Left Hip Discomfort Due to Scoliosis

[C. L. Lloyd]

As of late, my progress on the squat has been significantly more difficult than any of the other lifts. I’m a 27 year old male that was born with three birth defects; clubbed feet, spinal bifida (which included a tethered spine), and scoliosis. The spinal bifida and scoliosis are located in my lower back (I forget at which vertebrae). I decided I would carefully but consistently strength train in order to strengthen myself for what could be a difficult aging process.

I started relatively low on the squat (95 lbs) because I had never done it. Initially, the progress was smooth and consistent. I understand the progress will slow as the weight increases and I had reduced to 5 lb jumps once I reached 155. However, I noticed that once I surpassed my body weight (about 165 lbs), my left hip began to feel notably uncomfortable.

My spine is curved such that my left hip is lower than my right by about an inch and a half. I wear a lift in my right shoe to compensate for the discrepancy in leg length. However, my hips are never evenly loaded when lifting. At the bottom of the squat, I find it increasingly difficult to drive up and my left hip often times feels seriously uncomfortable when doing so. This has made increasing the weight difficult. Thankfully, I have not sustained any sort of injury and the discomfort typically subsides after several hours. I do not experience any hip discomfort as a result of deadlifting. I currently deadlift twice a week and my PR is 205 (which I set last week). I’m wondering if there is anything I can do to continue making progress with the squat while also not injuring my hip.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Leg Length Discrepancy | Mark Rippetoe

Check for this. If you have a 1.5-inch discrepancy at the floor, a lift inside your shoe is pointless. If this can't be corrected, it may be that you cannot squat safely.

[David Kirkham]

As of late, my progress on the squat has been significantly more difficult than any of the other lifts. I’m a 27 year old male that was born with three birth defects; clubbed feet, spinal bifida (which included a tethered spine), and scoliosis. The spinal bifida and scoliosis are located in my lower back (I forget at which vertebrae). I decided I would carefully but consistently strength train in order to strengthen myself for what could be a difficult aging process.

I started relatively low on the squat (95 lbs) because I had never done it. Initially, the progress was smooth and consistent. I understand the progress will slow as the weight increases and I had reduced to 5 lb jumps once I reached 155. However, I noticed that once I surpassed my body weight (about 165 lbs), my left hip began to feel notably uncomfortable.

My spine is curved such that my left hip is lower than my right by about an inch and a half. I wear a lift in my right shoe to compensate for the discrepancy in leg length. However, my hips are never evenly loaded when lifting. At the bottom of the squat, I find it increasingly difficult to drive up and my left hip often times feels seriously uncomfortable when doing so. This has made increasing the weight difficult. Thankfully, I have not sustained any sort of injury and the discomfort typically subsides after several hours. I do not experience any hip discomfort as a result of deadlifting. I currently deadlift twice a week and my PR is 205 (which I set last week). I’m wondering if there is anything I can do to continue making progress with the squat while also not injuring my hip.

First off let me commend you for wanting to get stronger in the face of so much adversity. A 165 squat is a long way from an empty bar and that deserves serious respect. I wonder if you would be willing to post a picture or two of you standing on different level shims all the way up to a 2 x 4 (which is 1-1/2" wide). You could send the photos from behind to protect privacy if you want. I'd also post a video of you squatting and and deadlifting. I'm quite sure Rip will respond to you. He has an AR400 exterior, but he's actually fully annealed on the inside to those who really want to learn.

[Gbraddock]

Rip-
If the conclusion is made that squatting isn’t safe in this situation, would you recommend any substitute for squats or just continue to do the other lifts? Subs like Leg press, belt squats, etc?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Heavy leg presses are not good for anybody's low back. The rest depends on the anatomy, which I don't have a picture of.