Low Back Pain/Tightness

Well, I have occasional pain/tightness in my lower back. I don’t have good hip or ankle mobility. I like to play videogames a lot so I tend to sit in my desk chair tilted back with my low back not pressing up against the back of the chair so that causes my lumbars to be in flexion for an hour or two at a time.

I hadn’t done any squats or DLs for a while since I was training with my friend who was going to Basic for the Air Force. We mostly did pushups, chins, and running. But my lower back just randomly started hurting and I have never had low back problems. I attribute most of my pain to poor mobility and posture, but I truthfully don’t know what the cause is.

I tried DLing to maybe strengthen it, but it just got agitated more. I was only using 95 LBS!!!

Any help on mobility, low back pain, or postural problems would be much appreciated!

Deadlifting is not going to help. Don’t do it while you have pain.

You already know you need to work on hip and ankle mobility, right? Also work on spinal stability. Foam roll your thoracic spine.

Chances are you have sprained/strained a muscle, and you’ll be OK in a few weeks, through sprains are a warning sign to fix your imbalances. However, if this doesn’t help or if the pain is severe, see a doctor to find out what’s wrong.

Well, here’s the thing about dls (and squats) - if you dont do them correctly, they’ll give you trouble. It might not be today, neither tomorrow, but itl catch up to you. Something it obviosly has here, if that is in fact the cause of your problem.

You know how on dls, they see “keep your back straight”. That doesn’t mean keep it as arched back as possible, thats just gonna give more trouble again. A good technuice in squats, dls (and everything else actually), is sqeezing your glutes - hard. That prevents you from acrhing back to far, and it also gives you alot more strength.

If you’ve been training with your buddy the way you described, for some time now, you must be imbalanced. It didnt sound very smart.

Like andersons says, you need to work on hip and ankle mobility, and mobility training in general.

Tho your problem might as well be (or a combination) of poor posture the rest of the week. Lets say you spend 3hrs at the gym a week, the rest are spent hanging over a desk (i’m the same way). That could also give you trouble. So “straighten” up. Move around more, take breaks. The best sitting position is the one thats constantly changing.

This might be a problem. Did you do these of off a stack of plates or rack? If you pulled from the ground (assumption is bar with 2-#25) then you are pulling from a deficit. This will put a lot more strain on your lower back, especially since you’re a beginner and many not have the correct form down yet. “They” make #25 bumper plates (look like 45s but made of rubber) that will raise the bar to the correct height.

Is it truly pain or just discomfort? I’ve found that your back muscles feel different than other muscles when they’re sore, or from the “pump”, and this could be what you’re feeling.

If it really is pain, then you shouldn’t try to lift through it and should go see a doctor.

Pushups and chinups use the lower back. If you were severly detrained, as it sounds like you were, those are probably what caused your lower back to get sore in the first place. The deadlifts, probably with rounded back, would only make it worse.

You really need to start at a rehab level, with planks, supermans, etc, with close attention to form before getting into exercises like deadlifts. It may take several months to a year before you are ready. Get some professional help to learn proper training techniques and posture. Do your viideo games standing up.

Like stu said, incorporate planks ans back extensions.

When I first started lifting heavy, I had soreness in my low back as well. I did back extensions and planks superset at the end of my workouts 2x a week and the pain has gone away completely.