Deadlift back injury

[Jr_Geezer]

So on Saturday, I was scheduled to pull 465x3. I had done this weight before and my last deadlift workout was 450x5, so I wasn't too concerned about being able to do the lifts. After warmup sets, the first rep was kind of heavy, but, hey, it's supposed to feel heavy, right? Second rep, I took my usual big breath, tightened up, concentrated on keeping my back set and pulled. Partway up, I felt something shift, pop, move or whatever in my lumbar spine. I dropped the bar, knowing something had happened and walked around a bit waiting for the pain to start. No real pain appeared so I racked the weights (more than anything to show myself I wasn't badly hurt) and went home.
By the time I got home I was feeling some pain in the lumbar area and also unexpectedly in my right knee. I laid down on an ice pack and took 800mg Ibuprofen. By the time bedtime came around, the pain had increased, not so much in the back, but on my outer right thigh and knee. Sleep was difficult as I had to be in exactly the right position to minimize the pain, otherwise my knee really hurt.
Sunday was not good, with walking being very uncomfortable, both for my back and right leg, so I spent all day in bed. Same for Monday, with only slight improvement over Sunday and today not much different than Monday. I'm definitely getting tired of laying in bed all day.
I started with regular icing of the painful areas and have moved onto a heating pad. 800mg of Ibuprofen every 6 hours. I feel mini muscle spasms in my thigh on a regular basis.
So, any similar situations out there? I'll of course search the boards and rewatch Austin's series on lifting with lower back pain. Would a visit to the doctor be useful or a waste of time? Any advice/encouragement/resources will be appreciated. I'm 56, if that means anything.
Thanks.
-RJP

[Jr_Geezer]

So on Saturday, I was scheduled to pull 465x3. I had done this weight before and my last deadlift workout was 450x5, so I wasn't too concerned about being able to do the lifts. After warmup sets, the first rep was kind of heavy, but, hey, it's supposed to feel heavy, right? Second rep, I took my usual big breath, tightened up, concentrated on keeping my back set and pulled. Partway up, I felt something shift, pop, move or whatever in my lumbar spine. I dropped the bar, knowing something had happened and walked around a bit waiting for the pain to start. No real pain appeared so I racked the weights (more than anything to show myself I wasn't badly hurt) and went home.
By the time I got home I was feeling some pain in the lumbar area and also unexpectedly in my right knee. I laid down on an ice pack and took 800mg Ibuprofen. By the time bedtime came around, the pain had increased, not so much in the back, but on my outer right thigh and knee. Sleep was difficult as I had to be in exactly the right position to minimize the pain, otherwise my knee really hurt.
Sunday was not good, with walking being very uncomfortable, both for my back and right leg, so I spent all day in bed. Same for Monday, with only slight improvement over Sunday and today not much different than Monday. I'm definitely getting tired of laying in bed all day.
I started with regular icing of the painful areas and have moved onto a heating pad. 800mg of Ibuprofen every 6 hours. I feel mini muscle spasms in my thigh on a regular basis.
So, any similar situations out there? I'll of course search the boards and rewatch Austin's series on lifting with lower back pain. Would a visit to the doctor be useful or a waste of time? Any advice/encouragement/resources will be appreciated. I'm 56, if that means anything.
Thanks.
-RJP

Two other details. I have some numbness just below my right knee cap and the back pain is not centered on the spine but just to the right, a bit below the level of the iliac crest.

[Royce Nichols]

I would try and talk to the doctors around here. Maybe see if you can PM them? Also, this article here may or may not help. Sorry you got hurt. That sucks man.

rehabbing the lower back - Bill Starr

[timelinex]

Two other details. I have some numbness just below my right knee cap and the back pain is not centered on the spine but just to the right, a bit below the level of the iliac crest.

Not a doc and I am sure someone else with more knowledge will chime in.... Referred pain in an area that wasn't injured sounds alot like nerve damage rather than damage to the spine/back itself. Maybe a nerve was pinched somewhere on your back?

[Jr_Geezer]

Just tried a couple of air squats and my whole lumbar spine went crackle. No pain, but I think I'll lie down again for a bit, see if anything changes.

- RJP

[Jr_Geezer]

Just tried a couple of air squats and my whole lumbar spine went crackle. No pain, but I think I'll lie down again for a bit, see if anything changes.

- RJP

Ok, two hours have passed since my squats and I just got up to use the bathroom. I was able to walk with much reduced discomfort. Far from perfect but certainly a step in the right direction.

[Mugaaz]

I hurt my neck badly and had zero pain after the injury. 10 hours later no pain in the neck but unbelievable pain was in my right arm tricep and forearm, numb pointer and middle finger. My neck sucks and this has happened a couple times now. Your description sounds very similar. I'm not going to offer you medical advice, but I found going to doctor/nuerologist/chiropractor a complete waste of money and time. They will do some tests, have you get an MRI, find something on your MRI that could plausibly describe your symptoms. They will recommend waiting much longer before they recommend surgery to fix it. There is no way to tell if it is going to heal, and how long it will take. From my experience the pain continually got worse for several days after the injury, then remained at that level for around 3 weeks. At around the 6 week mark pain was gone, but still had numbness. Numbness was mostly gone around 12 weeks. I had an insane loss of strength following the injury. I started training again around 4-6 weeks after when pain was mostly gone. My thoughts are that if you are having significant trouble sleeping, then don't think about training yet. Strength didn't go back to pre-injury levels until around 24 weeks after the injury.

My advice - manage the pain as best you can. I did not find ibuprofen to do anything for pain, but it can help with inflammation after the injury. I got a nerve blocker which helped a little bit, Icy Hot type creams also work for a short period and can be useful when trying to fall asleep. If you can't sleep even with all that you need to find some pain medication that will let you get through at least 4 hours of sleep. I think all forms of stretching are incredibly fucking stupid to do when you have a nerve injury. Your nerve is being compressed and poked by disc material or other tissue. Find out what standing, sitting, and sleeping position don't piss it off, then make sure you do just that. Don't piss it off, don't do stretches or weird shit. The only thing I found that helped a little was a traction unit. For lower back injury I think you could get a similar effect if you hang from a pull up bar.

[Culican]

The only thing I found that helped a little was a traction unit. For lower back injury I think you could get a similar effect if you hang from a pull up bar.

When I had my neck problems 23 years ago (with numb thumb and forearm and loss of strength) my neck was spasming horribly. They gave me so much Valium I walked into the wall but it wouldn't stop the spasms. The traction unit did.

BTW, just as Mugaaz said, they gave me an MRI (showed a real mess) and referred me to a neurosurgeon. Neurosurgeon prescribed, yes... you guessed it, ibuprofen. 800mg 3xday and said to wait 8 weeks. Still a bit of numbness (which I almost never notice); my strength returned completely.

[Jr_Geezer]

When I had my neck problems 23 years ago (with numb thumb and forearm and loss of strength) my neck was spasming horribly. They gave me so much Valium I walked into the wall but it wouldn't stop the spasms. The traction unit did.

BTW, just as Mugaaz said, they gave me an MRI (showed a real mess) and referred me to a neurosurgeon. Neurosurgeon prescribed, yes... you guessed it, ibuprofen. 800mg 3xday and said to wait 8 weeks. Still a bit of numbness (which I almost never notice); my strength returned completely.

Mugaaz, Culican, thanks so much for sharing your experiences. I've improved more in the hours since I did my air squats than in the three days since my injury. I've got a doorway mounted chin bar that I'll start hanging from soon. I'll put off thoughts of an MRI for at least the time being, as I've always had some doubts of their usefulness in cases like this.

-RJP

[Royce Nichols]

Glad you're on the mend. Keep moving