lower back pain, right side

[mgrover]

what am trying to figure out is, is this just a strain? when I bend my back it hurts but when its straight its fine. could this be a herniated disc? could one self diagnose a herniated disc?


background:

so I have this recurring back pain in my squat, its a high bar squat to start off with. Am causing this pain because my form is off, the bar is not at the center of my foot, and I also squat on a angle, my left foot is further forward than my right foot.

funnily enough when I front squat no pain at all, am guessing thats because the bar has to be at the center of my foot otherwise it wouldnt work. I haven't tried to low bar yet, i will most likely switch very soon, I did a long time ago unsuccessfully after doubts on depth.

[Tom Campitelli]

You, of course, realize that we could not possibly provide you an answer to this question, correct? Here's a neat little test, however. Do you have pain running down a leg? If you answered "yes," chances are good you have disc involvement of some sort. That doesn't mean a herniation, but pain down a leg in addition to back pain is a classic symptom of nerve pain and when nerves are involved, discs often are, too. There are exceptions to all of this. I can tell you if your squat is fucked up from a well shot video. That's about it. High bar squats make the Baby Jesus cry, by the way.

[mgrover]

ive managed to pick up a cough and a flu to make the day even better but thankfully the flu broke over night. i dont have any pain down my leg but now when am coughing theres pain in the lower back region. am currently performing the vasalva to avoid too much pain when coughing.

i've never really had any issues with high bar till now, it used to be so much easier for me when I was younger, I never had to think about it, but I suppose now its more weight I have to constantly look at form.

and if you dont mind:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO-7ON3MDYs&t=26

I decided to go for a super close grip for this which made all the difference since the last workout, everything felt solid for once.

[Tom Campitelli]

I suspect you are overextending your spine and thus pissing your back off. You certainly do while getting under the bar. The plates kind of obscure what your back is doing during the set. The sticky addresses how to film squats for greatest effect. Read it and everyone will benefit. You are on your toes a lot in these squats and would benefit greatly from some proper lifting shoes. What you are wearing now are not proper lifting shoes, unfortunately.