Glute Injury of Over 4+ Months from Deadlifts, Need Desperate Help

[OC23]

I have had this glute injury for the past 4 months. I initially injured it while deadlifting. The pain has been consistent throughout the past 4 months. Basically I can't do any lower body workouts like squats, deadlifts, any variations of those, etc. Pain can also occur when I try to do pendlay or barbell rows or good mornings or good morning type positions. When doing the squat or deadlift, there is pain throughout the entire lift, but the pain exponentially increases as I go towards lockout on the squat or deadlift. The pain also exponentially increases when I am warming up. For example, 135 feel nothing, 185 some discomfort, 225 pain, 245 serious pain. I have done some reading around and research and it most likely seems to be piriformis syndrome. I have been stretching, foam rolling, rolling with a lacrosse ball. There has been no results. I have gone to my doctor and he told me to just rest and gave me some anti inflammatory pills. it has not helped at all. I have rested pretty much 4 months (i try to do some lower body every now and then by warming up and stopping immediately when there is discomfort) and there has been close to no progress. There is no pain or discomfort at all when I run, sprint, hill sprint, jump, jump rope, do jiu jitsu or muay thai.

Lately it has gotten better due to me just resting a lot and not doing any exercises that aggravate the pain, but it seems to be chronic pain that when I try to lift around 315 or more or close to 315, the pain instantly flares up. Was trying to see if I could deadlift a couple days ago for the 1st time in 2 weeks of not trying, did a slow warm up to 315, I pull 315x1 was easy as hell but the sudden explosion/flexion of the posterior chain "ignites" the sharp pain in my right glute so I stopped right away.

Right now I pretty much only do some front squats since it doesn't hurt much on front squats and I don't want to neglect legs completely.

Went to 2 doctors, only got some anti inflammatory pills and got told to rest.

[CROMAGS1985]

I suffered through some very serious piriformis syndrome that only affected my deadlift and not my squat for some reason. I'd say it will take time but 4 months is a fair bit of time to invest with no end in sight.

There was a point that I was rolling on the LAX ball and stretching both glutes for almost one hour twice per day to relieve the existing stress and break up the tissue. Are you to that point yet? Can you find the triggers with the LAX?

The best stretch I ever did I kind of created myself. Lie on your back and put one leg up the the wall at 90*. Cross your other leg over that leg so that you ankle is over your teardrop/thigh area. This position alone will create tremendous tension/stretch to the glutes. Do this for as long as you can stand and then learn to stand it some more. To create a greater stretch (when you're ready), the foot that it on the wall; go up on your calf and press off the wall;keeping your lower back flat on the ground and everything else tight and in the previously described position. Switch legs no and then and just keep at it until it gets better.

Good luck. I've been there...

[OC23]

I suffered through some very serious piriformis syndrome that only affected my deadlift and not my squat for some reason. I'd say it will take time but 4 months is a fair bit of time to invest with no end in sight.

There was a point that I was rolling on the LAX ball and stretching both glutes for almost one hour twice per day to relieve the existing stress and break up the tissue. Are you to that point yet? Can you find the triggers with the LAX?

The best stretch I ever did I kind of created myself. Lie on your back and put one leg up the the wall at 90*. Cross your other leg over that leg so that you ankle is over your teardrop/thigh area. This position alone will create tremendous tension/stretch to the glutes. Do this for as long as you can stand and then learn to stand it some more. To create a greater stretch (when you're ready), the foot that it on the wall; go up on your calf and press off the wall;keeping your lower back flat on the ground and everything else tight and in the previously described position. Switch legs no and then and just keep at it until it gets better.

Good luck. I've been there...

I have no idea, I just roll on the ball for a couple mins, stopping and holding it on spots that feel really tight, then rolling on the tight spots, then rolling all over. It feels good but it's obviously not working if it still flares up when I try to lift. I don't even know if it's 100% piriformis syndrome.

Will try the exercise you mentioned right now. I did another less strict version of that by just crossing my leg over and pulling the leg underneath type of thing.

edit: Works well brah. How long did it take for you to recover and be able to go 100%? Did you lose a lot of strength?

[justenc165]

Get an MRI if you can.i had the exact same symptoms,pain.turned out to be a fracture on the pelvic ring.if its pirformis syndrome the swan stretch will hurt like hell.

[Szarko]

I suffered through some very serious piriformis syndrome that only affected my deadlift and not my squat for some reason. I'd say it will take time but 4 months is a fair bit of time to invest with no end in sight.

There was a point that I was rolling on the LAX ball and stretching both glutes for almost one hour twice per day to relieve the existing stress and break up the tissue. Are you to that point yet? Can you find the triggers with the LAX?

The best stretch I ever did I kind of created myself. Lie on your back and put one leg up the the wall at 90*. Cross your other leg over that leg so that you ankle is over your teardrop/thigh area. This position alone will create tremendous tension/stretch to the glutes. Do this for as long as you can stand and then learn to stand it some more. To create a greater stretch (when you're ready), the foot that it on the wall; go up on your calf and press off the wall;keeping your lower back flat on the ground and everything else tight and in the previously described position. Switch legs no and then and just keep at it until it gets better.

Good luck. I've been there...

Actually crossing your one leg and resting your foot on your opposite quad while you pull that leg close to your body is a well known glute stretch.

[CROMAGS1985]

Actually crossing your one leg and resting your foot on your opposite quad while you pull that leg close to your body is a well known glute stretch.

Aware. But...in my quest to create greater continuous stretch in the glutes I found lying on the ground in the position previously described worked wonders and I thought I was breaking new ground because I'd never seen nor heard it described.

[OC23]

Get an MRI if you can.i had the exact same symptoms,pain.turned out to be a fracture on the pelvic ring.if its pirformis syndrome the swan stretch will hurt like hell.

What did you do to get better? How long did it take?

Am hesitant to get a MRI/CT etc.

[OC23]

The swan stretch doesn't hurt at all. The lacrosse ball didn't even hurt, only discomfort the first few times I used it. So it's not piriformis? It's a fracture?

[justenc165]

Get it checked out ASAP.its hard to tell without an MRI.a fracture was the last thing I would have guessed. Can you do anything close stances?thats how I got through mine.

[OC23]

Get it checked out ASAP.its hard to tell without an MRI.a fracture was the last thing I would have guessed. Can you do anything close stances?thats how I got through mine.

What do you mean by close stance? Like closer foot position? It doesn't matter at all on my foot position. Any time I get into a deadlift/squat/good morning position whether it is those exercises or bending over the pick up the barbell to do barbell rows, where I need to use my glutes/lower back/hamstrings for work or stabilize, it hurts. I can do front squats okay, pushing myself for the most part while feeling a tiny bit of discomfort that I can live with and train through.

It's weird though, i'll barely push myself on deadlifts or squats, and I can only do 1 rep for 1 set cause of pain or discomfort, whereas I can do front squats and push myself for the most part without too much discomfort. The pain is all in the posterior chain. The reps/sets/weight that I do on squats/DL aren't even hard at all, feels like warm ups but it's the pain that stops me from continuing. I can obviously push myself through the pain and do some working sets, but that will only set me back in the long run and it will be like taking 1 step forward, 2 steps back. I would rather fully heal before I really go all out.

I plan to book a MRI/CT though.

[LeakyQuesadilla]

What do you mean by close stance? Like closer foot position? It doesn't matter at all on my foot position. Any time I get into a deadlift/squat/good morning position whether it is those exercises or bending over the pick up the barbell to do barbell rows, where I need to use my glutes/lower back/hamstrings for work or stabilize, it hurts. I can do front squats okay, pushing myself for the most part while feeling a tiny bit of discomfort that I can live with and train through.

It's weird though, i'll barely push myself on deadlifts or squats, and I can only do 1 rep for 1 set cause of pain or discomfort, whereas I can do front squats and push myself for the most part without too much discomfort. The pain is all in the posterior chain. The reps/sets/weight that I do on squats/DL aren't even hard at all, feels like warm ups but it's the pain that stops me from continuing. I can obviously push myself through the pain and do some working sets, but that will only set me back in the long run and it will be like taking 1 step forward, 2 steps back. I would rather fully heal before I really go all out.

I plan to book a MRI/CT though.

You should stop doing that before you f*ck up something on the side of your knee and you cant even do body weight squats. (speaking from experience)

I've had this glute pain since October of 2011 and so far nothing has really worked. Icing doesnt do sh!t because the pain is really deep in the glute. The only thing I can recommend if you don't plan on going to the doctor is roll it really hard with a baseball or lacrosse ball and do stretches.

Keep me updated if you do somehow recover from this injury. I could really use some help as well.

[OC23]

You should stop doing that before you f*ck up something on the side of your knee and you cant even do body weight squats. (speaking from experience)

I've had this glute pain since October of 2011 and so far nothing has really worked. Icing doesnt do sh!t because the pain is really deep in the glute. The only thing I can recommend if you don't plan on going to the doctor is roll it really hard with a baseball or lacrosse ball and do stretches.

Keep me updated if you do somehow recover from this injury. I could really use some help as well.

I don't push through the pain at all, that's why when I do DL or squats I slowly warm up and add weight slowly to the point where there I feel there is starting to be discomfort, and see if the weight has increased to kind of check if there is progress.

Yeah same with me, the pain is really deep in the glute. Going to get a MRI/CT. Wouldn't be surprised if it's a stress fracture since stretching, foam rolling, lacrosse ball etc. aren't making any progress at all. At the same time shouldn't I be hurting more if it's a stress fracture?

Will keep this thread posted.

[justenc165]

I squat wide but was able to squat with feet together when I was hurt.for the first few months mine only hurt when working out,not in any daily activities.i also couldn't sprint.some of the stretches that reproduced the pain were one leg hamstring stretch and standing on the bad leg and reaching down.

[Assassin]

I have something similar, if not the same problem.

Only for me, it happened 2+ years ago and I didn't really know it... Just tried to train through the pain. Whoops.

I popped something doing really low GM's in 2010, and it's never been the same since. Initially it flared up when I would do bent over rows. Now it's at the point where any kind of glute activation during deadlifts is nonexistent. It has been flaring up pretty bad if I'm sitting for extended periods of time on a plane or bus, starting in the glute, and eventually working it's way down my leg. Not good.

I just recently picked up a LAX ball and started rolling on it. After talking with multiple people, they all agree there's probably a LOT of scare tissue built around a deep tear. Feels like a cylinder deep in my glute when I roll around on the LAX ball. My wide stance squats started to tank, but close stance is doing fine.

Very curious to see what other guys on the board do to solve this. Once I get health insurance I'll look into an MRI/CT for sure.

[OC23]

So..........

Got an ultrasound and xray of hip/lumbar

Waiting on results. When I was getting the ultrasound around my glute area/hip the doctor said everything seemed to be normal.

Still waiting on results.

Tried deadlifting today for 1st time in like 3 weeks... felt discomfort at 245... wtf...

I honestly don't know what to do.

[Heracles_Rocks]

I have something similar, if not the same problem.



I just recently picked up a LAX ball and started rolling on it. After talking with multiple people, they all agree there's probably a LOT of scare tissue built around a deep tear. Feels like a cylinder deep in my glute when I roll around on the LAX ball. .

This^. Op, more than likely you tore something and now you have some scar tissue buildup. Keep foam rolling, and using the lax ball. If you have a pvc pipe, use that instead.

Might be a high hamstring issue as well. Use the lax ball on the upper hamstrings just below the glutes, do this also for the adductors. Work around in there, if it was a tear, you will probably find some trigger points there. Roll around with the lax ball and see if maybe its farther away, see if there are any other trigger points anywhere on the leg that might cause issues up the chain so to speak. Also work aroung the mid part of the hamstring, that is where the short head of the biceps femoris attaches.

I would also do some light rep work as well, basically to do 2 things, first get the muscles working, second to help aid in recovery via getting more blood in the area. I found that doing leg curls with a focus on feel to help alot. I also found doing light stiff leg deads to help as well.

Also, what movement actually contributes to pain? Is it the action of the glutes contracting ala a pullthrough, or the hamstring, ala goodmornings, deads and etc?

Just a few things to try that helped me with what seems to be a similar issue.

[OC23]

This^. Op, more than likely you tore something and now you have some scar tissue buildup. Keep foam rolling, and using the lax ball. If you have a pvc pipe, use that instead.

Might be a high hamstring issue as well. Use the lax ball on the upper hamstrings just below the glutes, do this also for the adductors. Work around in there, if it was a tear, you will probably find some trigger points there. Roll around with the lax ball and see if maybe its farther away, see if there are any other trigger points anywhere on the leg that might cause issues up the chain so to speak. Also work aroung the mid part of the hamstring, that is where the short head of the biceps femoris attaches.

I would also do some light rep work as well, basically to do 2 things, first get the muscles working, second to help aid in recovery via getting more blood in the area. I found that doing leg curls with a focus on feel to help alot. I also found doing light stiff leg deads to help as well.

Also, what movement actually contributes to pain? Is it the action of the glutes contracting ala a pullthrough, or the hamstring, ala goodmornings, deads and etc?

Just a few things to try that helped me with what seems to be a similar issue.

I think glutes. I honestly dont even know. This injury is retarded. I can do front squats fine, and push myself and do like 3rm sets. However, I can't do back squats or DLs with WARM UP WEIGHT that is LESS THAN the working weight of my front squats without discomfort. The pain exponentially increases with little increments. Like for example, 225 warm up on squats = discomfort, 245 = pain, 245 + = PAIN!. Like wtf. So frustrating, based on my progress before I should be pulling 500+ x3 by now.

Basically the position that hurts is kind of like when the hip is flexed, back straight, like in the deadlift/squat, hurts during pendlay rows, sometimes discomfort during barbell rows, good morning type of position.

Been stretching and foam rolling for months...

When the doctor was doing the ultrasound on my glute area, i asked him if anything was wrong, he said probably not, I dont really see anything. Does that mean it probably ISNT a tear?

[LeakyQuesadilla]

When the doctor was doing the ultrasound on my glute area, i asked him if anything was wrong, he said probably not, I dont really see anything. Does that mean it probably ISNT a tear?

you need a MRI. dont go to some general physician who does some half-assed ultrasound. go to a orthopedist who specializes in sports injury. he can take a look at your MRI and determine what is wrong.

[Heracles_Rocks]

Basically the position that hurts is kind of like when the hip is flexed, back straight, like in the deadlift/squat, hurts during pendlay rows, sometimes discomfort during barbell rows, good morning type of position.

This is why i asked you what precise movements hurt. If you don't know, you won't be able to fix the problem. Isolate it, break it down to specific exercises that focus exclusively on certain body parts. The movement pattern you decribe all heavily involve the hamstrings. So Get that lax ball deep into your hamstrings and not your piriformis and glutes, or at the very least just focus more on the hamstrings and see how it goes. Also do the same thing in your adductors as well. Might explain why a wider stance causes issues but a closer stance does not.

I know you said you've been foam rolling and etc, but have you really mashed the tissues with something that is really hard. I've never been to an ART person or a chiropractor that uses tools to really get deep into the tissue, but i have used baseballs and soft balls and etc to attempt to mimic some of that by putting all of my weight into it. That kind of really getting into the tissues is what i'm talking about. It will hurt alot if done properly, but if there are trigger points or knots and etc in there, sometimes you really have to push through the pain.

When the doctor was doing the ultrasound on my glute area, i asked him if anything was wrong, he said probably not, I dont really see anything. Does that mean it probably ISNT a tear?

Leakyquesadilla is correct, a regular doctor won't be able to help you much. But if possible i would see if you have an ART person in your area. But also look into a detailed mri from a specialist to see if any deeper harder to find damage is there. Like someone said, you might have a fracture somewhere in there as well. Might just be a small tear that's just bothersome. Might also be a good thing to go to a chiropractor, you might just be out of alignment which could cause pain as well.

As some have said, it might just be a glute or a hamstring strain as well. Those can take awhile to heal.

Just some things to try, as i'm not a doctor. Just someone who's been through somthing similar. Good luck.

[HopefulDO]

I think glutes. I honestly dont even know. This injury is retarded. I can do front squats fine, and push myself and do like 3rm sets. However, I can't do back squats or DLs with WARM UP WEIGHT that is LESS THAN the working weight of my front squats without discomfort. The pain exponentially increases with little increments. Like for example, 225 warm up on squats = discomfort, 245 = pain, 245 + = PAIN!. Like wtf. So frustrating, based on my progress before I should be pulling 500+ x3 by now.

Basically the position that hurts is kind of like when the hip is flexed, back straight, like in the deadlift/squat, hurts during pendlay rows, sometimes discomfort during barbell rows, good morning type of position.

Been stretching and foam rolling for months...

When the doctor was doing the ultrasound on my glute area, i asked him if anything was wrong, he said probably not, I dont really see anything. Does that mean it probably ISNT a tear?

i have this exact issue. mine started 3 weeks ago during dl's. I havent been able to DL or squat since then. What were your ultrasound results?

[Assassin]

As a guy with a degree in cardiac ultrasound, I don't think a general ultrasound is going to do much. When the object you're looking at is a few cm below the head of the probe, that's one thing. As the depth increases for the ROI (region of interest, ie injury area) you have to use a lower frequency to penetrate deeper into the muscle. Lower frequency also means lower resolution. Lower resolution means less detail, so things like smaller tears or abnormalities may not even show up.

Again, I specialize in the heart, but based on what I just posted above and the fact that an injury in the glute could be pretty deep if you have a tank ass like mine, I don't know how good the results would be.

Get an MRI done and talk with a sports injury specialist. They will know what to look for, how to find it, and then how to recover from it. General docs know a lot about everything, but not too much on anything specifically. That's why they have specialists.

[timbom3]

Just wondering if anything came of this? Scan results? Managed to do what is sounding like a very similar injury!

[EpicLevelWizard]

Don't lift for a month, heal, and seek a better Phucking doctor.

[nekkidbear]

Very interesting thread. I also deal with a lot of end ROM hip extension based pain in my right leg usually near lockout on squats or deadlifts. I have been oly lifting for about two months now with very little heavy lifting but things I have noticed with the problem are...
1. Right leg has less mobility at the hip compared to left leg. Especially hip extension.
2. Stability on right leg is also less which at moments causes knee pain.
3. Limited ankle mobility on that leg also.

Things that have helped me out a lot it seems...
1. Hip flexor stretches help a ton.
2. Glute stretch. Check out the ones on mobilitywod.com. There are a few that are very intense.
3. Glute activation after hip flexor stretching.
4. More core work.

With helping these problems I feel that consistency is a key priority. Missing one day sometimes will set me back two or three. Pvc pipe is essential for hammie rolling. Can't think of anything else at the moment.

[takeittakeit]

Persistent glute pain sounds a bit like your SI joint's out. Do you occasionally get pain in the groin or testicle as well? Lower back on the same side? Does the pain sometimes extend down that leg?

Go see a chiro.

[Assassin]

Persistent glute pain sounds a bit like your SI joint's out. Do you occasionally get pain in the groin or testicle as well? Lower back on the same side? Does the pain sometimes extend down that leg?

Go see a chiro.

Can you elaborate on this a bit?

I most definitely injured it doing a good morning, but some of the symptoms you describe flare up from time to time. The worst is long car/train/plane rides. About 1.5 hours in, the pain starts moving down my hamstrings, and that has gotten progressively worse as time goes on.

This might sound odd, but as I lean out it seems like the abs on my right side are more prominent than on my left side. I'm assuming from using more right side from the injury.

[takeittakeit]

Can you elaborate on this a bit?

I most definitely injured it doing a good morning, but some of the symptoms you describe flare up from time to time. The worst is long car/train/plane rides. About 1.5 hours in, the pain starts moving down my hamstrings, and that has gotten progressively worse as time goes on.

This might sound odd, but as I lean out it seems like the abs on my right side are more prominent than on my left side. I'm assuming from using more right side from the injury.

There's not really much to elaborate on. Everything I listed is a symptom of throwing your SI joint out pretty badly, along with it being very painful to bend at the hip on that side. A competent chiro could diagnose it in under a minute, and correct the SI joint in just a few more. Deep tissue work to deal with all the secondary and possible tertiary symptoms that cropped up due to it being out (particularly if it's been out for months) would take a bit more time, and possibly multiple visits.

Mine's been out multiple times. It's felt like anything from an annoying lower back pain on one side to something as full-blown as I describe here, and so bad that I wound up going to the ER just to get enough pain meds to be able to sleep or function at all. And everything in between as well. There's a very simple test the chiro can do to figure out if it's out of place, and the fix is pretty easy too. Let it go long enough, and it can cause other problems, including neck and shoulder pain.

[Assassin]

There's not really much to elaborate on. Everything I listed is a symptom of throwing your SI joint out pretty badly, along with it being very painful to bend at the hip on that side. A competent chiro could diagnose it in under a minute, and correct the SI joint in just a few more. Deep tissue work to deal with all the secondary and possible tertiary symptoms that cropped up due to it being out (particularly if it's been out for months) would take a bit more time, and possibly multiple visits.

Mine's been out multiple times. It's felt like anything from an annoying lower back pain on one side to something as full-blown as I describe here, and so bad that I wound up going to the ER just to get enough pain meds to be able to sleep or function at all. And everything in between as well. There's a very simple test the chiro can do to figure out if it's out of place, and the fix is pretty easy too. Let it go long enough, and it can cause other problems, including neck and shoulder pain.

Ok, thanks takeittakeit. The ART/Graston guy I will be going to is also a chiro. I'll make sure to have him check everything out. I appreciate the help.

[Mode1]

I have had this glute injury for the past 4 months. I initially injured it while deadlifting. The pain has been consistent throughout the past 4 months. Basically I can't do any lower body workouts like squats, deadlifts, any variations of those, etc. Pain can also occur when I try to do pendlay or barbell rows or good mornings or good morning type positions. When doing the squat or deadlift, there is pain throughout the entire lift, but the pain exponentially increases as I go towards lockout on the squat or deadlift. The pain also exponentially increases when I am warming up. For example, 135 feel nothing, 185 some discomfort, 225 pain, 245 serious pain. I have done some reading around and research and it most likely seems to be piriformis syndrome. I have been stretching, foam rolling, rolling with a lacrosse ball. There has been no results. I have gone to my doctor and he told me to just rest and gave me some anti inflammatory pills. it has not helped at all. I have rested pretty much 4 months (i try to do some lower body every now and then by warming up and stopping immediately when there is discomfort) and there has been close to no progress. There is no pain or discomfort at all when I run, sprint, hill sprint, jump, jump rope, do jiu jitsu or muay thai.

Lately it has gotten better due to me just resting a lot and not doing any exercises that aggravate the pain, but it seems to be chronic pain that when I try to lift around 315 or more or close to 315, the pain instantly flares up. Was trying to see if I could deadlift a couple days ago for the 1st time in 2 weeks of not trying, did a slow warm up to 315, I pull 315x1 was easy as hell but the sudden explosion/flexion of the posterior chain "ignites" the sharp pain in my right glute so I stopped right away.

Right now I pretty much only do some front squats since it doesn't hurt much on front squats and I don't want to neglect legs completely.

Went to 2 doctors, only got some anti inflammatory pills and got told to rest.

I would recommend you to go to physiotherapy. If this is a piriformis syndrome he will fix it on 3 - 4 visits. But if it dose not go a way after max 6 visits it's something els.

I have hand a really ****'t up pain in my glute and gron for 8 - 9 months after squat injure. My physiotherapy helped me with most of my pain but in the end he saw that it is a ether labrum tear or injury to my hip cartilage. So the only thing I have bin doing is strengthen my hip stability muscles and some light one leg exercise like lunges or one leg leg-press. Most of my pain is gone now, but I'm still going to wait for my doctor to give me a go on heavy wights lifting agin. I don't want to be one of those how have a hip prostheses before 50 years old. The labrum and the cartilage in the hip can be up to 2-3 years to heal, if it heals. But if it dose not heal there is only a surgery, and it is always going to leave me with a not as strong hip joint as before surgery. So i'm hoping it will heal and i will just accept it to suck in the squat and deadlift at the moment. Just working on my bench wile it's healing.