I have had a lower back injury for about a month. If I take a few days off, it feels great, then when I get back to squats/deadlifts…it gets real tight and painful on the bottom of my back. I can do all upperbody movements. I want to take break from squats and deadlifts for a month and see if this thing can heal up properly.
Could someone give me some suggestions to keep my strength up in my squats and deadifts as much as possible, and maybe add some size to my legs? I was thinking jerk presses, push presses, lunges, step ups, sprinting, and barbell hack squats(for some reason barbell hacks don’t hurt my back.) If anyone has had this kind of injury, do you have any tips or advice on what the hell is wrong with me? What are the symptoms of a slipped disc? Hopefully its just a strained muscle.
i think i may have a similar injury. i can’t deadlift without a bit of pain so i have not done any regular deadlifts for a couple of weeks. i find i can squat as long as i only just go beyond parallel. i would say you are spot on with the barbell hack squats. what about trap bar deadlifts? i would also suggest you take a look at ian king’s out of kilter article in the previous issues and also his lazy mans guide to stretching. following the advice in both articles has relly helped with my recovery from this injury. i hope some of this helps.
If you have access to a power rack use it for partial deadlifts, this keeps your upperbody in a more upright posture, keep the reps low and aim to increase ROM. You could do the same thing with bottom up squats, start with 1/4 squats and again slowly increase ROM. Good Luck
Thanks guys. I think I’ll test out some trap bar deadlifts, partial deads, and 1/4 squats. I’m also going to read Ian King’s out of Kilter and Lazy Man stretching again and apply the principles.
Why is it that lower back injuries take so long to heal? I can’t stand it! It more a an extreme tightness then a sharp pain too. I feel it mostly after a leg workout. After a few days rest, like I said earlier, it seems like its fully healed. Any body elses experiences with this sort of thing?
Do you have access to a Reverse Hyper or a Glute-Ham Raise? I just found both not to far from where I live and I also have back problems, mine for over a year. Louie Simmons created the Reverse Hyper to rehab his lower back after fracturing a vertabrae and managed to come back and deadlift over 700. And he did that TWICE. I have yet to find a protocol/program for using the reverse hyper to rehab the lower back but from what I have researched the weight should be light enough in the concentric phase to stress the muscles yet heavy enough in th eccentric phase to sufficiently “open up” the lower lumbar and sacrum.
Oh, gosh. Yes, I’ve had something like this happen to me. You’ve got to see a doctor, of course. But your symptoms AND the fact that you’ve had them for over a month do unfortunately suggest that you have more than a simple muscle sprain. Muscle injuries heal rapidly, and the pain reduces rapidly. Sharp pain localized in the spine, tightening from accompanying muscle spasm, pain worse in the morning and with any kind of spinal flexion, are all symptoms of disc damage. If the disc presses on nerve roots, you’ll have shooting pain along the whole nerve (e.g., sciatic nerve) and if you don’t have that complication, you’re “lucky.”
I blew several lumbar disks. My symptoms were mild discomfort when bending, for about 9 months. I ignored this and “trained through” it. Big mistake which I would give anything to take back! Aaaaahhhhh! Because I blew those poor discs when deadlifting.
Get to a good doctor for a diagnosis. If you do have disc damage, don’t have surgery; there’s no real benefit and several important disadvantages. But you will have to make changes in your lifestyle and workouts for quite awhile. It takes, on average, 6 MONTHS for significant healing of discs. I had severe pain for 3 months, which is half the average, and it seemed like a LOOOOOOOONG time.
And in the meantime, here are some recommendations for those with disc injuries:
Do not do any movements that flex the spine. Especially with any loading whatsoever. Use a mirror to find neutral lumbar curve, or whatever position is least painful, and don’t perform any movement, in or out of the gym, that moves the spine out of that neutral position, even briefly. In the same way, avoid loading or compressing the spine (e.g., situps, back extensions). Compression and flexion under load are proven to be the cause of disc injuries and will continue to re-injure them as well, slowing healing.
Avoid sitting, as much as possible.
Walk at least 20-30 minutes a day. When you feel pain, walk briskly 20-30 minutes or until that tightness eases.
Ice really helps.
To learn more, check out the T-mag interview “Mister Spine” with Dr. Stuart McGill. I followed the recommendations in his book “Low Back Disorders: Evidence-Based Prevention & Rehabilitation” and my pain lasted half the average time for this injury.