Help- Tight Lower Back After DL's

Last night I did a lot of deadlifts, and after my last set I felt something wrong with my lower back back. It didn’t hurt but my back positioning afterwards was sort of tilted, not upright. I put heat on it. This persists today.

It’s like my back is really tight there. What should I do to relieve this (if anything)?

rest, it’s pretty normal if you go hard on dl. sometimes i have to lay on a flat bench for a couple of seconds between sets towards the end. it’s probably just a super pump, unless you are in pain today(not sore, but pain).

Lighten up or drop the deadlifts for a week. Just ran into this myself. I’m planning to drop thirty pounds on the DL’s to make the reps. If I still have the problem, then I’ll switch away from DL’s to high/low snatch pulls.

I used to always have lower back pain/ soreness for a few days after deadlifting sessions. I just assumed it was normal. Now that I improved my form, lower back soreness doesn’t happen nearly as often.

It’s always weird with the back. If your quads hurt after squatting, you assume it’s good soreness. If your lower back hurts after deadlifting, you assume its pain. But I would at least check that form is as correct as possible.

[quote]skidmark wrote:
Lighten up or drop the deadlifts for a week. Just ran into this myself. I’m planning to drop thirty pounds on the DL’s to make the reps. If I still have the problem, then I’ll switch away from DL’s to high/low snatch pulls.[/quote]

no deadlifts? i must be reading this incorrectly…

I get a similar discomfort when my lower back gets pumped. My erectors are more likely to be sore the next day as well, so this may be what you’re feeling.

I’ve found developing a pump back there is a symptom of under-recovery for me. So, I’ll back off a bit or take an extra day of rest and then I’ll be back at 100%. It’s turned out to be a pretty useful indicator.

I haven’t tried it, but I would guess that some foam rolling of the muscles and fascia back there may help things.

Deloading the spine helps me sometimes. Do some monkey crunches or something similar after the heavy sets. Feels nice on the back.

After you finish deadlifting, two or three sets of weighted chin-ups (holding a dumbbell between the feet) will work miracles for straightening out the lower back. Just try it. In the short term, lay on the floor (the harder the better) for ten minutes with your feet propped on a chair (so your legs are at a 90 degree angle). Your back will feel much better when you get up.

Stretch the hamstrings, and try the lumbar rotation stretch. “They” contraindicate it for heavy lifters, but it sure helps to relieve stiffness/soreness. Other options are SMR (if you have enough meat on lumbar area) and epsom salt baths.

And/or deal with it. You’ll adapt.

[quote]mazilla wrote:
skidmark wrote:
Lighten up or drop the deadlifts for a week. Just ran into this myself. I’m planning to drop thirty pounds on the DL’s to make the reps. If I still have the problem, then I’ll switch away from DL’s to high/low snatch pulls.

no deadlifts? i must be reading this incorrectly…

[/quote]

Nope, you read it correctly - pounding the lower back too heavy too often is counterproductive.

A pump from high rep deadlifting can seem very painful, but I’ve found that if I superset deadlifts with high rep db benchpressing the pump in my back is greatly alleviated. I guess you are diverting the blood elsewhere, and taking the pressure off the back. Here’s what’s worked for me;

set of deadlifts

followed by

incline db benchpress 4 sets of 25 (100 reps total inbetween deads)

repeat.

PS use a very light load on the pressing, it should feel stupidly easy (10lbs per arm would be fine).

PPS I guess what your feeling now is just DOMS and to be expected.