noob recovering from lower back injury

[MilkBender]

I hurt my lower back exactly 10 weeks ago (or that's when it finally got to it's worst) and haven't touched a weight since. It was from squatting with bad form, lower back rounding and leaning forward too much. I was only squatting 195lbs (yes weak) but I started at 75, so I guess it is some improvement.

during these 10 weeks I've just been cutting (was too fat) and stretching, especially my hamstrings. So I went from 195lbs to 173lbs. Probably lost any strength and muscle I had. I can almost touch my toes without bending my knees now.

I had some crazy sciatica down the side of my right quad for the first month it almost made me pass out if I fully extended my legs, don't have that anymore but my lower back feels constantly sore (slightly)

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so yeah my question is, should I still lift? I really want to and become a powerlifter but I don't want to mess up my back for the rest of my life. and what program do you suggest I do? I'll be on a bulk of course

and how should I treat my lower back, just heat pads?

sorry if it seems like I'm just throwing random info out there

[SPFjudge]

bite the bullet and go see a chiro

Fix your form when you get back to it

[Caperjay]

I hurt my lower back exactly 10 weeks ago (or that's when it finally got to it's worst) and haven't touched a weight since. It was from squatting with bad form, lower back rounding and leaning forward too much. I was only squatting 195lbs (yes weak) but I started at 75, so I guess it is some improvement.

during these 10 weeks I've just been cutting (was too fat) and stretching, especially my hamstrings. So I went from 195lbs to 173lbs. Probably lost any strength and muscle I had. I can almost touch my toes without bending my knees now.

I had some crazy sciatica down the side of my right quad for the first month it almost made me pass out if I fully extended my legs, don't have that anymore but my lower back feels constantly sore (slightly)

---

so yeah my question is, should I still lift? I really want to and become a powerlifter but I don't want to mess up my back for the rest of my life. and what program do you suggest I do? I'll be on a bulk of course

and how should I treat my lower back, just heat pads?

sorry if it seems like I'm just throwing random info out there

Its hard to say since I don't know the full extent of your injury, but since it put you out of comission for 10 weeks I would think it was fairly serious, have you been to a doctor? and If so I would recommend asking the doc for advice. If your clear to lift again then you can start something like starting strength, just ease into it starting really light. You can do some bodyweight lower back exercise's like hyper extensions to build it up again, just ease into it and listen to your body, if you sharp pain stop. Focus on warming up properly, working on form, and streteching.

[MilkBender]

Half the time my lower back was just slightly sore, I just didn't lift because I didn't want to end up at square one again

my doctors a retard, he says lifting is bad and my parents totally believe him (they're both korean speakers, I'm not so good, can't reason with them) and won't let me lift. seriously. I went to the doctor and the doctor said not to lift, my parents went off about canceling my gym membership and never working out again

[MilkBender]

bump

[MilkBender]

bump again

[BumShrapnel]

I had a pretty bad back injury (bulging lumbar disc) from deadlifting like a mongo at the start of the year then it was on the mend and I reinjured it. I just rested it and worked on flexibilty and mobilty especially in the hips, hamstrings and calves once I could. Obviously you can train around it so things like bench presses, pullups and anything that doesn't put a lot of pressure on the back like curls/shoulder raises stuff like that. Things like sprints and plyos are good too but always be careful introducing any pressure on your back so start slow and light and work up. Working on posture has done wonders for it too like not slouching at the computer etc. Then I started squating again very high volume and building up the intensity slowly. So I started with the bar then my 2nd warmup weight then just kept adding 5kg each set while really emphasizing form and just testing the waters I think the first time I did this I worked up to what was my normally 4th warm up set. Now I'm just keeping things mobile, watching my form and training the hell out my core and lower back to make sure it doesn't happen again. Should be on the way for a squat PB in the next few weeks that I would have hit in February had I not injured it and probably in May had I not reinjured it.

The biggest thing is always be careful and get a feel for what your doing before you push it because the fresher the injury is the easier it is to reinjure and undo all the rehab you just did. If you feel the pressure building up in it remember it's better to take a little time off or change your training session than be forced to take a lot of time off because you hurt it again.

[MilkBender]

The thing is, it doesn't hurt at all during workouts but the next day it gets pretty sore so I just avoided lifting completely.. should I just go and work my abs/lower back?

[Norse1308]

The thing is, it doesn't hurt at all during workouts but the next day it gets pretty sore so I just avoided lifting completely.. should I just go and work my abs/lower back?

There's nothing wrong with being sore in your lower back from squatting, especially if you're doing low bar. Forward lean is fine, but losing your back tightness, is not.

[MilkBender]

There's nothing wrong with being sore in your lower back from squatting, especially if you're doing low bar. Forward lean is fine, but losing your back tightness, is not.

It's not muscle soreness but like my lower spine itself feels sore.. it gets kind of hard to move around and get up/lie down

you know what I'll just slowly get back into squatting starting with the bar lol

[jbealsrmt]

The information you are providing us and the information we need to help you is not really possible to get through an online forum. Your parents should understand that it never hurts to get a second opinion from a professional who specializes in treating athletes. Go to a sports doctor, sports chiropractor, or some other health-care practitioner who works with more active people.