Can deadlifting grip cause back injury?

[ChrisOBC]

Background: Started deadlifting about a year ago. For the first 6-9 months I used overhand grip for lighter sets, then always switched to over/under grip where my right hand was always the under. Somewhere along the way, I noticed my lower back mostly on the right side was becoming strained. As time goes on, it becomes more chronic and painful until I finally went to a doctor 2 weeks ago. I'm now doing PT for basically what amounts to "loose ligaments" as explained by my doctor.

My question is a) would it make sense that my deadlift grip lead to the injury? The reason why I think so is the fact that the pain is present mainly on my right side. Does the side with the underhand grip bear more of the load then the side with the overhand grip?

...and b) if the above is true, then besides what I'm doing in PT (basic core exercises like planks, superman extensions, bridges etc), would it make sense to try to strengthen my left side to build symmetry by doing things like 1 legged deadlifts or other exercises that would target my left lower back area?

[djoyce2]

I've seen imbalances caused by mixed deadlift grip, but I've never seen it cause back injuries.

You may want to use straps for the majority of your volume work, and just use mixed grip for singles. Or, even better would be to switch to a hook grip or double overhand.

as for strengthening the other side, ask your physio therapist. None of us really have enough information to advise you on an issue like this.

Also, I'd make sure you're seeing a sports therapist, and not a regular physio therapist. A typical pt will just tell you not to deadlift anymore. A sports therapist will try to get you back to your sport.

[ChrisOBC]

I've seen imbalances caused by mixed deadlift grip, but I've never seen it cause back injuries.

You may want to use straps for the majority of your volume work, and just use mixed grip for singles. Or, even better would be to switch to a hook grip or double overhand.

as for strengthening the other side, ask your physio therapist. None of us really have enough information to advise you on an issue like this.

Also, I'd make sure you're seeing a sports therapist, and not a regular physio therapist. A typical pt will just tell you not to deadlift anymore. A sports therapist will try to get you back to your sport.

Thanks for the input. I kinda did ask my PT but he just shrugged and gave a vague answer like, "just try things, and if it hurts, stop." I guess as dumb as it sounds, it makes sense...but I was hoping for some more advice and some actual exercises to try.

[JJinSS]

i have 1 arm shorter than the other. Naturally and surgically so u can see the tilt in angle of shoulders when im in starting positoin and i sure do feel some sides work harder than others and i can feel my body sorta swerve up to compensate for the 1 limb shortness.

and i've been repping 335 now a days and its not causing me any back pain.

Maybe u lift more idk. 335 is probably light compared to most ppl on bb.com :/ idk...

as for both over hand hook grip....... omfg. hook grip is impossible. i can't. you can try. but i sure as hell can't. u try lifting 335 with a f@$king hook grip.

like ur thumb gets smooshed and it startes getting pulled this way and that way and the corner of your nails start ripping up and bleeding. No, no way. a no from me. lol

But supposedly its better.

[omglazer]

I don't mess with over/under. Overhand and straps when I can't grip. I have no answer weither it can cause injury though.

[djoyce2]

i have 1 arm shorter than the other. Naturally and surgically so u can see the tilt in angle of shoulders when im in starting positoin and i sure do feel some sides work harder than others and i can feel my body sorta swerve up to compensate for the 1 limb shortness.

and i've been repping 335 now a days and its not causing me any back pain.

Maybe u lift more idk. 335 is probably light compared to most ppl on bb.com :/ idk...

as for both over hand hook grip....... omfg. hook grip is impossible. i can't. you can try. but i sure as hell can't. u try lifting 335 with a f@$king hook grip.

like ur thumb gets smooshed and it startes getting pulled this way and that way and the corner of your nails start ripping up and bleeding. No, no way. a no from me. lol

But supposedly its better.

it's certainly gonna be uncomfortable at first, but it's something you build up over a few weeks or months.

In my olympic lifting days, i used to do clean pulls with 350+ using hook grip. That weight plus the accelerative force from the second pull put tremendous pressure on my thumb, but i was so accustomed to it, I barely felt it.

[coachdeez]

I read somewhere once...can't remember the source....but it said that using an alternate grip can cause a slight rotation in the hips toward the supinated side that over time could lead to uneven strain and imbalances. I developed problems in my shoulders and in my hips/lower back from using an alternate DL grip, though I've never had any of them diagnosed. Since switching to hook grip and stepping it up a notch with my stretching and foam rolling, most of those issues have resolved themselves.

[allergic2rice]

i have 1 arm shorter than the other. Naturally and surgically so u can see the tilt in angle of shoulders when im in starting positoin and i sure do feel some sides work harder than others and i can feel my body sorta swerve up to compensate for the 1 limb shortness.

and i've been repping 335 now a days and its not causing me any back pain.

Maybe u lift more idk. 335 is probably light compared to most ppl on bb.com :/ idk...

as for both over hand hook grip....... omfg. hook grip is impossible. i can't. you can try. but i sure as hell can't. u try lifting 335 with a f@$king hook grip.

like ur thumb gets smooshed and it startes getting pulled this way and that way and the corner of your nails start ripping up and bleeding. No, no way. a no from me. lol

But supposedly its better.

maybe you're just a pussy?
but srsly, I've done 385x3 with hook, once did 315x10 with hook (pretty brutal)

after 2-3 sessions, it's really not that bad..

[PhreEkGarden]

maybe you're just a pussy?
but srsly, I've done 385x3 with hook, once did 315x10 with hook (pretty brutal)

after 2-3 sessions, it's really not that bad..

Calling someone a pussy who still deadlifts with one arm shorter than the other is kind of funny.

[PhreEkGarden]

I don't mess with over/under. Overhand and straps when I can't grip. I have no answer weither it can cause injury though.

Since he asked his question here I am assuming he wanted advice from a powerlifting perspective.....

[allergic2rice]

Calling someone a pussy who still deadlifts with one arm shorter than the other is kind of funny.

I thought it was obvious that I was joking

[scorpionsf]

i am sure guys hook grip well into the 7-800's

[Sash]

Like Carl Yngvar Christensen - deadlifts start at around 2:30

[HamburgerTrain]

Like Carl Yngvar Christensen - deadlifts start at around 2:30

d@mmit... I'm competing against him in 5 weeks.

Your grip choice has nothing to do with imbalances. Structural imbalances of your body (which everyone on earth has) are what create problems. One leg can be longer, and arm longer, a hip higher, a scapula set lower, whatever. These problems are what corrective exercise and smart programming are for. Personally, I was having some serious discomfort and pressure over my right hip that got worse as I got stronger. I got some bone sacans and other tests done and found out my left leg is almost a full inch longer that my right. Now I wear a lift when I train and I do exercises to work the imbalances. No more pain.

[Iceman1800]

I can say that when I went to a chiropractor for the first time (he was a pl'er too), he knew exactly which hand was my under grip and which was my over grip. So it does cause some erector imbalances

[JJinSS]

maybe you're just a pussy?
but srsly, I've done 385x3 with hook, once did 315x10 with hook (pretty brutal)

after 2-3 sessions, it's really not that bad..

i mean i know i can get used to it like everything else.

but its just too uncomfortable for me to even give it a chance. I know and seen people pull 600+ lbs with double over hook. So im not saying it doesn't work or that its too painful to do it.

im saying im not gunna do it... and for the avg persons. I would just use the regular grips. No seriously u know that corner on ur cuticles? It just rips and makes a gash like 5mm long and bleeds and than u can't do double hook again for a while... dat hurt pretty bad...

[smallkiwi]

i too had some issues with uneven back muscles from too much mixed grip, but i solved it by doing my light sets with the opposite mixed grip to my usual. then for heavier work back to my 'standard' grip

[ilicet51]

I use double overhand until 550 or so then go mixed grip. I've never had imbalance issues.

[JJinSS]

I use double overhand until 550 or so then go mixed grip. I've never had imbalance issues.

....holy ****... 550 double over... sigh. when will i ever hit 4 plates....

[ChrisOBC]

*UPDATE*

I had been plugging away with 2-3 sessions of PT a week when I discovered my health insurance wasn't going to cover jacksh!t. Long story short, they classified my back issue as a pre-existing injury (rage).

So I had gotten in about 12 sessions before I had to stop, and while the back pain was overall getting better (slowly), my back was still pretty stiff and painful in the mornings (especially the day after heavy activity like soccer or lifting/running).

Since then I've been doing most of the exercises I was doing in PT on my own, but I'm frustrated with how slow I'm making progress. I haven't done deadlifts or squats in probably 6 months, and I do other lifts only once a week. Other than that, I play soccer once a week and jog 45min 2-3x a week. Even with this pretty light workout routine, my back hurts.

Since going to another doctor/PT is temporarily not an option, are there any other things I could be doing? Some brainstorming:

- ice/cold treatment?
- different exercises? (I heard sometimes your hip flexors can cause back issues, and I have had a history of tightness in that area)
- sleeping position?
- supplements (although I'm already taking Orange Triad stacked with Super Cissus)
- scale back physical activity even more?

Any help is MUCH appreciated and will be rewarded with what meager reps I can spare!

[ChrisOBC]

*UPDATE #2*
I just got the doctor's office to fax me the diagnosis. It's L5 S1 Retrolithesis Grade I. Brb googling whatever the hell that means.

[A_Hard_Rain]

I read somewhere once...can't remember the source....but it said that using an alternate grip can cause a slight rotation in the hips toward the supinated side that over time could lead to uneven strain and imbalances. I developed problems in my shoulders and in my hips/lower back from using an alternate DL grip, though I've never had any of them diagnosed. Since switching to hook grip and stepping it up a notch with my stretching and foam rolling, most of those issues have resolved themselves.

interesting, i've always used the same mixed grip and i've had to go to the chiropractor for my hips being out of whack. i always use my left hand as under grip and my left hip is the one that gets out of whack. might be time to start learning hook grip

[Jawja]

heya everybody, first post here.

I actually had a problem along these lines a while back. When I started lifting, I had a perfectly symmetrical bench. But after training for a couple of years using a mixed grip deadlift, I noticed that my right arm on the bench press *seemed* a little longer. It made the move awkward. Now mind you, I don't absolutely know that the mixed grip was the cause, and if it is I can't imagine why that would be, but I simply started alternating my mixed grips on dead lifts and it solved the problem. One set left hand is under, next set right hand is under, etc. It took months to get used to, but I still do it, my bench went back to normal, and I don't feel like it affects how much I can lift (my max is in the neighborhood of 550).

I know that this won't help much after the fact, but to avoid getting an injury stemming from any sort of dead lift asymmetry, I think this would handily prevent it.

[ChrisOBC]

bump for morning traffic

[neilmorgan77]

I get a bit of back pain, but I think it's because of how hard I've been pushing the back work recently rather than because I used mixed grip on deadlifts. The only advice I have is to alternate which hand faces forwards. It shouldn't make too much difference to your grip strength when you switch regularly, and I was told you are less likely to tear bicep tendons if you switch more often (that may be a myth, but I don't mind if my deadlift is a little more balanced anyway). I think the only reason a mixed grip could cause injury is if you let the bar swing forwards on one side and end up twisting your back or putting more strain down one side of your body. If this is happening you'd probably feel it, although I think I do it sometimes when I get the initial pull wrong and try to recover my position whilst continuing the pull.

[John Hicks]

Some brainstorming:

- ice/cold treatment?
- different exercises? (I heard sometimes your hip flexors can cause back issues, and I have had a history of tightness in that area)
- sleeping position?
- supplements (although I'm already taking Orange Triad stacked with Super Cissus)
- scale back physical activity even more?

You forgot the other alternative: STOP THE DEADLIFTS ALTOGETHER. For at least two months, and maybe even longer until you completely heal up that back.

Either that, one day you'll try to get out of bed - and you won't be able to. No sh*t, this is VERY serious.

So I had gotten in about 12 sessions before I had to stop, and while the back pain was overall getting better (slowly), my back was still pretty stiff and painful in the mornings (especially the day after heavy activity like soccer or lifting/running).

Like I said...

[John Hicks]

Since then I've been doing most of the exercises I was doing in PT on my own, but I'm frustrated with how slow I'm making progress. I haven't done deadlifts or squats in probably 6 months, and I do other lifts only once a week. Other than that, I play soccer once a week and jog 45min 2-3x a week. Even with this pretty light workout routine, my back hurts.

If that's the case, I'm thinking back surgery in your immediate future. Sorry about that...

[ChrisOBC]

If that's the case, I'm thinking back surgery in your immediate future. Sorry about that...

Uh that seems a bit unlikely. Google what i was diagnosed in update #2. Also what background do you have that grants you the right to make off the cuff statements like that?