Back pain and Lifting Weights?

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  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    In my 20s I had chronic lower back pain (especially when waking up in the morning) every day. I was 300lbs, had never worked out a day in my life and had a desk job with likely terrible posture.

    I picked up powerlifting in my early 30s and now at 37 I have no back pain at all. I can deadlift mid 500s and my back is great. It has improved my posture dramatically and even doing strenuous work does not hurt anymore (other than normal tightness and DOMS and such from hard workouts of course). Best thing I ever did for my back.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,982 Member
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    Babs2Baby wrote: »
    lorrpb wrote: »
    My back pain has almost completely disappeared since starting strength training. Stronger core is the KEY, but the specific exercises could vary depending on your condition. Most things should be ok, but there might be one or two you should avoid. Get evaluated by a physical therapist or someone with expertise in sports medicine. This may or may not be your doctor.

    That's awesome! Congratulations!
    Right now I am just doing walking and I feel my back tense up, I will have to see what's going on and hopefully it's not as bad as it feels! Thanks for the advice!

    Having back pain from walking does indeed sound like something you should see a doctor about.

    Not that my back pain is in anyway similar to yours, but I can do standard upper body workouts without pain, except for bent over dumbbell rows, which oddly hurt my lower back despite being for upper back. I switched to a machine for this and have no pain from it.

    I have knee issues and have yet to develop a lower body workout other than bodyweight exercises.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
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    Babs2Baby wrote: »
    SonyaCele wrote: »
    Babs2Baby wrote: »
    I don't have a herniated disc or anything its just sore from sitting down all day. And yeah I figured as much I would have to ask them. Was also curious if anyone had any success stories from lifting weight and back pain.

    yes weight lifting basically made all my back pain go away. If there is nothing wrong with your back other than being tight from sitting all day, start by stretching a lot. get some blood flowing into your muscles and get them active . then learn the proper form for each lift, and start lifting.

    I am just starting out. Like I have never really exercised or stretched in my life which is probably why the soreness is there. I will start with doing some stretches and see if that helps but hold off on lifting anything until I see a doctor. I know that it's all about keeping your back straight and not getting tensed up. Oh gee maybe I should get a personal trainer.

    If this is the case, I would first get clearance from your doctor and then start with the bodyweight exercises that Azdak mentioned.

    Proper form is essential, and starting too soon with weights without any core stability at all could be a problem for you.

    I too have a bad back and started from scratch and my trainer had me do a lot of TRX and bodyweight work in the beginning. We eventually added very light weights for some moves and progressed from there.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    Azdak wrote: »
    I would not start by thinking about "lifting weights" per se, but there are exercises you can safely do that can help with strengthening and stabilizing the core, as well as teach body awareness. Wall push-ups, step ups, bird dogs, pallof presses, planks, glute raises and dead bugs can all be helpful.

    This is a good answer and the best place to start.
    Unfortunately this area is tricky as a doctor's default answer is very often likely to be don't lift, don't do anything. What you need is one who refers you to a knowledgeable physical therapist that searches for the WHY that's causing the pain.
    I used to deal with low back pain most of my life, later teens thru mid 30's. Despite being active an lifting weights I still had to deal with it and thought it was a part of life. Stumbling onto different ways of training and ones that really focused on building a strong core, as well as movement patterns have pretty much eliminated all lower back pain.
  • TanyaHooton
    TanyaHooton Posts: 249 Member
    edited December 2016
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    Go to the doctor. I have had back pain for about 18-24 months now, progressively worse. I did yoga, saw a chiro, applied heat, took otc pain meds , started a body pump class. Everything helped....temporarily. It always came back.

    My doc said it was likely degenerative disc disease, though my chiro disagrees. Official scrip was for lumbago and right side sciatica. Treatment is Rx anti inflammatory and physical therapy. The PT has made a HUGE difference already, about 2 weeks in. I also added very gentle pilates for addtl core work.

    I think the PT will be life changing. She is having me focus on core strength, hamstring lengthening, and posture. I need to work on my gait as well, but that was for later. She spent a lot of time decompressing the tension along my discs. You need someone who will work on the root cause, not the symptoms or it will never really go away.

    Concentrate on being well first. Then do the heavy lifting.
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
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    Definitely ask your doctor. None of us are qualified to diagnose a back issue, and it sounds like this could be caused by something more - maybe a disc or nerve issue.
  • SingingSingleTracker
    SingingSingleTracker Posts: 1,866 Member
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    Babs2Baby wrote: »
    I have really bad lower back pain. It bothers me on a day to day basis and sometimes it hurts so bad I wince when I walk. I really want to start lifting weights and I hear that it helps with joint pain because it actually strengthens you.
    What I'm asking is can I start lifting weights even if I have chronic lower back pain or is this something I should stay away from?

    Daily stretching. Work on your core and correct posture. Weekly or bi-weekly massages to help work out muscle tension and the hot spots. Foam roller to work out the kinks. Keep all of this up while lifting weights to combat the lower back pain and improve your lower back health.

    The bolded daily stretching is very important.
  • brooke64
    brooke64 Posts: 34 Member
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    Bumping this for future reference.

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