Back injury Qs (neither minor nor major)

[Crimmy]

So a common theme is something happens and a user mentions not being able to stand, get out of bed, etc for a few days, weeks, whatever or it's minor pain that goes away relatively quickly.

I guess I'm somewhere in the middle with no red flag symptoms. For people in my situation,how long does it generally take to heal, and is there any way to identify what the nature of the injury is without an MRI? Does strength come back quickly or will I need to build it back again? Initially, I felt like pain was limiting my S/DL, but at this point it feels like I've lost the ability to work at my previous weights completely by at least a plate.

It's been a month now, but I haven't missed a day in the gym. Extension/flexion cause some degree of pain, and my S/DL have taken a big hit, but I can still work around 140-150kg, though progression seems inconsistent. The injury occured while DLing, and my online ssc didn't see anything that looked like snap city.

I trust in the fact that it's probably not a big deal, but it'd be nice if anyone can chime in on the typical recovery time and any other thoughts. Part of me is just worried that while it's not a big issue now, I may be one of those lucky injury prone lifters who gets injured for "no reason", like when I strained my ribs a couple months ago while sneezing. I'd hate to visit snap city.

[Nate9]

When I hurt my si joint, took a month to heal (I hurt it again halfway trough healing), so it could be that or a facet joint, the consensus is usually train trough it. You know it's nothing serious because it doesn't feel that bad, what did your coach say?

[Crimmy]

I'm able to train and do everything normally, I've just lost strength and feel sore in certain positions, and minor pain in exaggerated positions. Coach said it's probably not a big deal since no numbness, tingling, sharp persistence pain, etc.

Well I'm already at the month mark and it seems about the same, not really better or worse. Do notice my right glute strains hard though. I never felt anything in my glutes lifting wise until after the injury.

[Taylor Grayson]

I trust in the fact that it's probably not a big deal, but it'd be nice if anyone can chime in on the typical recovery time and any other thoughts. Part of me is just worried that while it's not a big issue now, I may be one of those lucky injury prone lifters who gets injured for "no reason", like when I strained my ribs a couple months ago while sneezing. I'd hate to visit snap city.

The problem is that for a given set of symptoms, there can be more than one possible cause, so what's true for our own injuries might not be true for yours.

That said, when I've tried to baby the injury, it lasted a few weeks. What seems to enhance recover for me is to push the boundaries of mild-pain movement. If I have trouble bending over, then I will bend over until it hurts and hold it. The pain usually fades a bit, then I will bob back and forth to work through that range of motion, getting a bit lower every time. There might be several days of this. I don't wait for the pain to go away completely before getting back into DLing or squatting; usually after the next work session, the pain will be gone. I think it really helps to get the muscle warm and let it move through the largest range of motion possible for as long as possible.

Your strength will recover quickly; you can make bigger jumps than with normal progression.

[Crimmy]

Right, I understand. Without a diagnosis it's all guess work and even with imaging nothing of significance may be shown. But just having some idea regarding the time frame of recovery (for others) is nice, even if not completely relevant to me.

I really do hope my strength come back quickly. I believe it, it's been said countless times here. Guess I'll finally get to experience it.

I S/DL near my (current) 1rm this week with no issue. This week I also seem to feel better. I haven't had to take a day off. I wonder if I'm just going to wake up feeling normal again like with my rib injury or if I'll notice that it's progressively getting better.

[Crimmy]

So, just an update for anyone else that reads this topic while searching for their own answers.

It's been about 2 months now. This is the first week I've noticed a difference. Deadlifting still had some discomfort, but the two squatting sessions that followed were discomfort free. I've also been put back on a intermediate style SS LP, so back to 3x5 (DL is also 3x5). Maybe that's helped a little as well, since it keeps the weights lower than my previous block of training. My next DL session is Friday so hopefully I'll be able to pull without any discomfort this week.

I was only able to S/Dl 120 and 125 this week. Kinda bummed I'm so far from 180 but hopefully it'll be easier getting back this time, and at a much lighter weight, haha.