# Lower back pain usually after squats or deadlifts.. should I get lower back stronger?



## Floods7 (Nov 17, 2013)

I just got back into working out after a 3 year shoulder problem and I've been noticing some lower back pain, mostly just on the right side. The pain increases usually the days after squats or deadlifts. I don't do much strength training for my lower back since it is usually hurting. Should I increase my lower back workouts?


----------



## Arnold (Nov 17, 2013)

Look up sciatica


www.IronMagLabs.com


----------



## the_predator (Nov 18, 2013)

This could be a lot of things. It could be as serious as Prince stated with sciatica or even degenerative disk disease(this is what I have, dealing with pain everyday) or as simple as a sagging mattress or poor abdominal/core strength. A good thing to start if you don't do it already is stretching. As simple as it sounds it really does help.


----------



## HeavyB (Nov 18, 2013)

Hey bro if you have good insurance get a MRI . Have a bulging disc on l4 l5 that is causing the same thing in my left side thou. You don't want I put he back off. If you get a MRI you know I put off for months before I got one. So it put me behind on treatment luckily I slowed done some and didn't make it worse. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## WeekendWarrior (Nov 18, 2013)

First thing I would do is lower the weight/volume to find out if there is a weight/volume that doesn't cause that pain to your lower back.


----------



## Gazhole (Nov 19, 2013)

A lot of lower back pain for me is just a tight piriformis muscle (glute area). Look up piriformis stretches and do them after every workout. Roll the glutes and piriformis with a roller and tennis ball before each workout and see if that helps.

Generally my lower back feels immediately better after a few minutes of piriformis stretching.

Definitely be cautious with your lifting until you're sure of what the problem is. Better safe than sorry.


----------



## SuperLift (Nov 19, 2013)

Stretching has always been a benefit to myself.  Often tight glutes/hams can lead to lower back pain.  Also strengthen your abdominals.


----------



## yankees7 (Mar 22, 2014)

I am about 4 weeks into cycle of 400 primo, 250 deca, 250 test e / week and 50mg winny a day. Starting getting lower back and hamstring pumps 10 days go. some lower back spasms too. stretching helps some, but have trouble standing straight up. back and hammys always feel tight. would appreciate it if someone else had this problem and has any suggestions.   Thanks guys


----------



## Paranoid Fitness (Mar 22, 2014)

As at least one other member has suggested an MRI I am going to second that.

I ruptured a disc in my back at a young age which caused problems for years because I thought it wasn't serious and I could train around it.
I ended up with spinal fusion surgery at L5S1 with plates, screws, rods and a titanium cage...pain mostly gone.
Unfortunately, because I waited so long, I ended up with permanent nerve damage which affects my left leg...it gets more noticeable as I get older.

You can get a lot of great advice here. You can get some good opinions, some objective, some not.
You can't get any real medical advice or opinions and it sounds like that's what you need right now.  

In the meantime, I'd back off anything that causes the low back pain because you could be making the condition worse.

That's my opinion. I wish you luck and I hope it's nothing serious.


----------



## 13bret (Mar 22, 2014)

I had back surgery at 23 years old. Dr tol me best thing to protect back was to build core. Lb extensions, planks, birddogs etc everyday


----------



## 13bret (Mar 22, 2014)

yankees7 said:


> I am about 4 weeks into cycle of 400 primo, 250 deca, 250 test e / week and 50mg winny a day. Starting getting lower back and hamstring pumps 10 days go. some lower back spasms too. stretching helps some, but have trouble standing straight up. back and hammys always feel tight. would appreciate it if someone else had this problem and has any suggestions.   Thanks guys



Drink way more water, taurine 3g + a day.


----------



## flood (Mar 23, 2014)

I'm surprised nobody mentioned correct form. I tend to get sloppy with too much weight on those last reps and get a sore low back. I had to pull my left leg into the car by grabbing my pantleg.


----------



## crawfBigG (Mar 23, 2014)

I would get it diagnosed if you can afford to do that. It's better to know what you're dealing with before deciding how to approach it. If you can't I would work on your form, make sure you're form is solid. Bad form will cause low back pain if you're overloading the lower back in any area of your ROM. Also I would do a lot of assistance work to strengthen your low back and abs.


----------



## Paranoid Fitness (Mar 23, 2014)

crawfBigG said:


> I would get it diagnosed if you can afford to do that. It's better to know what you're dealing with before deciding how to approach it. If you can't I would work on your form, make sure you're form is solid. Bad form will cause low back pain if you're overloading the lower back in any area of your ROM. Also I would do a lot of assistance work to strengthen your low back and abs.



Great advice.


----------



## sassy69 (Mar 23, 2014)

crawfBigG said:


> I would get it diagnosed if you can afford to do that. It's better to know what you're dealing with before deciding how to approach it. If you can't I would work on your form, make sure you're form is solid. Bad form will cause low back pain if you're overloading the lower back in any area of your ROM. Also I would do a lot of assistance work to strengthen your low back and abs.



If you're coming off 3 years of sporadic to no training, and with a shoulder issue that you may have unconsciously been accommodating for a long time (meaning you've developed some sort of contortioning of your body and the wrong muscles doing the work that the shoulder shoudl've been doing) as well as the fact that you're just getting back into it - are you well stretched? Ive been out of action for a little more than 3 years w/ shoulder issues that have basically turned out to be very simply overstretched ligaments. I'm not in the condition that I used to be (meaning 30+ years of training, 10 years of regional to national level BB competition)  so I also have a variety of areas that are just simply tight from sitting for my job, not using my body like I used to , and all the various natural or developed push/pull imbalances I have all contribute to how well I am able to lift w/o pain. It comes down to a lot of stretching & warmup.

I'd suggest the following :

1) Visit a good chiro to check about areas where you are tight or have a push/pull imbalance - easy ones are piriformis, IT-band, etc. that lead into your glute/back. A follow up would be to get an MRi.

2) Do warmups - I'm a HYUGE HYUGE HYUGE fan of Joe DeFranco's Agile 8 (or more currently Limber 11) warm ups. These include some foam roller and warm ups that target exactly the type of tight areas we're talking about.

3) Work on your core. That will always dictate how strong your back is. Especially if you've been out of it for a while.

4) Continue to ensure your form is tight before you get into anything heavy.


----------



## Lost Grizzly (Mar 24, 2014)

My lower back starts to hurt as my flexibility slips.  As many have stated stretch as needed and then some.  I need to stretch my hams 2-3 times per day to keep my sciatica happy.


----------



## yankees7 (Mar 24, 2014)

Thanks for all the great responses / advice.     I did cut back on volume and weight the last couple of days. My back has felt progressively better each day, no more spasms and I can stand straight up again. As far as core training I work lower back 2/3 week but sadly my ab training isn't what it should be. I will definitely work abs into my weekly routine again. It sucks being in the middle of a cycle and having to cut back on volume and weight, but better to be safe and completely healed before pushing the limits again. I plan on adding taurine to daily sups, does taurine really help with lower back?


----------



## yankees7 (Mar 24, 2014)

Also, I spend 15 minutes warming up and stretching before every workout. I always wear support belt and use good form when training. Thanks again.


----------



## Acheron (Mar 24, 2014)

WeekendWarrior said:


> First thing I would do is lower the weight/volume to find out if there is a weight/volume that doesn't cause that pain to your lower back.



This. ^  Check your ego at the door (we've all been there) and go light for 3-4 sets.  Over the coming weeks, progress _slowly_ on the weight.  +1 on strengthening your abs also, but start light here also.  Make sure you're not rounding your back; use a weight belt if need be.  If your back is still hurting (sans muscle soreness) in a few weeks, then it might be time to seek a doc's help.


----------



## sassy69 (Mar 24, 2014)

yankees7 said:


> Also, I spend 15 minutes warming up and stretching before every workout. I always wear support belt and use good form when training. Thanks again.



From my above reference, I LOVE Joe DeFranco for a thorough & relevant functional warmup:  

Agile 8: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B-3Khbht5s
Limber 11: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSSDLDhbacc

RE: wearing a weight belt all the time - "all the time" can make it just a crutch that impedes the development of your ab muscles as the primary support. I would say it use where you need it. I don't lift heavy anymore, but I kept the belt for lifts > 185 lb on the squat rack.  Frankly relative to those trained for PL, 185 is sorta pussy but I'm not trained as a PLer and I am over 45 and I have a tweaky everything these days.

RE: training lower back 2-3 x/ week? Huh? Is this as a part of other muscle groups? Or do you do splits by squat / pull / press?  

Another suggestion in terms of your overall cycle - are you following periodization or any sort of larger cycle of heavy / low rep w/ phases of recovery phases of lower weight / higher rep?


----------



## yankees7 (Mar 25, 2014)

Great info Sassy69! I will get a foam roller and ball so I can perform some of the warm ups in the video, mainly for the piraformia and lower back. A far as workouts I always go heavy and don't alternate between heavy and light weight. I'm slowly working abs into my routine again.


----------



## yankees7 (Mar 25, 2014)

Also, as far as lower back training I will use lower back machine 2-3 week at 3 sets each session.


----------



## KelJu (Apr 7, 2014)

I also have degenerative disk disease. My grandfather had it, and so does my mother and my brother. Both my mother and brother have had lumbar spinal fusion surgery. 

My day is coming, but for right now, I am doing the best of anyone in my family, and I believe a lot of it has to do with my training. Much of my lifting revolves around keeping my lower back as strong as possible.  

I used hyper extensions to rehab my back after I herniated one of my disc 2 years ago. The entire year after the injury, I was in pain all of the time. I had a constant inflammation and aching in my posterior thoracic lumbar area of my back. But, once I started doign back rehab work, the pain got better and better until it vanished completely. 

I am a big believer in hyper extensions. I also think SLDLs, and hamstring work are important. Keep the posterior chain as strong as fucking possible.


----------



## Mincow (Apr 16, 2014)

Gazhole said:


> A lot of lower back pain for me is just a tight  piriformis muscle (glute area). Look up piriformis stretches and do them  after every workout. Roll the glutes and piriformis with a roller and  tennis ball before each workout and see if that helps.
> 
> Generally my lower back feels immediately better after a few minutes of piriformis stretching.
> 
> Definitely be cautious with your lifting until you're sure of what the problem is. Better safe than sorry.





Paranoid Fitness said:


> As at least one other member has suggested an MRI I am going to second that.
> 
> I ruptured a disc in my back at a young age which caused problems for years because I thought it wasn't serious and I could train around it.
> I ended up with spinal fusion surgery at L5S1 with plates, screws, rods and a titanium cage...pain mostly gone.
> ...



A lot of good advice here.  If this gets more serious, a bad back injury could be a serious life changer for the worse.


----------



## rschaefer (Apr 18, 2014)

Since, I am not a doctor I would recommend seeing a physician if the pain persists. Other than that, rest and alternate heat/cold compress for chronic pain. Remember to do some kind of stretching if you are inflexible in that area; which, could lead to injury if you are doing compund movements such as deadlifts and/or squats. Also, a key indicator of a week core is lower back pain. Look up a low impact exercises to strengthen your core.


----------

