Originally Posted by
Logan1
Although I have been lifting almost 50 years, until last Friday I don't believe I ever had serious lower back pain either during or following lifting. If it wasn't for a lumbar compression fracture when I was in my 20's, I would probably just train through it, as I stupidly did after I felt intense pain about half way though Friday's deadlift workout.
I am normally fairly flexible, but for the last couple of days I could barely touch my knees without bending my legs. I also can't sit for more than brief periods without significant pain. On Saturday, my back felt better after a Stairmaster workout and a subsequent long nap. My gym has a a HydroMassage unit which helped reduce tightness and pain significantly.
Whenever I have been injured, I have always just modified my training just enough to complete a decent workout. On Friday, I couldn't squat normally without significant pain. Rather than give up, I tried back squats with a more vertical back angle which allowed my to complete my workout. Today, I took a deload upper body day with my belt as low on my hips as I could get it. Having some lower back support made the workout tolerable.
I know I should let my back recover, but I hate skipping training.The older one becomes, the more sinister skipping training becomes. There are certainly reasons to skip training, but, I am of the opinion that if you can modify the training to be able to tolerate it, you almost have a responsibility to yourself to get back in the gym. In order to limit bending at the waist, I am considering light front squats and sumo deadlifts later this week. Would I be better off if I took a short break?Succinctly......probably not.