Lower back pain

[Jalps]

Over the last four weeks, my lower back has felt a dull soreness. At first, I assumed it was DOMS, but it never seems to go away. I mean, I'll get the occasional soreness in other muscles related to the SS exercises, but nothing compared to what I feel on a daily basis in my lower back.

What I'd like to know is whether this is normal, considering how hard the erector spinae are worked on SS, or if this is an actual warning sign I need to pay attention to. The last thing I want is to get injured, but since my weights kept going up, I didn't want to puss out of the workout on account of not ever feeling 100% in my back. After 4 weeks though, I'm starting to get a little concerned.

Thanks in advance,
- Jalps

[ColoWayno]

Can you tell us a bit more?
How long have you been lifting?
Do you have a history of back problems?
Is there any lift in particular that hurts to do?
What weights are you using? (esp squat and dead lift)
Are you using a belt? (probably should be)
Does your back just feel tight, or is it more like soreness?
I suggest you post videos (esp squat and dead lift) so your form can be checked.

If you've been lifting for a while you should be able to tell the difference between DOMS and an injury. DOMS will go away with a somewhat predictable amount of rest, and won't be as bad the next time you lift (unless you are adding crazy weights or reps or being irregular about your workouts and/or not doing normal linear progression). Injuries will generally just get a little worse until the problem (usually a form problem) is corrected.
I would also suggest you try some of the things mentioned in this other thread:
http://startingstrength.com/resource...ad.php?t=15667

[Jalps]

Sorry I was stingy with the info earlier:

I've been lifting since late January, doing the Starting Strength program.

• No history of back problems, though I've never had a particularly strong back.
• No lift that I do will hurt as it's happening, though shortly after the squat and deadlift, I'll feel a lot of soreness in the lower back.
• Squat: 285, Deadlift 340
• I just bought a belt last night (Inzer Forever Belt) for exactly this reason
• The back feels very tight after the workout for perhaps 15 minutes, and then works to soreness afterward.

As for the workouts, I've been very particular about exercising at almost the same time every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I've been adding 5 lbs each time for the squat, and recently 5 lbs for the deadlift.

On Wednesday, I squatted 285 pounds but the lower back was feeling bad the next day. Yesterday, I attempted 290 and couldn't get the weight up even the first rep. Now, I had problems with my other exercises too (my guess is that I didn't rest or eat properly, though I can't really figure out what went wrong), so I don't think it was just a squat form issue. Because of that, I took the weight way down (185) and did a few high box squats. Today, my back has felt quite a bit better.

I'm wondering if all I needed was some additional rest, and that my body was working at max capacity to repair the muscle. I'll see how things feel on Monday, but I may end up taking that day off too. I guess a week off wouldn't kill me, so long as it allows me to be fully repaired going into my upcoming workouts.