Deadlifting with Bulges on Lumbar Spine Discs

[Schwiggity]

So I had a recent flare-up of a back injury that goes back about a year and a half. I had/have a "mild to moderate central disc bulge on L4-L5" and "mild broad-based bulge on disc L5-S1." The MRI was taken 11/18/2010. I haven't had an MRI done since then.

I hadn't really thought of it when I was Deadlifting because it had only caused me pain once since that time. I've also had two herniations in my neck from a car accident in March of 2011 (can't remember exact discs) that healed pretty promptly and haven't caused me any pain since May/June 2011.

Well, this recent bout of pain came about this past weekend after Deadlifting with not-so-great form Friday. I think not stretching afterwards didn't help either (was in a shitty mood and just wanted to get out of the gym). I got two injections in my lower-back as I have once before when this flared up though I'm not sure what exactly (some kind of steroid I think. Cortisone maybe?). He gave me a script for some low-dose muscle relaxers too. It's starting to feel better after just one day. He told me to lay off any exercise for 3 days. He said it was okay to keep lifting, but I needed to fix my form and stop stressing my back so much.

I've been trying to Pull sumo because I can't get in a good position when I try to do traditional. However, most of my Sumos seem to look like a wide-stance traditional/stiff-legged Deadlift.

So I know this has been a long-winded post. My main question is: is it still safe to try to Deadlift with this kind of back issue? I'm a bit apprehensive now after being in crippling pain for a weekend. Would Sumo be the better way to pull then (it seems to put less stress on the back)?

Here's the video of the aforementioned "Sumo" Deadlift:




Here is the video I made when I was trying to Deadlift traditonally back in December. I never recorded my form until then and was horrified at what it was like, which is why I tried to switch to Sumo:

[Gunnhild Bruno]

There are a ton of threads about disc herniation on here--try a search and read through a mess of them.

As for continuing to lift, your form needs a lot of help, and I think you probably should work with a coach. If you weren’t injured, I’m sure we could work with you over the Internet to get your form in decent shape, but given your situation, I think in-person instruction is the best route.

[Schwiggity]

There are a ton of threads about disc herniation on here--try a search and read through a mess of them.

As for continuing to lift, your form needs a lot of help, and I think you probably should work with a coach. If you weren’t injured, I’m sure we could work with you over the Internet to get your form in decent shape, but given your situation, I think in-person instruction is the best route.

Working with a coach is the goal, but until I started getting steady paychecks it's not really possible.