lower back pain after lifting legs in the gym.

May 26, 2009 8:50 AM

lower back pain after lifting legs in the gym.

I lifted legs (squats, lunges, etc) about 2 weeks ago at the gym and ever since then I have been experiencing persistent lower back pain. it is not sharp, just constant. It gets worse when i bend sown or get up from sitting. I didnt notice anything at the time of my workout that i can point to, and perhaps its even just a coincidence. but i am wondering if need to see a doctor or will it eventually go away? i cant really afford to be seen.

also, do i need to quit working out all muscle groups for the time being or is upper body still ok?

posted by l2yangop to health & fitness (12 comments total)

Soreness- Seems the weight is too heavy for what you are lifting. Your form might not be correct as well. Lower the weight and work on the form. Should go away in a few days.
posted by boyinmiami at 8:57 AM on May 26

2 weeks is a bit long for normal muscle soreness. Have you done anything to aggravate the muscles (probably spinal erectors and/or glutes) since then? If not, and it doesn't clear up soon, consult your physician.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 9:01 AM on May 26

I am guessing bad form during deadlifts or squats. I had some of this myself last week, but it should go away after 72 hours or so if it's just sore muscles. Are you experiencing muscle tightness or something else?
posted by charlesv at 9:08 AM on May 26

I had something like that once or twice and it went away after a couple of weeks, but that doesn't mean that your pain will go away. In my case I think it's just that I had muscle soreness and didn't really ever rest my back so it took a good while to disappear. If you walk around in the course of your day and if you're still lifting with free weights, then you're still using your back.

If I were you, if you can't afford to see a doctor, I would really rest it for three weeks....only do upper body in work in a sitting position, if anything...not go on long walks...keep it warm...take ibuprofen regularly...and hope that it's just soreness and goes away.

Maybe when you squat you fall forward when coming out of the hole and then haul the weight up with your back, rather than rising up evenly, and maybe when doing lunges too you lean forward too much. Sumo deadlifts and front squats are easier on your lower back. But really, if you're uninsured, I would do nothing until the pain goes away if I were you.
posted by creasy boy at 9:12 AM on May 26

as someone who has dealt with back problems in the lumbar area of a long time, you need to be more careful.

if you go to a doctor, all they are going to do is give you an anti-inflammatory, like prescription strength alleve, and tell you to rest it. as long is there isn't pain actually going down your legs, signifying a nerve related injury, then you will be fine.. it is very easy to herniate a disc in your lower back while lifting weight like that with your legs. and if you are prone to lower back pain then i would look up some exercises on the internet that can work your legs without putting so much pressure on your lower back.

a good exercise to do is to lay on your back and slowly bring your knees up to your chest. you can use your arms to hold your legs to your chest for 30 seconds. repeat it a few times in the morning and at night.

additionally, lay on your stomach and extend your back by pushing up with your hands. sort of like a push up, only leave your pelvis flat on the ground.

finally, take ibuprofen or alleve (2 pills) twice a day for a few days. hot baths are great to relax your lower back muscles.
posted by metamush at 9:17 AM on May 26

The longer the pain lasts, the less it looks like a muscle / soreness problem. FWIW, that's how my back pain started (mild soreness aggravated by some positions) and I ended up needing heavy pain meds and surgery on my L5/S1.

Follow metamush's advice, especially the back extensions.
posted by anti social order at 10:29 AM on May 26

IANAD. But I could squat one.

It would help if you clarified "squats, lunges, etc." Delayed onset muscle soreness is a different kind of pain from a lumbar injury. Everybody learns the difference eventually. You can certainly injure your lumbar spine rather easily in the squat, or the deadlift, or several other lifts if you relax your spinal erectors and lose lower back extension. At 2 weeks out I can't imagine it's DOMS, but you don't say if you've done any training since then. In any case, ibuprofen will help with the pain and inflammation. You can take 600-800 mg 3-4 times a day if necessary, but should use the lowest effective dose. If possible you should not stop training, but ease back into things. Use very light weight and make sure your form is correct. Always maintain a hard lumbar arch during the squat. Here is the Bill Starr rehab protocol recommended by Mark Rippetoe.
posted by ludwig_van at 10:30 AM on May 26

on that day i did squats, leg press and lunges. no deadlifts. i suspect the squats were the culprit tho.
posted by l2yangop at 10:40 AM on May 26

You are probably squatting incorrectly. Throw the leg press away; it's not doing you any good. Learn how to squat properly without any weight and just do that for a while until your form is flawless. Here's my advice:

A good squat (air, back, or otherwise) is a hip- and glute-driven movement. When I do a great squat, my entire focus is on the movement of my hips and my butt. But before you can generate that great movement, you need to put yourself in a position to do so. Watch a video like this, and many of the others that are available online. Focus on just what the trainer says: feet about shoulder width; toes pointed slightly outward; knees track across toes throughout the entire movement (often needs to be cued with a "Knees out!" for people just starting). Then, begin by driving the butt back using the hips, keeping the chest up and the spine in extension, and your weight entirely on your heels. The demonstrator in the linked video has pretty decent form.

In order to insure that the hips are the prime mover, get into the bottom of the squat, and have a friend come over and push down on your lower back, just above your butt. The first part of the movement out of the bottom should be for you to drive up with your hips, pushing against your friend's hand. Let your friend resist some, so that you can practice driving hard, and repeat a lot, so that this becomes a natural part of your form.

I use a wall to correct faults in my form. Stand with your nose about an inch from the wall, and do a squat, just as I have described. It will force you to keep your chest up, your weight on your heels, and get that critical butt action at the bottom, which the demonstrator in the video is doing fine, but could be more apparent.

Once you can really nail the air squat correctly (do a few hundred in a workout with proper form), you can move on to squatting with weight, which I'm not really good enough to offer advice on. Many of the ideas are similar, but breathing and maintaining a rigid trunk with the spine in extension are critical to performing heavy squats without injury, and doing those things under great load is not easy.
posted by holympus at 12:10 PM on May 26 [1 favorite]

holympus's advice is pretty good, but I can't agree that you need to do a few hundred air squats before doing any with weight. One must always balance caution with ambition in working out -- you should be careful, but not so careful that you never try something hard. A heavy weighted squat is different than an air squat, and the weight can actually make things fall into place form-wise. Doing air squats all day is a waste of time if you're trying to get strong. Read Starting Strength and squat heavy with your back in extension and you'll be ok. (I weigh 175 and have squatted 305.)
posted by ludwig_van at 7:30 PM on May 26

Doing air squats all day will make you stronger, although I agree that the best way to get better at doing heavy back squats is to do heavy back squats, and that back squats are a great part of strength training. But the OP already injured himself, and it was probably squatting. The problem is that, like you say, if you put 305 lbs on your back and you are unable to keep it in extension, you are asking to get injured, particularly if you don't know how to squat correctly without any weight on your back in the first place.

The best back squatters I've seen set every rep with a new, full breath at the top, and then tighten all of the muscles of the abdomen before beginning the rep, keeping them tightened throughout the entire rep (both down and up) by closing the glottis, which helps the muscles of the back and trunk keep the spine in proper extension.
posted by holympus at 7:06 AM on May 27

I'm not suggesting that he start back with 300 pounds, I'm saying he doesn't need " a few hundred" air squats before he can consider himself ready to use weight. The feel of a weighted vs. an unweighted squat is sufficiently different that practicing form with unweighted squats will only help up to a point when it comes to weighted squats. What he needs is to learn to feel when his back is in extension and to stretch his hamstrings, as tight hamstrings are usually the cause of loss of back extension in the squat.

Air squats, like almost any physical activity, will increase the strength of a totally deconditioned person for a short while. When a trainee is no longer totally deconditioned there will no longer be any strength benefits from doing unweighted squats.
posted by ludwig_van at 8:54 AM on May 27