back on track. It was not only beneficial to go in and get treatment, but they basically laid out a plan for me that I could take to the weight room.

It wasn't glamorous by any means...and it was difficult for me at first given that it was so foreign to my normal training protocols...and yeah, a bit awkward at first watching someone pull a heavy clean while I tugged on a big rubber-band for a gazillion reps...but ultimately, it got me back in the game.

Lizarking

tarothelp wrote: »

Those are some great resources for stretches thanks very much! I do see a chiropractor who is helping me a great deal. My stretch is to lie on stomach up on my forearms to squish the vertebrae in the opposite direction as the fluid was coming out from a tear in Btwn the vertebrae. It helps. Im no longer in pain but still some weakness and yes leg presses are my alternate now. I did squats with the bar for the first time since today. Man it felt good! It is a issue with the disk. Compressed. Frustrating isn't it?!?!

the nucleus was escaping the disc? Was this determined by MRI?

DancingMoosie

tarothelp wrote: »

Dancing moosie: how did that work for you? Any setbacks? Did the pain come back?

No pain unless something goes wrong...Back rounding, too heavy or too many reps. I do better with adding sets, keeping reps low

DevilsFan1

tarothelp wrote: »

Those are some great resources for stretches thanks very much! I do see a chiropractor who is helping me a great deal. My stretch is to lie on stomach up on my forearms to squish the vertebrae in the opposite direction as the fluid was coming out from a tear in Btwn the vertebrae. It helps. Im no longer in pain but still some weakness and yes leg presses are my alternate now. I did squats with the bar for the first time since today. Man it felt good! It is a issue with the disk. Compressed. Frustrating isn't it?!?!

Forget the chiropractor and find a real doctor who can help you diagnose your back issues.