Hi guys i injured the right side of my lower back last week while deadlifting. I didn’t really feel the injury during training, the symptoms only started to appear a few days after. I don’t really have problems with day to day tasks , only time i notice it is when i stand from bending down. I have a feeling this is just a muscle injury as i have had similar before on the other side of my back and with my upper back.
Previously i have just laid off training for a couple weeks and gone back to training with no problem, is this what is likely to happen again?
Do these frequent injuries to my back suggest other problems such as poor flexibility? and therefore should i seek to cure any possible underlying injuries first before going back to heavy squats and deads?
I have a feeling this injury resulted mainly from poor deadlift technique which i know i need to correct. Any advice/suggestions are welcome, and sorry if this is in the wrong place.
It could be a lot of things, and i am by no means an expert. Check out some of the articles on this site. It sounds like a pinched nerve to me, since it only hurts at certain times. As for frequent “injuries” it probably means something is wrong, whether it be form, or something structural.
Do you sit a lot?
I am usually pretty good during my workouts, even training intense on deadlifts and squats, but my back starts acting up when I start spending more time sitting.
If its happening often, maybe get a dr to check you out and make sure you dont have any structural problems.
Also, I have found that I can handle volume OR intensity, but not both. And I do much better with lower reps, like 1-3, regardless of the intensity used.
Lastly, if my back does start getting aggrevated, i’ll sometimes cut out deadlifts AND/OR squats for a while, and get some tire pulling in.
That should be enough to help you out. Basically it may be something you just have to watch and work around, or it could be something really wrong, and only a dr. is going to be able to say.
IMO, I’d rather you go see a chiro. It’s cheaper and they actually help you instead of resorting to medication first (although hydro’s and a six pack might as well be heaven on earth). To the majority of the traditional medical industry, back injuries are voodoo and too mysterious to diagnose correctly.
From the sounds of it though (you say muscular), it could be a Q.L.O. strain (Quadratus Lumborum). When your spine flexes forward far enough, the Q.L.O. actually becomes a flexor of the spine and since it’s in a mechanically disadvantageous position to be one, it is easy to strain.
However, it is usually during leg press and certain variations of the squat that this happens, but if you round your lumbar spine during the lowering phase of the dead, it is possible it could have happened then.
Or…it could be your psoas…or a slight scoliosis (caused by a strain/shortening of either of the aforementioned muscles) causing irritation of the spinal nerves. This is why I recommend a chiro; they will at least use heat, massage and manipulation (etc.) to take you out of a pain state and have generally better advice on how to alleviate or prevent a re-occurrence.
[quote]stibby wrote:
Hi guys i injured the right side of my lower back last week while deadlifting. I didn’t really feel the injury during training, the symptoms only started to appear a few days after. I don’t really have problems with day to day tasks , only time i notice it is when i stand from bending down. I have a feeling this is just a muscle injury as i have had similar before on the other side of my back and with my upper back.
Previously i have just laid off training for a couple weeks and gone back to training with no problem, is this what is likely to happen again?
Do these frequent injuries to my back suggest other problems such as poor flexibility? and therefore should i seek to cure any possible underlying injuries first before going back to heavy squats and deads?
I have a feeling this injury resulted mainly from poor deadlift technique which i know i need to correct. Any advice/suggestions are welcome, and sorry if this is in the wrong place. [/quote]
i just got back from a lower back injury.
For your circumstances i’d say that it’s lack of hip mobility.
I’m no doctor or anything, but as you say that it hurt one one side f the back i’d say is the QL.
For your circumstances i’d say that it’s lack of hip mobility.
I’m no doctor or anything, but as you say that it hurt one one side f the back i’d say is the QL.
work on hip mobility and flexibility.[/quote]
I’d agree with this. I’d also add that you probably lack stabilization of the spine and should do lots and lots of planks, pallof isometrics, side planks, rollouts (if you can do them with proper form) etc. I used to suffer from lots of back rounding and occasional pain, and bringing up my core strength and hip mobility has helped tremendously.