Two questions about Starr rehab protocol

[Mucius]

Hello coach

More than 8 months ago, I tried to deadlift 5*185kg. I wasn't able to do it, but I did it anyway, with terrible form; it hurt my back. Three days later, I tried to squat 5*130kg. I wasn't able to do it, but I did in anyway, with terrible form; now my back - still hurting - was officially fucked.

After months of just trying to squat and deadlift and failing over and over again (which aggravated the injury), I finally asked someone (this board's one and only TravisRusselDC) what to do. And he told me to try chiropractic.
Stubborn as I am, I didn't try chiropractic but osteotherapy. The osteotherapist, however, was a decent guy, who told me as much as he could about my injuryl; he told me I had torn an iliolumbal ligament. He more or less fixed it, and told me to avoid training heavy for as long as needed. That I tried. It didn't work.
So, five days ago, I did what I should have done eight months ago: I started following the Starr rehab protocol. I do 3*25 reps for squat as well as deadlift, every day. Until now, I have had a huge 'pump', everyday; loved it! And my back didn't hurt at all!

Yet, today I did 25*70kg squat (which was heavy but ok, with good technique) and I felt a core muscle (obliquus, quadratus lumborum, ... I don't know) hurting. So I did another set of 25, but it got a bit worse. Even deadlifting 25*90kg didn't seem to help, so I called it a day (for rehab), without a 'pump'!
I know I shouldn't be doing any other training on rehab, but there's no way you can keep me from pressing. So I pressed 5*5 and added 3*25*50kg bench press because of a triceps (caput longum) injury, which is very recent and which I am treating with Starr rehab as well.
The weird thing is: now my back isn't stiff ('pump') and I feel my ligament injury again! I don't like this. I don't feel a thing in my core anymore; tomorrow I will know if it's really gone.

That's the story (sorry it's so long, but I can't imagine a way to make it shorter); these are my questions:
1) Starr rehab really seems to help my lower back. Does it 'cure' ligament injuries, in your opinion/experience?
By the way, I read an older thread, in which you stated that ligament injuries will take a long time to heal and will hurt long after they can be used properly again. This is not a question, I just find it very interesting.
2) In your opinion/experience, is a 'pump' needed in a good rehab? If not, what do you think may have caused my ligament to irritate me again (although only slightly):
- no 'pump'?
- doing 5*5 on press (yet form was good and abs are strong)?
- lying stiffly on the bench for 15 minutes, only moving when performing a set?
- a combination of these?

Thanks,
Mucius

PS Your answer on the second question may be something like: 'any time you squat and deadlift heavy, your iliolumbal ligaments are slightly active, probably enough for your torn ligament to be a little sore; yet when your lower back is loaded with lactic acid, you will feel another kind of pain more intensively. If your ligament is still fucked in the morning, you will know you that actually did something wrong.'
If so, I'm glad I figured it out on my own (and am curious for tomorrow morning), but I'm not all sure. Moreover, I am interested in whatever you can tell me about this injury/rehab/... My injury and I have been together for over eight months and, really, we are nearly married. Anything you can tell me about my injury is very interesting to me.

[Mark Rippetoe]

You are in fact a stubborn bastard. So was I until I got hurt enough.

1. The rehab works for backs because Bill developed it when his back was injured. The high reps and low load produce lactate, which has been shown to increase the rate of tissue remodeling. Ligament is avascular and non-contractile, and thus theoretically not subject to the blood flow and lactate production effects that a muscle experiences, so there must be another mechanism at work. I don't know, but it does work as you have seen.

2. The "pump" is a muscle belly phenomenon, and does not DIRECTLY affect ligaments. Perhaps the indirect effects are not fully understood. The "pump" is poorly understood too, but at any rate it is not a phenomenon of connective tissue. Again, it works, but the mechanism by which high reps with light weight heals is poorly understood.