Lower back pain

Help Veeky Forums something is wrong with me. I'm 23 years old, relatively okay shape, but every time I go to squat my lower back hurts for 2-3 days to the point where I can barely manage sitting, when I bend over it feels like my lower back is getting crushed with a hammer/intense pressure.

It takes about 2-3 days and the pain subsides completely 100%, yet if I go to squat (or deadlift) again the pain come back for another 2-3 days. I don't know if it's muscle pain or joint pain, I attached a diagram to the post to show the exact location but it hurts like a bitch and I don't think it's DOMS.

I'm at the point now where I just want to stop squatting/deadlifting. The pathetic thing is I can only squat lol1plaet, you think I wouldn't get so much back pain from such light weight, it also feels like my legs can push more but my lower back is a limiting factor.

I squat properly too, back straight not curved, sometimes it's so uncomfortable though my body pushes forward and I almost fall over just because my lower back struggles. I can get about 8-10 reps of 135lbs

My question is, do you guys think it's worth seeing a doctor over? I feel like they will just tell me to stop lifting for awhile and see if it subsides because the pain only happens for a few days after lifting and I don't believe it's DOMS, it just doesn't have that muscle pain associated with it.

My form is 100% though, I had somebody go over it with me.

What do you guys think it could be? (I circled the red area for the pain)

See a doctor bro.

It is your form. Quit before its too late and youll have a lifetime of regret and a sore back.

well bud sorry to say youve got a slipped disc. welcome to snap city, enjoy your stay!
nah but you'll be fine, take a few weeks break or until you can sit down without excrutiating pain. avoid diddys and back squats for a little while and substitute for things like lunges and split squats.

work on building you core, ALL of your core (lower back muscles, obliques and abs). start doing daily stretching, focus on hamstring stretches and try to foam roll as much as possible. DO NOT ROLL DIRECTLY ON LOWER BACK.

eventually you will be able to return to deadlifts and squats, but just take it easy for now and focus on recovery. get strong at lower back and leg assistance excercises.

Are you new to lifting? If so just ask a gym regular (or someone that you see squatting with good form at least) for some advice on your form. Getting down form early is VITAL for squats and deadlifts - I messed around with shitty form early while lifting and ended up snapping my shit while trying to ego lift on deadlift (missed 2 weeks of gym due to back pain).

Also are you squatting high or low bar? I find that many people don't experiment with both to find which one works best for them.

post vid of form

ah also before i forget, if you are doing a strength based program tat has you squatting and deadlifting often (like ss or stronglifts), you should swap it out for an aesthetics program or one that doesnt have you doing heavy squats and deadlifts more than once or twice a week. This is only temporary and you will still build strength if you approach assistance excercises with the same tenacity you do compounds. Keep in mind, when i say assistance i dont mean shitty machine excercises that do nothing (see assisted pullups), i mean do things like leg curls, bb hip thrusts and glute bridges etc.

I have the same problem and have been to the doctor.

It turned out that my pelvis is out of line and that lead to the back pain.

If you do deadlifts, do leg press instead of squats on your next leg day. If you do squats then skip deadlifts.

You can keep doing both but eventually it will become a serious injury that will prevent you from lifting at all. I no longer deadlift but I still do squats because it's the best leg exercise for me.

Go to a chiropractor, $50 a visit

I have the same problem. I hadn't lifted for 2 weeks and when I went back and squated 2pl8 It was fucking my lower back so hard I had to stop my routine halfway through. I really struggle to walk uphill too.

Stretch and warm up. Avoid butt wink

warm the fuck up before you squat with body weight followed by light weights THEN the weights you want to to hit. Or you bound to get shit like this.

Why is foam rolling directly on your lower back bad? And what should i do instead?

i did that once after pulling muscle in lower back

i couldnt get pants on my ass without excruciating pain for 2 weeks

just dont
so spine decompression instead like hanging from bar, and doing leg raises

Did you try with a belt on?

>it also feels like my legs can push more but my lower back is a limiting factor.

This. It's literally not worth fucking up your life for. I don't even need to see a video to know you're doing squat mornings which is caused by poor mobility, and is why newb programs should have like 2 weeks of addressing mobility issues before started back squats and deadlifts.

Take several weeks off and focus on fixing your mobility, and focus on your core with hollow body holds (work up to 2 minutes minimum) which will also help your back in day to day life. You can keep working your upper body regularly, just watch how hard you arch on the bench.

After 2-3 weeks when your hips start getting looser and your posture straightens out, start doing unweighted hyperextensions to help strengthen your strained back. 4-5 sets of close to failure. Continue with mobility work and hollow holds.

After 5-6 weeks, start back with 50% of the weight you were using, and do higher volume, lighter weight and focus entirely on form.

Or, if you don't ever intend on competing in powerlifting, just do leg presses and trap bar deadlifts and don't even bother with conventional deads or back squats.

Within a few months you'll blow past your lmao 1pl8 and make much faster gains due to the proper form. This shit is a life long game, don't sacrifice your health to add 10lbs to the bar and pretend you're 10lbs stronger.

Or go to a real doctor

>relatively okay shape
>The pathetic thing is I can only squat lol1plaet,

this board god damn

have the same problems as you, I have mild lordosis and scoliosis tho
I switched to bodyweight few months ago, spend some time working on core and lower back muscles, and most of my pains are nonexistent by now
it still get easily trigged when I carry heavy things, but fuck it, some damages can not be repaired
but yeah, I advise more extreme steps than just stop doing squats and deadlifts, rest your body from lifting heavy for a month, start swimming and look for some bodyweight/lighter weights routine, our spines are not made to lift heavy regularly

I had a herniated disc at 26 @ 218lb (38inch waist fat fuck mode). I had to stop cycling etc... Foam roller helped. Put on 18lbs 3-4 month period. Then it got worse and went away. Then came back as a burning dull ache for 2 weeks and ramped up to the point where I couldn't walk without my spine telling my knees to collapse. This was the worse pain i've felt in my life and was genuinely about to call the hospital, this day went waking up up having to crawl to the kitchen for a coffee then I hung on my pullup bar and did 3-4 pullups and stood up taking the weight off saying to myself... Wouldn't it be great it I could just stand up and walk. Went back to bed and woke up an hour later in the fetal position scared to move and i've never felt it since.

I would seriously consider stopping whatever exercise is agitating it for 2-3 months or doing it half weight. I mean maybe you already have a herniated disk and you could get lucky and have it heal by doing just the bar/1plate for 2,3,4,5,6 months. Take up yoga and use a foam roller. You don't want the limiting factor being a spinal disc bulging between 2 pieces of your spine and you going HURRR HURRR PUT ON ANOTHER HALF PLATE BOYS IMMMA GOING DEEP. pop.

But keep pushing the weight and you'll hurt yourself in a way you thought only 50 year olds could.

I would not have taken up lifting if I never had the herniated disc. I just refuse to put my back out carrying a 25kg sack ever again. Only been in the gym 5-6 weeks after losing the weight and I'm squatting 120kg for 3 sets of 5 reps.

See a doctor and take some time off. If you fuck your back you could be out for 6 months and have to start off all over again. Some people like chiropractors. I was going to see one but back improved before I got the chance. Some people are saying don't roll your lower back directly... I did and heard a crack... It was the most relief I had in 2 months of pain, self realignment I guess, could go both ways.

I've had lower back pain that radiates into my hip, leg, and foot for about a year now. Sometimes it's really bad that I can't sit down without it feeling like a pressurized pipe about to burst and the San Andreas fault before an earthquake. I think it's sciatica right? But my reading says it's supposed to dissipate after a few weeks and that it usually doesn't happen to young people (it started when I was 21, am 22 now)

I'm deathly terrified of doctors and having to take drugs. is there hope for me boys?

my erectors are sore feom rows. is it ok to squat like this?

Reading this thread makes me fear working out at all; and I'm a skelly who just read the sticky

Seriously how can any newbie read this and not feel scared?

It's your disc
I trained through it the other day and now i'm in agony with a bulged disc and 4-6 of recovery
Switch to front squats if you aren't tryna powerlift, you get just as much muscle activation without the injury risk

This shit is from sitting, not activating your muscles properly, not breathing properly
Basically, from the modern western world
Its the second most common 'sickness' people have these days, after the common cold which cames from millions of people spending time close together in cities
I fixed my back problems the past couple of weeks, after 3-4 years of moderate pain
I'll post later how
Anyway, as with anything, the cliches are the answer, there is no secret

you for sure have a herniated disc.

It is not bulging, it is herniated which is worse.

google it...

tldr... you need to go see a doctor asap, stop lifting for a month., you may need surgery... very likely do.

stop fucking around and see a doc

it wont get better...

t. guy with herniated disc at 22 years old, now im 29

It's sacroiliac joint dysfunction and can be easily remedied by soft tissue work around the hip. Common culprits are the piriformis, hip flexors, and QL.

Literally YouTube "foam roll piriformis", do that, and be healed.

i got same injury after 3 plate deadlifting 3 times a week. Took 2 months for the pain to go away and i can deadlift same weight again. I have slight discomfort but it's slowly going away on it's own. Nothing compared to how it was before.

So my advice. Give it 1 month off squats and anything applying pressure to lower back. Try deadlifting again but lower weight, if pain is still there wait 2 months. should be good by then. Just remember ice your lower back if you get any pain.


also fix your form.

congrats op you have snapped your shit up. You probably herniated a disc.
squatting with your back straight actually compresses your spine, you're supposed to naturally lean forward a little bit.
Yes it's absolutely worth seeing a doctor over.

your form may not be 100% like you think. Those gym trainers are wrong about a lot of things a lot of the time.

This

Please do user, I've got similar issues and can't do squats or deadlifts. Currently waiting to see a physio but the fuck knows what physiotherapy can do, hoping for the best though

>stretch your hammies and hip flexors
>increase glute and lower-back extensors
/thread.

>BS in HyPhy
>ACSM Health & Fitness Specialist since 2011.

Every time someone has the low back pain, it's one or all of these things they're not doing.
Also foam roll your shit out, ITB especially..

had similar problem that also involved unilateral sciatica. went to spine surgeon who kind of laughed and said its SI joint dysfunction(caused by hyper and hypomobility of the si joint, in my case it was hyper). it can be extremely painful, debilitating like a herniated disc, but it can be recovered from by strengthening thecore + posterior chain. doc said id be all better with 6 weeks of AGGRESSIVE physical therapy. i start next week, but have been doing core exercises that he recommended for about a week and i feel a profound difference. would recommend seeing a MD to get a better evaluation of your signs and symptoms bc it does mimic many symptoms of a herniated disc which will be treated differently and have a different prognosis

I too have back pain and it's been about a year and a few months and it's not that much better. Senior year I joined a yoga club and some of the streches made my back a bit sore (maybe already weak back) I had been steadily adding weight to my squat and occasionally doing deadlifts. Once or twice deadlifted after yoga and got a really sore back. Took a break during winter break and tried deadlifting again after a two or three weak break. Really pulled my back then. It used to get sore after doing an back related exercise and make it tough to bend etc. Went to the doctor a few months ago said nothing wrong in xray except mild scolio. Back still kind of weak. Can't do back squats past 1pl8 and still feel soreness. 1pl8 deadlift is no issue and my form is a lot better now but don't have any plans to add weight. I do 1pl8 front squats now, but those don't hurt at all and actually feel good make it better

The pain occurs after the butt wink on a heavy squat, right? I had the same issue in my first year of lifting, just take a break, fix your form, build your core and you'll be fine. Don't be so fixated on ATTG, especially with poor mobility.

This is really good advice and should be regarded.

The ITB is given too much credit, it's the TFL that needs to be addressed.