Lower Back stiffness

Training Injuries
1

Ok I’ll just break down first how my injury happened then give you insight into what I’m experiencing now.

Last Tuesday was Squat day, so you would think of all exercises I would injure myself on, it would be squat, not the accessory lifts. Well, first off got a pr with 330 x 3 which couldn’t get any better. I then did single legged leg presses, then finished off with Smith Machine Calf Raises. Well the smith machine should be idiot proof right? Not for this guy!

Me being short (5’7) none of the pins? on the rack are exactly where the bar should be for me to nicely unrack/rack the bar, so I either have to set the bar a little lower or higher to reach it. Well after doing 3x12 on 225 calf raises, I tip toed the bar like a calf raise to rack it. I thought I racked it and slammed the bar into the smith machine to make sure i did it, but since my legs were exhausted form all the leg work, I guess it didn’t rack.

I then proceeded to walk away and the bar with 225 came crashing down onto my 140lb frame. I collapsed like an accordion. I guess from talking to some of the PT students here at school, it was good I didn’t try to resist against the bar when it fell otherwise i could’ve twisted, ruptured, etc. something.

Anyways, i don’t feel anything on my spin, I can lean forward and twist but when i lean backwards I get some pain. It’s constantly stiff, similar to the feeling I would get the hour following deadlifting/lower back exercising. So my guess is that I did something to the muscles to it? What could I do to possibly rehab it? Just wait and let it heal?

2

Alright just a quick update, my lower back is still really stiff. I can still bend forward and twist and was able to do a pretty exhausting upper body workout on sunday that included heavy benching. Yet if my back has to in any way be forced to move backwards, it stiffens up and I get a pain. Also I’ll notice I get the stiffness when sitting in my chair playing some video games. Any thoughts?

3

Could be your facets, pars fracture, sprain/strain, annular fiber tear, disc protrusion, etc. With trauma you can’t be too careful, get it looked at. Ice is always nice. I would recommend you limit activities to things that don’t make it hurt worse.

A 50/50 approach (50% of what weights you were doing at 50% of your exertion level) would be some basic advice. But again, get it looked at. I would recommend someone that deals with musculoskeletal injuries as opposed to an M.D., but if your insurance will pay for x-rays with your primary care doctor then I would do that at a minimum. Good luck.