Sacrum pain while squatting?

MrBiggiesworth

What does it mean when the sacrum area of the spine is hurting during squats? Bad form?
It almost feels like the spine is going to explode or push out of the skin. How can this be fixed? Its only when squatting heavier weights. No pain for lighter weight squatting.

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Cella30

What does it mean when the sacrum area of the spine is hurting during squats? Bad form?
It almost feels like the spine is going to explode or push out of the skin. How can this be fixed? Its only when squatting heavier weights. No pain for lighter weight squatting.

Sorry, OP. I only came in here because I thought the sacrum was some dirty manbits. :blushing:

Morninglory81

Is it the bones themselves that hurt or the nerve that run through them?

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janessanessa

You don't have a perineural cyst that is asymptomatic other than when you put pressure on it do you?? I've suffered from those. Might be worth investigating. Mine we're caused from repeat irritation to the area from exercise and pressure (Vsits etc)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3389325/

Morninglory81

This may help you diagnose any issues you may have with form or range of motion.

http://stronglifts.com/squats-exercise-lower-back-pain/

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jasonheyd

Given the standard, "I'm not a doctor, I don't play one on TV, and I've never stayed at a Holiday Inn Express" disclaimer...

It could be bad form, yes. If you're leaning forward or not keeping your knees aligned, you could be putting more strain on the lower back.

If the pain is lower back and dead center, you might want to have it looked at to make sure you don't have a herniated disc... If it's off to the side, it could be a muscle strain that'll heal up given some rest.

It could also just be a lack of flexibility, which -- if your form's not correct -- could lead to bigger issues as you increase your squat weight.

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Morninglory81

Is it the bones themselves that hurt or the nerve that run through them?

You know its been over a decade since I tried doing a squat with more than 135lbs. The time I refer to I was doing maybe 185lbs, not really heavy, but for me it was heavy. From memory I can only describe it as a lot of pressure over a somewhat broad area at the base of the spine perhaps near the sacral iliac joints. It was not a pinching sensation at all, just a widespread pressure. I remember thinking that it felt like my spine was being pushed out of my skin. The pain occurred as I got lower in the squat position and on the way up, it eased as I returned to standing form. It wasn't so bad that I couldn't complete the reps but I remember thinking that I needed to stop doing squats or I would ruin my body. So I always did leg press after that. Recently I have started to do squats again in body pump type classes, but I only use a little over 80lbs for that. I feel no pain in my back from the light weight squats.

This does sound like a form issue. Take a video of you doing squats and have your form critiqued. There are many knowledgable people on here that can help.

bumblebums

If you want form advice, post a video of your squat.

If you want medical advice, I believe doctors provide that for a fee, and they would be in a better position to help you than a bunch of strangers on the internet who cannot even see you, let alone get all the relevant information that is needed to diagnose your problem.

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jasonheyd

This may help you diagnose any issues you may have with form or range of motion.

http://stronglifts.com/squats-exercise-lower-back-pain/

Good reference, thanks. However it was not in my lower back above the hips. It was literally the back of my hips and maybe even down to the coccyx.

That does sound like a form / flexibility issue... That's right where the pressure's going to build if the knees collapse together or you're fighting against a forward slant because the weight's too heavy.

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the_dude00

Couple things come to mind...

1) as already mentioned, your FORM... I see lots of guys with really terrible form at the gym & honestly wonder how long it will take them before they are injured.

2) How tall / how much do you weigh, sometimes you bones/joints etc are only equipped to handle certain loads... I.E. I rarely do squats with more than 300 or so b/c it my core doesn't feel stable (& I refuse to wear a squat belt or tape my knees / etc) while at the same time I have no issue leg pressing 1000 pounds or more.

All in all, if it doesn't feel right, DITCH the exercise. NO Exercise is Worth Injury. Substitute Leg Press, Hack Squats, etc.

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the_dude00

I saw other one of your posts, and I think you're form is probably lacking.

The first part of any lift is good form, the next part is rep speed (try counting to 3 or 4 on the way down), and then the press/curl. The weight your lifting is about 4th thing to focus on. Don't get too caught up in pounds your lifting, focus on the pump / the burn / when muscle failure is occuring.

FYI... On Dumbell presses - try using that exercise more for volume (higher reps) than outright weight - It is easy to injure your shoulders / elbow etc. (I honestly hate the first rep of those exercise when I lean back and have a little ackward first rep) Stick to the Barbell when you want to push some heavy weight.

You also, may want to get a Doctor to check out your joints