The pain down your leg is worrisome enough that this should be looked at by the docs. An MRI is indicated, I believe.
Member
Low back strain or sprain question.
First of all, thanks for answering questions on this board.
last Friday (the 26th) I was warming up for my squats and on my 5th warmup set (normal squat business for the day would have been 3x5x45 (working on form), 1x5x105, 1x5x165 (this one), 1x3x210 and 3x5x255), as I got to the bottom of the 3rd rep I felt a twinge and a sharp pain in my lower back a little left and seemed to be a couple inches above the glutes. After I racked the weight, I looked and instead of 165 it was 162.5, a 2.5 being in the place of the 5.
It has a sharp shooting pain if I were to bend over, but if the lower back is locked into an "arched" position it does not hurt as bad. Accompanying the shooting pain are aches that are around my knee and my calves.
Yesterday it was feeling better so I decided I work go to the gym and have a form day and try to work it out. I feel like I have having a problem getting the arch in my back sometimes and even more so think I have problems keeping it tight if I go past a couple inches above parallel. This could have something to do with the injury as well as the asymmetrical loading.
I thought my hamstring flexibility was fine; I can touch the floor with relatively straight legs. I did multiple sets and worked up to 2x5x165. It wasn't very painful at all and afterwards my back actually felt better. I woke up today and it was hurting more than it was the last two days.
Should I keep going in on the days I normally would and continue to work on form and work the injury out or should I rest it some?
TMPHBITEU
The pain down your leg is worrisome enough that this should be looked at by the docs. An MRI is indicated, I believe.
Member
That kind of presentation is usually indicative of lumbar disc irritation. In your case, it seems fairly mild. A more severe case would have possibly left you writhing on the floor unable to get up for a few hours, with burning pain shooting down your leg.
I can't remember the exact number, but somewhere over 50% of the general population has a bulged disc, and most of them are asymptomatic. You may have been at a predisposition for disc injury and the uneven loading of the bar brought that to the surface.
If you came into my office, a little more history of the incident would tell me most everything I needed to know. The rest I could get from a physical exam and a couple of xrays. Although soft tissue such as discs cannot be seen on plain film, the involvement of a disc can be inferred from the history, exam and positioing of the spine as seen on the xray. I would treat conservatively for a couple of weeks and if no decrease of symptoms were present, then I would order an MRI. The MRI would only confirm or deny the involvement of the disc and would not change the treatment plan at all.
Member
I may have not been very clear. My back is kind of hurting, and my leg is aching off and on around my knee and shin. I feel that I may have given you the impression that pain was shooting down my leg, not that a part of my leg was aching. That may or may not change what you said, but I just wanted to make sure I didn't give you the wrong impression.
I guess I will continue to do light lifting until I can see a doctor. Thank you, your advice on the squat descent in the other thread will most likely keep me from some injuries like this.
TMPHBITEU
No, this was pretty clear. Please decide and be more precise in your description.Originally Posted by yunstr
Member
I think I described it incorrectly. Shooting pain would most likely infer it was moving down my leg. When I would bend over it would just be a sharp, pulsing pain in that area. My knee and an area around my shin would ache too. Yesterday my back was not hurting as bad, but there was a burning sensation there. Today I woke up and it was stiff, but didn't really hurt. I went on to work up to normal weight sets on the squat with no pain. I think what must have happened was that a) bar was unevenly loaded and b) I can't really keep the back arch when I do down past a little higher than parallel/parallel. After that a butt wink occurs. I think it would be a good idea to start stretching my hamstrings... Strange though as I thought my flexibility was fine.
TMPHBITEU
This bad back position may in fact be the cause, but hamstring flexibility is not necessarily the problem. It may be something as simple as the inability to make a good concentric low-back extension and hold it during the movement. This is covered in the book.
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