Belt position and tightness - rib strain

[ropable]

About a week ago, I caused some sort of mischief to my left lower rib cage during my first work set of squats. I aborted that set, then later (rightly or wrongly) finished two lighter sets with about 70% of my working weight, beltless. I believe that I might have inadvertently caused the issue by wearing my belt too high and possibly too tightly. While I having been running a LNP for some time (uncoached save for a few online form checks), I only recently obtained a belt and I've been experimenting with it a little. A week on, my ribs are still a little sore but I've just finished a session at 90% weight on squats.

Can inappropriate belt position cause this sort of issue, or am I making a false assumption?

[Michael Wolf]

Ya I think that's a reasonably good assumption given the circumstances - assuming it was a leather belt, anyway. I don't think a velcro would cause this issue. And you probably learned a lesson about belt tightness and position, too.

[jbackos]

In 1977 at the World Powerlifting Championships in Perth, Australia, Doug Young fractured three ribs during his third attempt squat and went on to finish the meet and win.

Those of us who are either very lean around the middle, or have a short waist have problems with hip and rib bruising . There are a few things you can do to help alleviate this condition.

1. Try a narrower (3", 2") width belt.
2. Try a thinner (10mm) as opposed to a 13mm belt. The 10mm is more likely to conform to your body shape than the 13.
3. Buy a belt that is pre-broken in (Bob's Belts, Best Belts)
4. Thicken the muscles of the midsection to provide some padding.

[I_iz_a_fatass]

Absolutely, belt position - even a well-fitting belt - can pinch a rib if it's mis-aligned. I did that once for one squat set and it hurt a few days. @jbackos has the gist of it.

[Treg]

I rarely have anything useful to share here, but this is an exception. I didn't start using a belt at all until I got over 225 lbs. on squats and 315 lbs. on deadlifts. I started using a 4-inch belt that my gym had, and immediately experienced several rounds of what ropable is describing - excrutiating pain at the bottom of my rib cage, so bad that I would have to set the belt aside and lift lighter weight for the next week or two. I finally figured out that even though I'm 6'1", I am in fact short-waisted, and the 4-inch belt is too wide for me. I got a 3-inch 10 mm belt from Best Belts and have never had even a twinge of pain, even though I wear it very, very, very tight.

[ropable]

My apologies for not paying attention to this thread (I got the subscription settings wrong). Thanks to everyone for the information. I've subsequently been careful to wear my belt lower (the top edge about the level of my belly button) and the issue has not reoccurred.

[ropable]

That is nuts! I took a week off and a deload based on some soreness. I clearly need to HTFU.

For interest, my belt is a 10mm leather one but it's barely broken in all. I may try a narrower one or a nylon belt if the problem reoccurs.

[Treg]

Ropable, don't be scared of going to a 3-inch belt. Sounds like it's what you need to do, and I doubt you'll notice any loss of isometric contraction just because it's an inch narrower. If you're at all like me, you'll be glad to be able to really tighten the thing, take a huge breath, do the rep, and . . . . no pain.

Also (and I don't work for them or anything), the 10 mm belts from Best Belts come pre-broken in. I was able to use mine immediately, with no problems.

[Alexander Dargatz]

I had the same issue when I started using a belt for squats. But in my case it wasn't (only) the belt width or position - it was the rounding of my back. I let my upper back cave in to the weight and thus the belt contused the lower part of the ribcage. It was painful, but ultimately helped me recognize and fix a problem with my form.