Lower Back tightness on one side after squats

[ReyB]

Hi,
Read Starting Strength and have been doing the program for 1 month now to great results. I'm 38, have been lifting since 21 but made tons of errors and for the last few years was exercising rather than training. Either way, my last squat was 275 but since starting the program and finally using correct form, I have noticed a lot of tightness in my erector spinae but only on the left side. It's pretty constant at this point and I wouldn't describe it as pain but it's uncomfortable and I have a constant urge to stretch it out. Either way, I can handle the discomfort but I don't want to exacerbate things. I'm wondering if I may have some anatomical imbalance that is making the left side of my lower back react this way. Have you had experience with people having similar issues and if so do you have any advice? I'm trying not to see my Dr who will only send me to a PT. My hope is that I had some muscle imbalances that are being corrected by properly performed squats and as such, this will eventually go away. Any help would be much appreciated.
Rey

[Mark Rippetoe]

Do you have scoliosis?

[Brodie Butland]

Second your hesitancy to see a doctor if the issue is just tightness. Unless a doctor has specific experience with athletes who engage in strength training, they are invariably terrible at diagnosing soft tissue injuries and will just make you waste money in their office and in the PT's office they refer you to. I've already learned this the hard way.

You're better off finding a good massage therapist, since muscular pain/tightness is sort of their trade.

[Mark Rippetoe]

And you won't come away from a massage therapist with a brand-new bullshit diagnosis on your medical history. So start there.

[Rail]

I had the same problem. It wasn't pain, it was a tightness in one side of my lower back that I wanted to stretch all the time. I tried to work it out with a lacrosse ball but every time I squatted it came back full force.

I took a video of myself squatting and immediately noticed my right shoulder was slightly higher than my left through the entire ROM. As I dug further I found I always put my right foot slightly forward of my left. By slightly forward I mean no more than an inch. Both of these things were occurring with remarkable consistency every time I squatted. At first I didn't think this could be the problem as it was very slight and I assumed my upper body would just automatically adapt by facing slightly left to align with my stance. This was not the case.

I drew a line on the floor in my rack to use as a reference and make sure my feet were even when I stepped out of the hooks and it worked. Within a few workouts the tension disappeared. Now I no longer need the line and my stance is straight without any thought.

Looking back I feel like I was overthinking it but my solution worked. I'm thinking it was a weird habit that I just needed to be aware of and break.

You're only a month in. With the movements still being new to you it seems possible you could be doing something similar. I have found that these kinds of issues (tension and minor pain) are often the result of something small that we are doing wrong and once discovered it can be fixed rather easily.

[JohnStrangeway]

May be totally unrelated because "the body" but I had tightness in my erector spinae on the left side. Although this was discovered in reverse while fixing my hip issue.

I discovered this only when I began doing a low squat stretch to fix my SI issue (bodyweight goblet squat?). I would hold this for 5 minutes, the left spinae was so tight that it was the part getting the most stretched.

I was read on another forum while researching this "stretch" and one fellow said he liked to spring up out of that position after the stretch. Mine was so tight that I thought, there's no f'in way, I gingerly had to stand up out of the stretch or else it felt like the spinae was going to snap!

After about a week of daily stretching it loosened up and I've never had troubled since (I still do the stretch pre workout because my left SI still gets pissy)

Maybe try this stretch?

[Ryan Arnold]

Hi,
Read Starting Strength and have been doing the program for 1 month now to great results. I'm 38, have been lifting since 21 but made tons of errors and for the last few years was exercising rather than training.

I'm 39 and had a similar lifting history prior to becoming a Starting Strength Coach. I believe there are growing pains involved in the beginning of this process. My back hurt all the time when I started training, as did my knees. I had issues with shin splints, 2 hernias, among other things. If your body is used to doing things the wrong way it may fight back a bit when you start doing them right. Some sort of major imbalance is unlikely. Just be incredibly diligent about improving your form and back off the weight a little if you have to. That's what makes the aches and pains go away. See a coach if you can.

[ReyB]

Not that I am aware of, I've actually been to a PT before (hence my hesitation to go back) and they have been pretty thorough examining my back and posture and have never suggested scoliosis. My initial thought is that it would be common enough that they would bring it up on their own so I have never specifically asked. It has crossed my mind though and have asked my girlfriend if she notices any asymmetry and she doesn't but I don't know how obvious it would be an untrained individual. I will have it checked out though and I assume if I do, then squats are a no go? Incidentally, deadlifts really alleviate the issue even though there is a certain tightness associated afterwards and massage has helped a lot.

thanks, I'm planning to attend the squat training camp in Seattle in November and then the SS Seminar in Los Angeles. I video my sets from a side view with my phone to make sure the bar is coming up in a vertical path but I'll have my girlfriend do other angles as well so I can see if I am not balancing the bar correctly.

I dislocated my shoulder about 10 years ago playing football and my range of motion is pretty different in each arm so I have to be really careful of my form when bench pressing. Now I'm wondering if maybe this is also causing me to hold the bar asymmetrically when doing the lower bar squat. I'm going to video myself to see if I spot anything. Thanks!

[pstein]

I've experienced this too (actually just getting over it). Like me, you probably don't set up with your feet evenly. For whatever reason, I tend to set up the right foot a little forward of the left.

The way I've solved this is by really focusing on my walkout. Walk the weight out the same way every time.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Have yourself checked for a leg length discrepancy:

Leg Length Discrepancy | Mark Rippetoe