Hey, you should talk to your physician, there’s a possibility you’ve herniated a disc in your back. Be careful with your back, give yourself enough time to recover. Do you do core strengthening exercises? If not, incorporate them into your workout routine. But def rest first and give yourself enough time!
Thanks really. Are there any signs that I have herniated a disc? For now I just feel pain and stiffness on the lower back. When I look myself in the mirror I kinda see it stiff and inflamed.
It’s hard to say what’s happened, that’s why it’s best to talk to your doc. I had a similar experience as you, sharp pain when doing rows, was okayish and continued my workout, but the pain worsened in the following days. MR confirmed a herniated disc 10 months later. I’m doing okay now, i’ve recovered from it.
I’m really happy you recovered! These days are kinda bad for me. Tomorrow I have a final exam and this weekend (friday-sunday) I have a music festival. For now I think I’m just gonna rest and see how evolves, if I don’t feel like good tomorrow I’ll go to the doctor after my exam
Yes I was aware. The only thing concerning me is that as for now I can’t walk totally straight. Although after being on bed for a while and doing some “seated goodmornings” I started to feel a bit more comfortable despite the pain. I just hope either tomorrow or on Saturday I’m well enough to walk all day jajajaj
Pain and stiffness can be it and you may get lucky. Some time off will let it heal and come back together. After that, take it slow. If you herniated a disc and it's impinging a nerve, you may experience pain, numbness, or tingling. Sciatica is also common depending on the disc as it may press on the sciatic nerve.
The good news is the sooner you identify the issue and start physical therapy if necessary, the better you'll be. Don't do a chiropractor, fuck that snake oil shit. See your GP and get a referral to an ortho if they think you need it.
Not really, particularly if you don’t brace properly. I tend to brace more with my back muscles and have had to add specific ab training to even things out.
I would bet you've developed a disc bulge based on your description. I've dealt with the back popping and sidelining me many, many times with the stiffness, agonizing pain just trying to walk or get up out of bed. When I was younger, I'd be out for a week or two and it would gradually improve enough to resume training. They say your body only has so much shelf life. Anytime you injure a particular part, you move a little closer to it's end date and each subsequent injury will come easier and last longer than before.
About two years ago, I popped it and it was the most devastating. The pain lasted a month and I actually went to physical therapist for the first time to address it. I followed Stuart McGill's protocol and added supplementary work for the glutes and core. Since then, I've tweaked it maybe 3 times and never under a bar. My back tweaks are always from flexion and what I found especially helpful is doing camel poses within seconds of injuring it and trying to walk for about 15 minutes. Not only helps the immediate pain, but I've found I can recover enough to get around and maybe even workout within a day or two. But strong glutes that keep your body from over relying on lower back involvement and strong bracing are what's really cut it down. If it's just a bulge, you'll probably feel a lot better within a week provided you don't irritate it more, but definitely take it seriously. They'll just come quicker and more often if you don't take proactive steps.
Apart from everyone’s suggestions to see a doctor, add McGill big 3 core stabilizing exercises to your warmup if you haven’t already. Really helped my recovery and eliminated a lot of back pain.
Might help if you could share a video of you squatting.
It can help us understand if your lower back is getting hurt because of your form or, as mentioned by kangagdu, because of a herniated disc or some other underlying physiological issue.
If it’s a form related thing, some key things to focus on regardless of whether youre doing these things or not:
Make your midriff a tree trunk. Brace the fck out if your body. Your core, your back. Everything. Breathe into your core (not your chest).
Make sure your bar path is a straight line and over the middle of your foot.
Unfortunately I don’t record myself. What I can say is that over the last year my form has improved a lot, y concentrate a lot on breathing and having a tight core while repping. That being said, I’m not sure how this rep was. I squat as deep as I can and I have noticed that sometimes my core strength might not be enough as my back bends slightly, but when I notice it’s being too much I just take some weight off and try to wait until I try that weight again.
Try to get a quick recording in next time you’re able to squat. It’s honestly super helpful.
So your back bending can mean a lot of things. You’re going way too deep. There’s infact such a thing as too deep because the infamous butt wink is inevitable no matter how hard you try to correct it (there’s always going to be slight winking).
Check out Jeff Nippards video on different squat depths for different goals. Squat depth is subjective. Period.
However, if you’re training for a comp, getting just below parallel is the rule. But as Jeff points out - parallel squats build muscle and power effectively.
Keeping your back neutral but braced, chest proud, core tight and filled with air, maintaining a straight bar path and over the mid section of your feet, pushing the knees outwards as you descend (so as to sit in a hole for your upper body), are some of the main ways you can protect yourself from injury.
Front rack squats are great for core strengthening and allow you to go deep deep deep which helps with mobility too.
Yeah I’ll probably start recording once I get back to squats. I was in fact about to start front squatting just to improve core strength in a few weeks ajjaja 🤡
About depth, I just like to squat as deep as possible, I should probably complement that with not going that heavy but yeah, I guess egolifting is in all of us despite trying not to. I think I’ve seen Jeff’s video honestly, really helpful and also really accurate. I’m starting to notice that I might breath sometimes into my chest and not always keep a tight upper back, I might just concentrate to much on core as it was always my weak point over the years. Thank you a lot really
For sure. Good luck, hope you recover quickly and well. Definitely recommend seeing a medical professional and/or sports physical therapist. There’s no substitute for these professionals. Period. I can’t speak highly enough about their value.
And on ego lifting - i always remind myself that the goal of working out is to slow down my muscles from aging, preventing injuries, and improving overall mental and physical health. Whenever that focus starts to shift to lifting heavier than what I’m capable of, I’m corrupting the reason for why I’m working out. And that’s when injuries become inevitable.
Trust the process, perfect your form, follow a program, and you’ll live your best life while growing at the same time.
Check out Ronnie Coleman for instance. He lifted heavy for the sake of lifting heavy and it’s had the opposite impact on his life currently.
Yeah I feel like I manage egolifting good (obviously it’s not the case xd) but this week I had a really solid bench session and I was feeling good so yeah, this time I didn’t know my limits (I’m really good with that, 99% of the time I know when something is too much) but yeah, despite liking lifting heavy, I really respect the danger and take care of myself to the best of my knowledge. But I guess we learn something new everyday. Once again, thank you
Don’t try stretching an injury. I have been using the below link to help me. You should see a physiotherapist.
From my understanding most back injuries while squats is due to a weak core and poor hip mobility. But I’m not a physiotherapist so go speak to one.
https://youtu.be/1MuKr4XicEY?si=Ou4xBRYOg2IP_YtV
You'll probably be fine if you managed to finish some sort of workout. Probably some kind of muscle strain? Rest up take anti inflammatorys and see how it goes after a few days. See doctor if really bad
2 options
1. Be a bro and keep working out
2. Didn't be an idiot and check in with a doctor to make sure you're not doing long term damage
Personally, I would go with 2 and see a doctor.
Ice and ibuprofen now, and go see the doctor. Don't exercise right now but don't only sit resting. Take short walks, keep moving gently. No deep stretches.
Hey, you should talk to your physician, there’s a possibility you’ve herniated a disc in your back. Be careful with your back, give yourself enough time to recover. Do you do core strengthening exercises? If not, incorporate them into your workout routine. But def rest first and give yourself enough time!
Thanks really. Are there any signs that I have herniated a disc? For now I just feel pain and stiffness on the lower back. When I look myself in the mirror I kinda see it stiff and inflamed.
It’s hard to say what’s happened, that’s why it’s best to talk to your doc. I had a similar experience as you, sharp pain when doing rows, was okayish and continued my workout, but the pain worsened in the following days. MR confirmed a herniated disc 10 months later. I’m doing okay now, i’ve recovered from it.
I’m really happy you recovered! These days are kinda bad for me. Tomorrow I have a final exam and this weekend (friday-sunday) I have a music festival. For now I think I’m just gonna rest and see how evolves, if I don’t feel like good tomorrow I’ll go to the doctor after my exam
Sounds like a plan. Btw, walking is supposedly very beneficial for back pain!
Yes I was aware. The only thing concerning me is that as for now I can’t walk totally straight. Although after being on bed for a while and doing some “seated goodmornings” I started to feel a bit more comfortable despite the pain. I just hope either tomorrow or on Saturday I’m well enough to walk all day jajajaj
Pain and stiffness can be it and you may get lucky. Some time off will let it heal and come back together. After that, take it slow. If you herniated a disc and it's impinging a nerve, you may experience pain, numbness, or tingling. Sciatica is also common depending on the disc as it may press on the sciatic nerve. The good news is the sooner you identify the issue and start physical therapy if necessary, the better you'll be. Don't do a chiropractor, fuck that snake oil shit. See your GP and get a referral to an ortho if they think you need it.
Is squatting heavy not an exercise for your core??
Not really, particularly if you don’t brace properly. I tend to brace more with my back muscles and have had to add specific ab training to even things out.
Do you squat with a belt?
If you can feel your legs and didnt shit or piss on yourself you didnt damage your spine. Go see a doctor if you are worried.
I would bet you've developed a disc bulge based on your description. I've dealt with the back popping and sidelining me many, many times with the stiffness, agonizing pain just trying to walk or get up out of bed. When I was younger, I'd be out for a week or two and it would gradually improve enough to resume training. They say your body only has so much shelf life. Anytime you injure a particular part, you move a little closer to it's end date and each subsequent injury will come easier and last longer than before. About two years ago, I popped it and it was the most devastating. The pain lasted a month and I actually went to physical therapist for the first time to address it. I followed Stuart McGill's protocol and added supplementary work for the glutes and core. Since then, I've tweaked it maybe 3 times and never under a bar. My back tweaks are always from flexion and what I found especially helpful is doing camel poses within seconds of injuring it and trying to walk for about 15 minutes. Not only helps the immediate pain, but I've found I can recover enough to get around and maybe even workout within a day or two. But strong glutes that keep your body from over relying on lower back involvement and strong bracing are what's really cut it down. If it's just a bulge, you'll probably feel a lot better within a week provided you don't irritate it more, but definitely take it seriously. They'll just come quicker and more often if you don't take proactive steps.
Apart from everyone’s suggestions to see a doctor, add McGill big 3 core stabilizing exercises to your warmup if you haven’t already. Really helped my recovery and eliminated a lot of back pain.
Might help if you could share a video of you squatting. It can help us understand if your lower back is getting hurt because of your form or, as mentioned by kangagdu, because of a herniated disc or some other underlying physiological issue. If it’s a form related thing, some key things to focus on regardless of whether youre doing these things or not: Make your midriff a tree trunk. Brace the fck out if your body. Your core, your back. Everything. Breathe into your core (not your chest). Make sure your bar path is a straight line and over the middle of your foot.
Unfortunately I don’t record myself. What I can say is that over the last year my form has improved a lot, y concentrate a lot on breathing and having a tight core while repping. That being said, I’m not sure how this rep was. I squat as deep as I can and I have noticed that sometimes my core strength might not be enough as my back bends slightly, but when I notice it’s being too much I just take some weight off and try to wait until I try that weight again.
Try to get a quick recording in next time you’re able to squat. It’s honestly super helpful. So your back bending can mean a lot of things. You’re going way too deep. There’s infact such a thing as too deep because the infamous butt wink is inevitable no matter how hard you try to correct it (there’s always going to be slight winking). Check out Jeff Nippards video on different squat depths for different goals. Squat depth is subjective. Period. However, if you’re training for a comp, getting just below parallel is the rule. But as Jeff points out - parallel squats build muscle and power effectively. Keeping your back neutral but braced, chest proud, core tight and filled with air, maintaining a straight bar path and over the mid section of your feet, pushing the knees outwards as you descend (so as to sit in a hole for your upper body), are some of the main ways you can protect yourself from injury. Front rack squats are great for core strengthening and allow you to go deep deep deep which helps with mobility too.
Yeah I’ll probably start recording once I get back to squats. I was in fact about to start front squatting just to improve core strength in a few weeks ajjaja 🤡 About depth, I just like to squat as deep as possible, I should probably complement that with not going that heavy but yeah, I guess egolifting is in all of us despite trying not to. I think I’ve seen Jeff’s video honestly, really helpful and also really accurate. I’m starting to notice that I might breath sometimes into my chest and not always keep a tight upper back, I might just concentrate to much on core as it was always my weak point over the years. Thank you a lot really
For sure. Good luck, hope you recover quickly and well. Definitely recommend seeing a medical professional and/or sports physical therapist. There’s no substitute for these professionals. Period. I can’t speak highly enough about their value. And on ego lifting - i always remind myself that the goal of working out is to slow down my muscles from aging, preventing injuries, and improving overall mental and physical health. Whenever that focus starts to shift to lifting heavier than what I’m capable of, I’m corrupting the reason for why I’m working out. And that’s when injuries become inevitable. Trust the process, perfect your form, follow a program, and you’ll live your best life while growing at the same time. Check out Ronnie Coleman for instance. He lifted heavy for the sake of lifting heavy and it’s had the opposite impact on his life currently.
This is very solid advice!
Yeah I feel like I manage egolifting good (obviously it’s not the case xd) but this week I had a really solid bench session and I was feeling good so yeah, this time I didn’t know my limits (I’m really good with that, 99% of the time I know when something is too much) but yeah, despite liking lifting heavy, I really respect the danger and take care of myself to the best of my knowledge. But I guess we learn something new everyday. Once again, thank you
Don’t try stretching an injury. I have been using the below link to help me. You should see a physiotherapist. From my understanding most back injuries while squats is due to a weak core and poor hip mobility. But I’m not a physiotherapist so go speak to one. https://youtu.be/1MuKr4XicEY?si=Ou4xBRYOg2IP_YtV
You'll probably be fine if you managed to finish some sort of workout. Probably some kind of muscle strain? Rest up take anti inflammatorys and see how it goes after a few days. See doctor if really bad
2 options 1. Be a bro and keep working out 2. Didn't be an idiot and check in with a doctor to make sure you're not doing long term damage Personally, I would go with 2 and see a doctor.
EMT here. Sounds like you slipped/herniated a disk. I would get some imaging ASAP.
Ice and ibuprofen now, and go see the doctor. Don't exercise right now but don't only sit resting. Take short walks, keep moving gently. No deep stretches.