lower back pain after squats still persisting

[georgiecasey]

I know there's a lot of threads on this but I said I'd ask again to make sure what I think is correct.

I'm not new to squatting, but I'm new to progressively adding weight and going for gains. So about 2 weeks I did 10 reps of 75kg and last 3 reps I definitely arched my back a bit. I should have just stopped at 7 but went for the round number of 10. I've had a throbbing pain exactly on my lower back since then, in the centre, bottom of the spine. It's not sore all the time, just a small pain every 20 seconds or whatever. Nothing too serious but it's discomforting.

I rested for 1.5 weeks and squatted there again the other day, not much weight but the pain is back. Also, I only really get the pain when I'm sitting down and especially when driving. I rarely if ever get it when lying in bed or standing.

Am I fúcked? Finished before I even started? I never do any stretchs before weight exercises, if this ever clears up, I'll definitely start. I just thought it'd be hard to get injured at such a low weight. Cheers for any info guys, will rep

[WibbleWabble]

did it improve at all in those two weeks? it sounds to me like either a ligament tear or a very minor disc injury. the fact that you do not have pain radiating down the leg bodes well. i would lay off exercises which compress the spine at this point.

i don't think this had anything to do with stretching.

[georgiecasey]

yeah, pretty much went away in the 2 weeks, back again now after squats wednesday. no pain at all in legs. exactly at bottom of the spine. cheers for the info. repped

[WibbleWabble]

no worries. yea, a minor disc injury typically takes 4-6 weeks to heal and a ligament tear can take up to 8. i would lay off any spinal compression for a couple months to ensure that it heals completely. otherwise, you will continue to re-injur it indefinitely. walking is excellent for this type of injury- pelvic tilts, etc.. ice and WET heat are also good. there is not much blood flow in the lower back so you want to encourage the flow as much as possible (although heat is kind of a double-edged sword because it also promotes inflammation). the best way to sleep is on your back with a pillow under your knees.

hit the area with hot water in your morning shower. WET heat will help the scar tissue clear from the area and also encourage nutrient flow (healing)

glucosamine is a good supplement for this type of injury.

[Logical95]

Had this very same type of frustrating injury recently......strained/pulled my lower back on my last set of deadlifts.....and like you, I couldnt sit or drive at first bc my back would "lock up or spasm"....

Now, 6 weeks later, the spasms are gone but there is still a mild dull pain there....

Went to an ortho....X-rays were negative, nothing obvious.....

He said its prob just a bad lower back pull and that the para-spinal muscles/ligaments were torn....

I have to do 6 weeks of physical therapy and he said if the pain is still there after 4 of those weeks he would send me for an MRI.....

Keep fighting man.....it might take a while.....low back injuries are pesky

[WibbleWabble]

i'm goin through the same thing myself... totally sux.... just hoping i didn't squeeze all the jelly out of one of my discs or anything :/ i do not really have pain radiating down my leg. just a dull ache in my spine and upper-to-mid glute is spasming. logical, please keep us updated if you will. i've had my injury for the past 5 weeks. it has been VERY SLOWLY improving. i was doing all the PT exercises and everything at first but i found i just kept aggravating it. finally, the past 1.5 weeks or so i just did some simple stretching in the morning and evening and it's been improving a lot more. i just did the elliptical yesterday and it felt good, praly gonna hit the elliptical every other day for 30 mins just to keep the blood flowing. i can tell it's gonna take a LONG time to get back to 100% (i would guesstimate 6 months) if it ever does.

what sux for me is i don't even know what did it. i woke up one morning after a leg day and i was f'd....

[Logical95]

I will keep you updated.....mine is feeling better after 6 weeks but still a dull pain there.....at first it was really bad and my back was locking up and spasm-ing when i would sit down or drive....

I went to a good sports ortho and he said its probably a bad pull/strain of the paraspinal muscles which can take up to 8 good weeks to heal....

He gave me a physical exam and moved my legs certain ways to check for a herniated disc or nerve pinch, but i have no pain radiating down my legs so he said thats a good sign....

Did you get an X-ray or MRI Wibble Wabble? An X-ray can show if the disc is bulging or slipped.....but not much else....

IF its not better after PT im getting the MRI done....

[WibbleWabble]

^ no, no x-ray or MRI, my med. insurance is ****ty and has a $2000 deductible so i'm tryin to just let it heal on its own and do my own research online. i figure as long as it's improving it's all good. i mean even if i get an MRI and find out it's herniated (which i kind of suspect) that's not really gonna change anything. they're just gonna have me do PT etc.. and I don't think I would be a candidate for surgery since my symptoms are not horribly debilitating just really annoying. In any case, I'd want to give it at least 6 months before even considering surgery.

the reason i kind of suspect herniation or at least mild disc injury to the annulus rim is because like hitting a bump while i'm driving hurts my spine and lifting anything even moderately heavy like a full gallon jug of milk out of the fridge with my left hand (the affected side) hurts as i can feel my disc being compressed. that has gotten a lot better tho since the initial injury. my feeling is that i've either torn ligaments like you mentioned and they are inflamed, or else i have torn the annulus fibrosis a bit. if i squeezed a lot of jelly out, from what i read, i would have symptoms in my legs which i really don't. my flexibilility and strength with glutes, hammies, quads, calves is still quite good as well.

it would be nice to get an MRI tho so i could KNOW 100% what the issue is.