Guys, I need some help. Last week I was doing a heavy deadlift workout
and the next morning I woke up with this horrible pain at the base of my
spine. The pain subsided as the day went on but the next morning it was
back. I’ve figured out that it won’t bother me unless I lie down and then
try to start walking around. As long as I keep moving around I’m fine, but
if I lie down for even a minute the pain will resume then subside after a
few minutes. Anyone have an idea of what I’ve done.
I have had the same problem recently. This feels more like a nerve. it can cripple you when you least expect it. I continued to workout except I skipped squats and deadlifts when they came around again. I don’t use a belt so I wanted to let it heal, which it’s 75% cured. Just give it the rest it needs. The longer you go without proper healing the worse off you’ll be
I had something similar happen to me. It was in the small of my back sort of on the left side. I think it originally came from trying a heavy squat when I was really young with no prior squatting or weight training experience. Occasionally it would come back, and once it came back so bad that it was really uncomfortable to walk. After a while of rest and after I started weight training I’ve developed good strength in my back and it hasn’t bothered me.
Can you tell at which level in the spine you’re having the pain, i.e. which vertebrae or somewhere in the sacrum? If it is at the sacrum, try probing around the dimples (a little down and laterally, to be precise) at the top of the buttocks, and see if there is extra tenderness there. If so, you may have a rotated anominate (a rotation of the ileum on the sacrum) or some sort of sacro-iliac dysfunction (rotation of the sacrum on the ileum). What makes me suspect this is the SI/IS joint bears a lot of strain in a deadlift, and pain at this joint can subside as you move around, but come back after sitting or lying down for a while, apparently due to the joint moving closer to proper alignment when standing but moving back out when lying down or sitting–at least that’s the way my IS and SI joint problems have been.
This may clear up on its own, but I’d recommend having it treated by a DO or physical therapist (or perhaps by a reputable chiropractor–don’t let one make you take treatments for weeks on end) rather than clear up on its own. The longer you allow this misalignment to continue, the greater the chance that you will a) lengthen the ligaments that hold this joint in proper position, and b) cause the articular surfaces to abrade each other. The articular surfaces are unusual in that they are rough and the friction between them helps hold the joint in position; presumably if incorrect movement persists long enough, the surfaces will lose their tight, almost interlocking fit. This can usually be fixed in one or two treatments using muscle energy techniques, but in the case of SI dysfunction, the diagnosis can be quite complex, so you want someone specifically trained in its treatment. I know one fellow who has back pain once or twice a year from not having this treated when he had his first injury to the joint, and I once had a patient who was essentially bedfast from pain because he couldn’t so much as roll over without his SI/IS joint audibly popping! I bring this all up because I’ve seen this go undiagnosed several times and I’m convinced some people have had unnecessary surgeries over this dysfunction because some MD’s don’t believe this joint actually moves. (It does, but only about 1 or 2 degrees–but if it doesn’t, baby you’ll know it!). If your pain is elsewhere, I can’t think off the top of my head what it might be except perhaps a facet joint problem, but those generally don’t come and go like you’ve described and the facet joint is usually thrown out of whack from flexion and especially rotation, things one minimizes in a deadlift. Facet joint dysfunction can also be quickly treated with muscle energy techniques. I’ll check back to see if any of this has helped; I hope it has.
Thanks for the help so far guys. Physical therapist, I tried probing around where the pain usually is and there was no tenderness so I decided to lied down for a few minutes then probe around with the pain there and there was still no tenderness. So that possibility is out. The amount of pain seems to be decreasing every day(albeit by small amounts). I should have said that after my deadlifts I did 5 sets of ab work and 5 sets of reverse hypers all with no idea I screwed something up. Should I just go to the doctor and get an x-ray? Thanks again guys.
Well, without putting my hands on you, I couldn’t offer you much more than I have. I posted about the IS/SI joint dysfunctions mainly because the typical MD knows nothing about them and you could go undiagnosed with it and suffer for a long time for no reason. If your pain continues to subside, I’d guess your injury is something to do with the soft tissue rather than the bones, so an X-ray wouldn’t show anything unless there is a marked change in alignment of the vertebrae or some sort of fracture (and even fractures can be missed on X-ray!). My main concern there would be if you’ve damaged a disc, but disc pain doesn’t typically come and go like you’ve described, but it is not out of the question. The problem with disc diagnoses is that we (the healthcare professions) are still sort of shooting in the dark about them. You can have an MRI that shows a bulging disc and think, “Aha, that’s what’s causing the pain,” but the majority of people show bulging discs on an MRI even though they are asymptomatic! (I recall a study that found most asymptomatic people had bulging discs.) That’s why your best bet with a lingering back problem is to do everything you can think of before resorting to surgery, because the surgery to correct a bulging disc may not be treating your problem! Back surgeries came into vogue around 20 years ago and the results were not what was hoped for–so back surgeries are very much a last resort.
There are lumbar extension exercises designed to restore a bulging disc to proper condition (i.e. pull the bulge back off the nerve root) pioneered by the Australians, and some folks have had success with them when surgery was recommended. For peace of mind, you might go to a PT (if your state allows direct access to PTs) who specializes in backs–ask lots of questions about training, credentials, get referrals and recommendations from friends, etc.–or a good DO, and have them check you out. Even if your problem is minor and clears up on its own, they might be able to train you in things you can do to avoid future problems.
Again, I can’t stress enough finding someone who knows what he is doing. One of the shameful “secrets” in the medical field is that letters behind your name don’t mean you really know what you’re doing. Doctors can take a weekend class in a surgical procedure (how did all those LASIK specialists come from out of nowhere?) and legally put up shingle saying they’re qualified! It is truly scary. You wouldn’t believe some of the malpractice that goes on and is perpetuated by a lack of a national database on quacks; just move to another state after you get disciplined in one state and carry on! (I know of a doc that is in at least his third state after sexually abusing patients here…)The majority of people in medicine do their best and are ethical, etc., but you owe it to yourself to “shop around”. Dr. Dean Adell (sp?) mentioned a study on eye surgeons that found that their outcomes improved significantly after around 600 surgeries. Unfortunately, 600 patients had to serve as the learning curve, a fact we generally prefer not to think about. That’s why, if you came to me and I had the liberty (i.e. I didn’t have to worry about what my employer had to say), I’d send you to some colleagues rather than treat you myself because I just don’t deal with backs often enough to be excellent with them. Hope that helps.