Lower back injury

[Palaver87]

I've had a lower back injury since January 2008. I was doing deadlifts with improper form, and there was a clear instant when I felt a twang in my lower back on my right side. There was some pain in the gym on that day, but the real pain came when I sat down on a chair for a while. Since then, I have tried only working my upper body. Didn't work. I also tried doing light squats for two months. Didn't work. I then did front squats because it keeps my lower back straight. This didn't heal it or make it worse. It just stayed the same. I did this for a couple of months. I have no done any deadlifts.

After doing front squats for a couple months, I thought I could get back to front squats. The first time it was okay. There was some dull pain in my back, but it was okay. Then, as my front squat started increased another 20lbs, my lower back suddenly starts hurting a lot after one set. It was like a sudden pain. I didn't drop the weights and fall on the ground, but when I went home I could not sit down on a chair as the first day. Also, the pain sometimes changes from the right side, then the left side, at worst it is both sides, then it might go back to one side.

So now, I have kept off of it for 2.5 weeks. It has gotten better, but it seems like its at the stage when I did front squats and doesn't get better than that. What should I do? My muscles are wasting away...

Oh yes, I also went to the doctor. sometimes I can feel some tingling down my leg but not by butt. I looked up sciatica exercises and performed the one where you but your hands in front of you and push up to arch your lower back. It made it worse, maybe because I did it a lot. But, the doctor said it probably isn't sciatica because I don't have sensation in my butt or any bowel problems.

Thank you. Your help would be VERY appreciated.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Use the search function. I have dealt with this 50 times. Maybe 40.

[sergeant_81]

This sounds very similar to the injury I experienced a couple months back. Mine occurred due to losing control of a power clean while unracking from the shoulders, but the symptoms you describe are the same. Read the injury sticky and follow it to the letter. Doing so had me deadlifting my normal pre-injury poundages within a month.