NASTY back injury doing deadlifts

[DaMan]

OK this isn't like my last "ooh my collarbone hurts" pussy injury.

I was doing deads with what is a (for me) heavy weight today; same weight I did last week.

After three warmup sets w/ gradually increasing weights I put on straps, grabbed the bar, lifted and OUCH. Lower right back is now killing me. I had a SLIGHT strain there last wk but thought it's cuz my form wasn't perfect (it wasn't - right arm a little in front of left arm), so I made sure to watch it this time. No good.

Those were deads from knee-height btw per my trainer's recommendation.

Per his recommendation I also started the lift with my legs (which was EXTREMELY easy) and then did the back-sit-up, which was extremely difficult. My lower back is def the bottleneck.

Anyway I'm sitting on an icepack right now and everytime I do anything that even remotely uses my erector spinae on my right side I cringe.

Chiro appt on Wed anyway (for my clavicle) - he can look at my back too.

What do I do for now?????

[DREXX]

Sorry no advice for you, I will leave that to the experts.

But I do have to add that I have been Deadlifting for about 8 years and besides my recent hernia, I have only been injured twice to the lower back and both times it was with Rack Pulls.

I firmly believe that rack pulls or half-Deadlifts are very bad for the spine. With a full Deadlift you put everything in position and you can hold it much better then with a partial.

If it's not hard it's not worth doing...

[joepalooka]

I would say rest. Let your back recover. I am not sure but it sounds like a severe strain. If its really really bad go to the doc and get muscle relaxers.

First question is why are you doing rack pull? Are you trying to increase your deadlift?

The problem with rack pulls is that majority of lifters do not stand and pull from the same position as one might actually deadlift. Partials DL's are only affective if you pull in the same position as your actually DL. A better method is reverse band deadlifts which the bar weight is lighter in the bottom because of the bands.

Once your lower back heals, you must train it and make it stonger, but be careful not to overtrain. Your lower back is very easy to overtrain quickly. When I had to rehab my lower back 18 years ago I was told to use a reverse hyper but none were available in my area. So I did back raises instead. There are plenty of exercises to do but your lower back must be strengthened or this will happen again. Here is a short list of potential exercises to do: 45 degree back raise, holding on to weight or weight behind your neck, reverse hyper, good mornings of any type.

[archive_Killer]

What the others said. Let is rest and you will have to ease back into into it then, training the low back and entire posterior chain.

I agree with what has been said about rack or partial deads. I tried them last year and they gave me nothing but trouble. They felt very unatural.

[DaMan]

Thx for the tips guys. I'm gonna keep icing that m0f0 today and will scrap rack deads from my routine.

The weakpoint was def my lower back, not the legs, so I dunno if the reverse bands woulda helped... either way, hyperextensions it is.

[Rich]

Joe P,
Rack pulls can be extremely effective; the hips only achieve parial flexion causing the lower back to be the workhorse. The main problem is that most people don't try to flex the hips at all; they just start to extend the torso. I pull sumo and the rack pulls on ME days (conventional) help my deadlift very much. Bodyweight squats are great for rehab in the hip/SI joint.

[Pharm Animal]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="**-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Rich:
Bodyweight squats are great for rehab in the hip/SI joint.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Do you mean squats with your bodyweight's worth on your back (225 lbs for me), or free squats without any additional weight (zero-lb squats)? http://anabolicfitness.infopop.net/infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif

I have hip problems and sometimes squatting is impossible. http://anabolicfitness.infopop.net/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif

[Monster]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="**-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Pharm Animal:
I have hip problems and sometimes squatting is impossible. http://anabolicfitness.infopop.net/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

*coughexcuse* *coughexcuse*

-------------------------
"And in the general hardening of outlook that set in ... practices which had been long abandoned ... -- imprisonment without trial, the use of war prisoners as slaves, public executions, torture to extract confessions, the use of hostages and the deportation of whole populations -- not only became common again, but were tolerated and even defended by people who considered themselves enlightened and progressive."

"The very word 'war', therefore, has become misleading. It would probably be accurate to say that by becoming continuous war has ceased to exist. ... War is Peace."


"I'm only crying on the inside."

[Rich]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="**-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Pharm Animal:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="**-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Rich:
Bodyweight squats are great for rehab in the hip/SI joint.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Do you mean squats with your bodyweight's worth on your back (225 lbs for me), or free squats without any additional weight (zero-lb squats)? http://anabolicfitness.infopop.net/infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif

I have hip problems and sometimes squatting is impossible. http://anabolicfitness.infopop.net/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I mean squats with no weight on your back. You would be suprised how hard 3 sets of 50 are. They will strengthen the hip/SI joint region. Pharm; are your hips injured or just tight and painful? Are you stretching and doing mobility work of any kind??