lower back pain = no squats and deadlifts :(

[310lifter]

starting several weeks ago, i started having lower back discomfort.

happened after doing some heavy deads.

few days later, it was squat day and the discomfort was still there.

didn't want to make an excuse and not do the squats and did them anyway.

discomfort turned into mid-level pain the next day.

last week went to see my chiro (who is an avid lifter himself) and he told me my l3 and l4 are out of place and i need to stay away from squats or deads till i feel better.

this includes other upright compounds such as stiff legged deads, cleans and standing barbell shoulder presses - they all put a strain/load on my lower back...sigh once again..

he also told me my lower back muscles are weak.

currently, i'm just working out my upper body (sigh) and being very careful not to strain my back.

here are my questions:

1. i've been actively doing squats and deads for the last year. stopped doing lower back extensions (the reverse sit ups) thinking squats and deads will take care of them --> should i go back to lower back extensions, build my back and then go back to squats and deads?

2. if i've been doing squats and deads, how did my lower back muscle get weak? my form is damn near perfect (verified by fellow lifters) so i'm confused.

3. anyone else experience this and if so, can you offer some feedback/advice?

i guess i can keep my legs strong doing leg extensions and curls but i really relied on squats and deads as the foundation....this really blow...but i guess injuries are part of lifting..

 

[brk_nemesis]

I pinch a nerve in my lower back from heavy deads every few months or so. Sit out, let your injury heal properly and tamper back into your routine. If it takes a week or a month, w/e the case, let it heal. An injury is an injury. Ive screwed up both my knees(one in HS and other in college) and had to take a while off from doing any squats.

If it keeps bothering you,.. go see a doctor.

 

[kyoryoko]

I recently hurt my back squating and I used to hurt it a lot playing tennis. I figure the lower back extentions helped make my lower back stonger for tennis, but I dont know how to make them stronger for DLs. I guess doing them wont hurt once you recover.

 

[drvinnybombat]

If you have a back strain or sprain, then don't worry. It's about the most common injury there is and only really takes a week of totally leaving it alone to heal, then another week of light weight exercises to build it back to a normal. If youre like me, then it came from awkwardly lifting a medium weight object outside the gym then re-aggravating it with deadlifts.

I don't know about the vertebra problem, but if your chiropractor is saying you have a herniated disk, then you have a problem. This doesn't sound like the case.

Everyone lets this injury kill them by re-aggravating it over and over. Even sitting or bending quickly can re-aggravate it. That's what I did. You really need 2 days of lying down a lot, another 2 of not working out at all but moving around, then a week at least of lifting minimal weights. Also take ibuprofen.

If you really let it heal, and it just wont, then you may have a disk problem which requires a doctor.

 

[kingk0ng]

Hyper-extensions are a good exercise to develop strength in the lower back and especially good for rehabilitating. They're the only machine that acts to rotate the sacrum and it opens up the disk area, allowing fluid to go into the soft tissue.

The first thing you need to do is take about a week off.

 

[Kristofer68SS]

lulz.......

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nppzGV1U8y8"]YouTube- Broadcast Yourself.[/nomedia]


If your injured. Get to the doctor, or get the needed rest.

If not, listen to the vid

 

[killamac27]

let it heal fully or else you'll end up messing it up worse. Form usually slips when you go too heavy. When lifting heavy focus on proper form instead of counting reps.

 

[brownstown89]

i use to deadlift with terrible form when i first started ive never had a back injury tho thankfully. ive noticed that once u get in the heavier weights you cant do squats and deads heavy the same week. for example DONT do a routine pyramiding down where ur going for PRs in both the SQ and DL the same week.

also 45 back extentions heavy as you can go. good mornings heavy as **** with tons of variations. pullthroughs as well.also every 3rd or 4th week do good mornings and no squats or deadlifts that week.