Hello all. after a long time with convetional DL I switched today, Im using a pronated grip btw.
I was doing relatively easy doubles(75% of RM), and on the eccentric part, the last phase, I was realy feeling my psoas muscle hurt and contract realy forcefully, (felt it from the front of my leg throgh the groin to the lower back) actualy made my back hurt a little bit because it was pulling so hard
whta gives? is this a known newbie error somehow? lack of flexibility?
How do you know it was the psoas? There are a lot of muscles in that area. How did it go all the way to your back? Did i misunderstand that? And the eccentric portion of a deadlift should not last long at all. Actually the quicker you put it down the better. Actually if you can eliminate any eccentric you will have accomplished a great deal. I would stretch the area really good and ice it afterward. You cant get ART unless you move over here so that might be your only bet.
I tried sumo dl’s for the first time the other day and damn, my hammies hurt like hell. It was Tuesday, and now it’s Saturday, and my hammies still hurt. I think I did something wrong.
Even if I lower it quickly It still hurts, it is the psoas because its the hip flexor that runs through the groin to your lower back. I actauly feel it quite distinctly. I try to put it straight down and “point” with my butt upward to keep my back arched.
If your psoas is so tight that’s it’s hurting your back, it’s time to look into some specific stretching to loosen the area up. I have seen many a healthy back ruined by having overactive hip flexors/erectors, which causes hyperlordosis. If you have any other questions, let me know, but you really should start stretching those hip flexors. It’s impossible to know if that’s the only thing, but chances are you have weak abdominals as well.
Stay strong
Mike Robertson, MS, CSCS
Director, Athletic Performance Center
My pelvis wants to tilt which causes lordosis. To stretch my quads and hip flexors I try to pull the bottom of my foot towards my lower back. Either by hand or by kneeling and leaning back. I saw an article somewhere here that also said you can rest the top of your foot on a table behind you and drop your weight straight down. Heavy weighted situps and leg raises help by pulling the front of your pelvis up but strong hamstings also help by pulling the back of your pelvis down. Stiff leg DLs work good.
The easiest and most effective hip flexor stretch is the basic lunge stretch. Basically, act like you are gong to perform a lunge but drop your down knee all the way down to the floor (place a pad or pillow for added comfort). From here (with the chest up), shift the weight forward. Don’t just move the knee forward, but actually move your center of gravity forward.
You may be experiencing some kind of reciprocal innervation in response to muscle imbalance. The Psoas, assuming thats what it was could have been trying to limit the movement or stabilise a joint such as the hip or spine. Perhaps it was protecting the Quadratus???
Alternatively it may have been a spasm from unfamiliar movement, I get cramps from BB style squatting after a long layoff.