Hey, I’ve been dealing with back pain. I suppose it’s an intercostal strain as i’ve got those symptoms. I’m currently training for powerlifting. Should I stop deadlifting for a while? I did stop for 2 weeks around 1 month ago and the pain was reduced a little bit, but it never went away.
What exactly are your symptoms?
When is your next meet?
How are your symptoms during and after deadlifting?
Any other movements that definite aggravate the issue? Any movements that definitely don’t seem to cause an issue?
1 Like
hurts while bracing, when I cough, sneeze, etc. The right lat and rhomboid are very stiff. The meet is in November. After a deadlift set my back feels more rigid. Heavy Squatting and rowing are the movements that aggravate.
Thanks.
This sounds like a hernia. Has your doctor ruled this out?
1 Like
Hernias usually cause point pain over the front side of the body, especially near the groin. @martinrodriguez does this sound like you?
If the pain is more broad or to the side, and lower than the ribs then I’d be also weighing up the possibility of an oblique strain
Is the pain around the ribcage or lower?
Regardless, if your meet is November you could stand to reducing deadlifting. You should consult a physio/physical therapist or good sports chiropractor to appropriately diagnose the issue. I tend not to trust GPs with anything musculoskeletal, especially with athletes
1 Like
Do you know what movement caused the injury? Was it immediately noticed?
Is it the same pain bracing for the squat as it is for the deadlift?
Have you seen a physician?
I don’t have any pain in the groin, the pain is at the rib cage, not lower. I don’t think that it could be an oblique strain. The pain started after deadlifting, but it wasn’t immediately after a rep or set, but after the session. I’ve seen my Physio an d she didn’t diagnose me with any strain.
Let me share an experience where I had similar pain:
I was doing my second and last set of 10 reps in the squat with 495lbs. I lifter I knew in the gym had wanted to work in. Though I didn’t use a spotter, he wanted to help. After I did the 10th rep, I began to walk the bar back to the rack. The spotter, for whatever reason, saw the need to assist my walk back into the rack by pushing me forward. I jacked up all the core muscles around my lower rib cage and the lower obliques to keep from falling forward. With quite a bit of pain I finished my leg routine.
The next week when leg day came around again, with considerable pain in my ribs, I did my normal leg routine that included the 495lb squats.
Now, I don’t know how my injury compares to yours, so you are on your own. But I would push through the pain, mainly because I didn’t think squatting would worsen the injury. It just hurt. Also, I have trained through multiple injuries. I felt that I didn’t need a doctor to tell me that I had strained the muscles around my ribs. I was very aware that I had. I knew my body and had been lifting over 25 years at that point.
My advise most no one will agree with. But I would push through the pain if it is just rib cage pain. If the pain is in your spine, that is completely different.
1 Like
Tell us about your lifting.
How long have you been training the Power Lifts, and how long have you been lifting in general?
What sort of routine or plan are you using now?
I actually agree
Maybe, considering backing off loads and/or exercise selection to minimise your need to actively brace for the next two weeks
Add in significant extra work to train rotation and thoracic flexion to help mobilise the intercostals. I recommend the following:
Also, speaking as a physio, you should get a different physio
3 Likes
Good advice from others here.
From personal experience most of my previous powerlifting disabilities got resolved when applying a real dynamic warmup for lower and upper body. Bodyweight or bands. Takes about 7 mins each. Time well spent. I can’t underline the difference with a proper warmup!
AFTER the dynamic warmup you proceed to the usual warming up with the bar.
Do you mind kind of spelling this out? Stuff like leg and arm swings, shoulder rotations, band pullaparts and dislocates?
I’m trying to sort some of this out for myself.
1 Like
I perform a good dynamic warm up routine before getting to the bar. And also I do mobility everyday, including some of those exercises you recommended.
Do you think that the best approach is to keep deadlifting?
I started powerlifting in february. Monday DL variant and heavy bench. Tuesday heavy squats. Thursday DL variation. Friday Bench variant. Saturday heavy DL. I started lifting weights around 2 years ago, but I had a broken humerus in between.
1 Like
Deadlifting 3 times per week.
I think we found your problem!
6 Likes
Where did you get this workout strategy?
When I was powerlifting I did heavy deadlifts one day a week. After a few months I found that a heavy deadlift one day (85 to 90% of 1RMax) and the next week my deadlift day was a much lighter (50 to 60% of 1RMax) session.
What exactly is a deadlift variant or variation?
I believe it is time for you to give us some statistics:
- What is your age?
- What is your weight? What weight class are you aiming to compete in? What federation are you competing? Does the meet/federation allow gear, or is it raw? If gear, how many ply?
- What are your best powerlifts?
- Are you training with someone who has competed in powerlifting meets?
1 Like
The “Powerlifting” book by Dan Austin was my wake up call on the matter. There is an entire chapter about dynamic warmup. Actually, that chapter was my take-home message from the entire book, though the book is fairly well written in general. An interesting read. Money well spent (though I actually found it at the local library!).
Judging from your examples, you’re not that far from the book’s recommendations on a proper warmup. I do like the choices/suggestions inbetween bodyweight, bands and weights for warmup.
That said, as I don’t train as a powerlifter (more like a “powerbuilder”) the parts on programming wasn’t for me.
3 Likes
No kidding! This could just be debilitating soreness!
1 Like
I deadlift 2 days/ week, but one of those days is literally just 3x3 of paused deadlifts at 70% of max actual deadlift
3x/week is insanity
1 Like