Exactly 2 months ago my back popped during Deadlifts and I’ve been injured since then. Been seeing a chiro and he said there’s no herniation and it’s getting better every day. I started squatting since more than a month ago and from a 385lbs squat before injury, I started doing 155lbs 5x20 to 185 4x15 a few days ago and I’m going to be increasing to 205lbs next workout (depending on back ofc).
Question is since it’s getting heavier and my back’s still not a 100%, should I start using a belt? I’ve already got an Inzer one, just never used it. Just FYI even with the 185 4x15, I have no issues squatting and there’s no pain in my back.
I believe the belt gives your body a false sense of security. I’d lay off the belt as much as possible during training.
Perhaps use the belt for ME or 1RM
Just out of curiosity, why so much volume? While its better then going too heavy, I found my back doesn’t like too much volume in squatting especially when it happens every week.
That is understandable. Leg press might be a good option since it doesn’t involve your back that much. I agree with Jarvan about the belt though; using it too much creates a dependancy
I found training with a belt to be invaluable when I was recovering from a lower back injury, and were I to do it all over again, I never would have trained without a belt in the first place. I think a belt is a must have in training.
[quote]Grunzi wrote:
Exactly 2 months ago my back popped during Deadlifts and I’ve been injured since then. Been seeing a chiro and he said there’s no herniation and it’s getting better every day.[/quote]
You’re really young to have any kind of low back injury. I know you said it was from testing a max after already getting a 1RM PR, and it’s not uncommon for form to breakdown on max attempts, but I’d seriously make getting healthy your top priority for at least the next full month or so.
Are you doing anything other than seeing a chiropractor? Prehab, core/low back work, foam rolling, etc.? Any kind of numbness after hearing and feeling a pop would freak me right the hell out and get my undivided attention. What was the actual diagnosis if not a herniation?
This is a pretty good article with several coaches discussing when to or not to use a belt:
Long story short, use it when you need it, but not more. So I’d say there’s no problem putting it on for your top sets or other low back-intensive work right now, but I’d use it knowing it’s a tool to protect the back, in addition to doing direct ab and low back work.
Also, if you’re deadlifting again, make textbook-perfect technique the goal for each and every rep. You had a gnarly hitch on your max set and I’m not sure if that’s how you normally pull heavy sets or not, but that’s the last thing you need to put yourself through right now.
In fact, until you’re 100% healed, I’d consider less deads and more back-friendly neutral-grip pulling (trap bar or dumbbells). As for the squats, if you can build back up gradually, that’s probably fine, but mind those higher reps sets. It’s not uncommon for higher rep squats to primarily cause fatigue in the low back anyhow. The sooner you get back working them in a moderate rep range (which does not necessarily mean heavier), the better.
Actually, that wasn’t the first time I injured my back. When I was younger I injured it the same way, pop and everything, due to my lack of knowledge in training. As far as I remember though, it wasn’t as worse as the recent injury and I didn’t really do anything to make it better, I just stayed away from the gym, which I think had a carry over to the recent one though.
I’m only currently going to the chiro and doing prescribed stretches as form of rehab although I should and will be adding foam rolling to it. Do you have any other suggestions apart from those?
So far I’m only training 2 days a week, doing the bench/chest + biceps and squats/legs. No back work whatsoever and definitely no deadlifts. No OHP or any other similar exercises either that would cause hyperextension as it bothers my back. I’ve recently tried to implement core and looking for exercises to add that doesn’t use a lot of back. Doing some lower back work might help though, perhaps back hypers, I’ll give them a try.
[quote]Grunzi wrote:
Actually, that wasn’t the first time I injured my back. When I was younger I injured it the same way, pop and everything[/quote]
This is not a good sign at all and it sets up the very likely scenario that this will happen again unless the underlying cause is completely, thoroughly, and totally corrected.
I’m not a therapist and don’t really deal much with serious injuries, but I’d say it depends a lot on exactly what the injury/diagnosis was. According to the doctor, what popped where and why? Without knowing exactly what the problem is, how do we know what needs to be addressed?
Gotcha. Definitely come back to things very gradually, but you can’t handle any direct back work, like supported rowing (hand-on-bench 1-db row, chest-supported row, etc.) or strict pulldowns?
Generally speaking, I’d look into anti-flexion and anti-rotation work. Pallof press iso-holds, hyperextension holds (simply holding the top part of a hyper for time instead of doing full ROM reps), planks and side planks, etc. Start with minimal resistance and low volume, for sure.
Can’t remember the exact diagnosis but the pop was on the lower left area of the back which also had an effect on the mid-low area of the spine. When pressing down on the mid-low area, it was painful, like the area was bruised. It’s still bruised but it’s much much better than before. The doctor also said that the back’s at 80%. I think I could start deadlifting light next week but definitely staying away from it for at least another couple of weeks or until I know I’m at 100%.
I said I was only gonna try out 205lbs on the squat this week but decided to try 225 and did 2x10. Could’ve done more as back felt really solid during the squat but the lower back got tired so decided to stop there. Definitely making good progress on the recovery but I’ll still take it slow.
I could do direct back work just as long as it’s those you mentioned and strict pulldowns. I just thought I could give it a rest since it’s already the strongest part of my body but still strengthening the muscles around the injury might help so I’ll give it a shot this week.
I’ll keep your advice in mind, thanks for your post Chris.