Pain at the tailbone?

[fencer]

Definite grounds for a form check based on what you've described. This crash/knock that occurred. Could you tell me more about that?

I had my form checked here if you're curious. Got a lot of feedback where I was going wrong. I was going too deep (perhaps subconsciously because I was videoing myself) and found going less deep didn't hurt my back as much - but still hurt.

Regarding the knock, the guy basically ran into me and headbutted me. Not sure if it was impact that made the damage worse or possibly when he hit into me all my muscles contracted causing the injury to worsen? It happened Sunday and it's still hurting (a strong but dull ache) which becomes very sharp if I bend over to pick something up.

[Dalton Clark]

This doesn't sound to me like a herniated disk which would be a reason not to train. I would train light weight, maybe higher volume than normal, and see how it goes. For back injuries, typically 6 weeks is when you start getting really concerned. It sounds like you tweaked a muscle in some way. Typically major spinal injuries feel very distinct.

[fencer]

I saw an Olympic lifting coach and they said it looks like tailbone pain. They said it would probably to do with tight hip flexors which are apparently connected to the tailbone behind? I did some hip flexor stretches and they did feel tight, most likely from sitting poorly at my desk job.

They also noticed my hips rotate when I get low (butt wink?) and said it would get better if I work on hip mobility. I know I can avoid going deep in squats to stop it too, but obviously it’s not really an option for Olympic lifts where you jump into squatting positions.

N.B no Olympic lifts, cleans, snatches or jerks hurt my back. Squats with even light weight still do. Moving to high bar or front squats did help alleviate the pain.

[Dalton Clark]

I will tell you right now, that the majority of coaches, even Olympic lifting coaches have a large number of misconceptions with regards to how the body functions and medical issues. The coach you saw may be qualified, but always be skeptical since strength does not always equal good form/technique and being a coach does not make one a medical professional. In this case, this is of particular note. To the best of my knowledge, NO HIP FLEXORS ATTACH TO THE COCCYX. They attach to the sacrum or the pelvis at various locations. Look this up for yourself. Also, with regards to your pelvis rotating at the bottom of a squat, this is not a result of lack of hip mobility. It is due to a lack of strength or control of your spinal erectors. Your spinal erectors lock your lower back and pelvis together preventing your pelvis from tilting. Should your hamstrings overpower your erectors, your pelvis will tilt. In short, you need to see a better coach. Preferably a Starting Strength Coach credential holder.

The reason moving to high bar or front squats alleviate your pain is because these lifts avoid heavy loading (and thus tension) on the hamstrings which prevents your lower back muscles from getting strained beyond their current capacity. The low bar squat requires your lower back muscles to work very hard to maintain the pelvic position.

[fencer]

Hey thanks for your reply. I've pharaphrased the coach so it's very possible I've explained things wrong. Or not.

With regards to the spinal erectors, do you know how to strengthen these to stop the tilt? I thought my hamstrings were weak? Would things like stiff legged deadlifts help?

Sadly don't have the budget for the SS coach in my area so will have to do my own reseach.

[Dalton Clark]

Your first bit of homework is to follow the rules for posting to the Starting Strength Coaches Q and A thread. Post a video of your squat in a thread. Air your concerns and a SSC can probably see if your technique is contributing to the pain your are experiencing as well as advise you on whether you should be squatting given your potential condition. Assuming you are squatting and dead lifting properly, your spinal erectors will be trained and strengthened if they are the weak link. If you are a novice, I wouldn't add any additional exercises; however, since you are experiencing pain I am going to defer to the SSC thread since I don't want to mislead you and cause further harm.

[fencer]

Your first bit of homework is to follow the rules for posting to the Starting Strength Coaches Q and A thread. Post a video of your squat in a thread. Air your concerns and a SSC can probably see if your technique is contributing to the pain your are experiencing as well as advise you on whether you should be squatting given your potential condition. Assuming you are squatting and dead lifting properly, your spinal erectors will be trained and strengthened if they are the weak link. If you are a novice, I wouldn't add any additional exercises; however, since you are experiencing pain I am going to defer to the SSC thread since I don't want to mislead you and cause further harm.

Ok cool. I've already uploaded my squat form to be checked and got some feedback. I guess I could lower the weight to the point it doesn't hurt and build it up very slowly.

[Dalton Clark]

Then keep providing new form videos as adjustments are made. Correcting form is an iterative process.