Lower back and right leg pain

[ColorNotColour]

For a few weeks now I've been experiencing moderate pain in my lower back and right side of my back that goes down my right leg a little. It's not like an extremely sharp stabbing pain, but sometimes it is quite painful. I can feel it constantly while sitting and I also feel it squatting and deadlifting. I'm 19 so this is a surprise to me to feel a back injury, but I'm not sure why it's here/how to get rid of it. I'm extremely flexible naturally, but is it possible it's from hamstring tightness? My hammies have been super tight as of late (I can still touch my toes but can normally flat hand the ground very easily). I've tried lying on my back and crossing my leg over trying to crack my lower back and this cracks my back but doesn't alleviate any pain. What to do? Should I stop deadlifting and squatting?

[KaiSchafroth]

Oddly enough I've been having the same issue lately (pain going down the left hip/leg but regardless) and am working my way back as we speak.

I'd suggest talking to your doctor or a chiropractor and putting the deadlifts and squats on pause for a bit. While I obviously am not diagnosing anything my problem turned out to be a spinal/vertebrae issue from some years ago that flared up. Essentially, two vertebrae in the low back (can't remember which ones) have been tilted and pitched for a few years which has been pinching some nerves and I did something that caused this to flare up/aggravated it.
More info than you care about likely but what happened with me (and might be your case) was some sort of muscle injury/strain basically tightens up the muscles running along your mid and low back; typically along one side. Muscle is connected to bone structure and typically this means the vertebrae start to have more tension on one side than the other - hence the shift/pitch. It might just be a strain at the time but it can, over a period of time cause greater problems.

For the last couple weeks I've been unable to sit comfortably, limited with some daily activity, and all deads (and most squats) have been out of the question. Chiropractor visits have been helping and the last few days I've finally been able to deadlift again (albeit light).

Again - not telling you exactly what is or is not the problem; just relating a similar experience I'm having right now.

[kanis999]

First of all, you can get a back injury at any point. Don't think you're invincible because you're 19. If anything, you should be MORE scared at 19 because teenagers are notoriously reckless.

Secondly, this sounds like textbook squat injury. You probably have bad squat form which needs to be fixed.

Thirdly, I'm sorry to say but you're probably going to have to stop squatting for more than a full week, maybe several weeks. You have to get to where you not only feel zero pain, but to where you feel limber and balanced in that area again which can take a long time.

I could be wrong, but I'm thinking the pain pattern you're describing has to do with squats moreso than deadlifts.

Start using a tennis ball or lacrosse ball to deep massage your glutes. All around the hip socket. Do all the stretching and technique exercises in the squat mobility threads. Go to a doctor. And then go to a chiropractor too. And welcome to the club.

Before my injury that sounds just like this, I was squatting ~200 for 10 reps. After months of healing, I could only squat 135 for about 10 reps again. And then a year later I squatted 325 for 5 reps. So basically your mid-term picture is very grim and your long term picture is still quite positive.

[ColorNotColour]

Oddly enough I've been having the same issue lately (pain going down the left hip/leg but regardless) and am working my way back as we speak.

I'd suggest talking to your doctor or a chiropractor and putting the deadlifts and squats on pause for a bit. While I obviously am not diagnosing anything my problem turned out to be a spinal/vertebrae issue from some years ago that flared up. Essentially, two vertebrae in the low back (can't remember which ones) have been tilted and pitched for a few years which has been pinching some nerves and I did something that caused this to flare up/aggravated it.
More info than you care about likely but what happened with me (and might be your case) was some sort of muscle injury/strain basically tightens up the muscles running along your mid and low back; typically along one side. Muscle is connected to bone structure and typically this means the vertebrae start to have more tension on one side than the other - hence the shift/pitch. It might just be a strain at the time but it can, over a period of time cause greater problems.

For the last couple weeks I've been unable to sit comfortably, limited with some daily activity, and all deads (and most squats) have been out of the question. Chiropractor visits have been helping and the last few days I've finally been able to deadlift again (albeit light).

Again - not telling you exactly what is or is not the problem; just relating a similar experience I'm having right now.

Scary. No offense, but I hope that isn't my problem! I'm hoping it's something as simple as tight ham strings. The tightness on one side of the vertebrae brings up an interesting point.. as a catcher and former pitcher at a collegiate level, assuming from swinging and throwing, my right half of my back (not sure what muscle, not lats, but there are two strands of muscle on either side of your spinal column, and my right one I'm talking about here) is huge compared to the other. I wonder if this is pulling funny on my back?

[kanis999]

Scary. No offense, but I hope that isn't my problem! I'm hoping it's something as simple as tight ham strings. The tightness on one side of the vertebrae brings up an interesting point.. as a catcher and former pitcher at a collegiate level, assuming from swinging and throwing, my right half of my back (not sure what muscle, not lats, but there are two strands of muscle on either side of your spinal column, and my right one I'm talking about here) is huge compared to the other. I wonder if this is pulling funny on my back?

Everything effects everything else. So even something as seemingly innocuous as "tight hamstrings" could be a direct contributor to spine injury in the near future.

Based on what you're describing about one half of your back being bigger and thicker than the other half, you're confirming everything I said in my first post.

[KaiSchafroth]

Scary. No offense, but I hope that isn't my problem! I'm hoping it's something as simple as tight ham strings. The tightness on one side of the vertebrae brings up an interesting point.. as a catcher and former pitcher at a collegiate level, assuming from swinging and throwing, my right half of my back (not sure what muscle, not lats, but there are two strands of muscle on either side of your spinal column, and my right one I'm talking about here) is huge compared to the other. I wonder if this is pulling funny on my back?

100% agree in hoping that you aren't having the same issue.
kanis could be hitting the nail on the head with the cause of the injury, best person(s) to really ask would be the doc/chiro - I think the point is you need to cut the squats and potentially deads until you're recovered fully.
If a movement is causing you pain then you need to fix something before you continue said movement.

EDIT:

Everything effects everything else. So even something as seemingly innocuous as "tight hamstrings" could be a direct contributor to spine injury in the near future.

Based on what you're describing about one half of your back being bigger and thicker than the other half, you're confirming everything I said in my first post.

10/10 agree

[ColorNotColour]

Ugh this is frustrating. It's just weird because I always thought my "thick side" back was just genetic, which it still may be, but harmless. I really don't wanna dish out the dough to go to a chiropractor because personally I feel as though they are a little bit inaccurate and their forms of medicine seem like a scam a lot of times. I think I'll lighten the load, stretch my hammies good for a while, and see what happens. If it hasn't gotten better I suppose I'll have to give in.

[KBKB]

I've tried lying on my back and crossing my leg over trying to crack my lower back and this cracks my back but doesn't alleviate any pain. What to do?

Start doing Joe DeFranco's Limber 11:

[IDrinkBloodLOL]

Those are possible symptoms of:
-sciatica
-piriformis entrapment syndrome
-herniat(ing)/(ed) discs in the lumbar spine

Source: medical training

Suggested course of action: get that chit looked at by somebody with medical training

[kanis999]

I really don't wanna dish out the dough to go to a chiropractor because personally I feel as though they are a little bit inaccurate and their forms of medicine seem like a scam a lot of times.

The quackery lies in the myths they add about improving energy fields, improving your brain and shyt like that. The adjustment of the spine's tension is real and blatantly noticeable if you get it done right. But still see a regular doctor first.

[ColorNotColour]

All of these diagnosis sound so severe, what are the chances it's just an overuse injury or something? This pain isn't something that's debilitating, it's just there and annoying. I've never had to quit a set because it hurts too bad or had shocks of pain that are extremely painful.
In fact, stupidly enough, I stretched my hamstrings out really well and did a few lower back stretches and it feels WAY better.

[jazztrumpet]

You have a disc pressing on your sciatic nerve.

[ColorNotColour]

You have a disc pressing on your sciatic nerve.

If so, can this be fixed/reversed without surgery? Like just rest and what not?

[jazztrumpet]

All of these diagnosis sound so severe, what are the chances it's just an overuse injury or something? This pain isn't something that's debilitating, it's just there and annoying. I've never had to quit a set because it hurts too bad or had shocks of pain that are extremely painful.
In fact, stupidly enough, I stretched my hamstrings out really well and did a few lower back stretches and it feels WAY better.

Only an MRI can confirm for sure that it is a bulging disc. When I pissed mine off really bad I went through 3 bottles of painkillers during a summer. I would see a doctor before you press it too hard and end up really hurting yourself.

[ColorNotColour]

Only an MRI can confirm for sure that it is a bulging disc. When I pissed mine off really bad I went through 3 bottles of painkillers during a summer. I would see a doctor before you press it too hard and end up really hurting yourself.

I hope I don't have the same thing. What would you suspect caused this? Poor form? Pushing too hard?

[ColorNotColour]

"Sciatica is a description of a symptom — pain in the buttock and down the back of the leg. It implies impingement of the large sciatic nerve, but this is rarely the primary problem. There are several closely related scenarios that can cause buttock and leg pain, and true sciatic nerve impingement is much less common than muscle pain. Even when the sciatic nerve is being pinched, this is often a relatively trivial effect of muscular dysfunction — help the muscle, and the pinch goes away."
Please for the love of God let this be true haha.

[jazztrumpet]

If so, can this be fixed/reversed without surgery? Like just rest and what not?

Mine is "under control" at the moment. Interestingly too much rest can be just as bad for these as too heavy back lifting. Long periods of sitting are bad for it, and heavy weight deads/stiff leg deads can piss it off. I still do deadlifts and even stiff leg deadlifts but I keep my weights pretty light. You can't really just "tuck it back in", and even the surgery is generally digging out the entire disc itself and fusing vertebrae. Think about it like a jelly donut. Once the jelly's out of donut it's never going to be how it was before. However, don't get depressed. I haven't had surgery, and like I said mine is completely under control. Just be aware of what upsets it, ice and NSAIDS after direct work, or if you did something to make it flare up.

[ColorNotColour]

I maintain that it's not a herniated disc. It's not THAT painful. It's just annoying that I feel just a slight weird feeling, hardly even pain, down my leg.
After some reading online, here's what I have concluded.
Overuse. I play baseball year round and lots of swinging (right handed) causes my lower right side of my back to become annoyed from time to time. This paired with inexperienced deadlifting has magnified this soreness and created a muscle knot. Perhaps this muscle knot is pressing on the sciatic nerve? This is what some websites say happens.. in very rare cases it's a herniated disc, and much more frequently it's a muscular issue.
Stubborn? Yes. But I still think I'm fine.

[jazztrumpet]

I maintain that it's not a herniated disc. It's not THAT painful. It's just annoying that I feel just a slight weird feeling, hardly even pain, down my leg.
After some reading online, here's what I have concluded.
Overuse. I play baseball year round and lots of swinging (right handed) causes my lower right side of my back to become annoyed from time to time. This paired with inexperienced deadlifting has magnified this soreness and created a muscle knot. Perhaps this muscle knot is pressing on the sciatic nerve? This is what some websites say happens.. in very rare cases it's a herniated disc, and much more frequently it's a muscular issue.
Stubborn? Yes. But I still think I'm fine.

That's cool man. Keep in mind I'm saying bulging, not herniated. Bulging means it's still intact. Herniated means it has blown out and is leaking. Best of luck.

[cirion0000]

Not to scare you but I've had lower back trouble for over 8 months now ever since I used to deadlift and squat with bad form. Granted, I'm hardheaded and continue to squat and deadlift (only now with alot better form). It's improved significantly since 8 months ago, but I still can't sit without flare ups (I have a stand up desk at work now which is nice. I get almost 0% pain standing, but sitting is no bueno).

Basically, I hope you don't have it as bad as me. And it's not something to screw around with that's for sure.

I stretch, foam roll, get 60-90 minute trigger point massages, see a chiropractor, went to a PT briefly, saw my doctor, etc etc. It's an annoyingly slow process to recovery =(

On the bright side, all this has forced me to fix my posture, fix my lifting form, and many other positive things. To be honest, I probably already had injuries in my body due to bad posture, sitting all day, etc. It's just that weightlifting brought the issues to light.

Good luck man! I will definitely say that trigger point release is amazing. Definitely look into that

[IDrinkBloodLOL]

After some reading online, here's what I have concluded.

"Based on reading webMD and drawing a layperson's conclusions, I've decided to rely on my unqualified opinion instead of pursuing medical aid which I could urgently need."

Risking life long crippling injury at age 19 because you're too proud to admit your chit might be fukked up?

Good luck with that one, dumbass.

Sure will be a shame to see another busted up 19 year old bitching in the misc about how lifting ruins your back.

[cirion0000]

"Based on reading webMD and drawing a layperson's conclusions, I've decided to rely on my unqualified opinion instead of pursuing medical aid which I could urgently need."

Risking life long crippling injury at age 19 because you're too proud to admit your chit might be fukked up?

Good luck with that one, dumbass.

Sure will be a shame to see another busted up 19 year old bitching in the misc about how lifting ruins your back.

Unfortunately, though, the majority of the medical community isn't much, if any, smarter. You can probably count on the fingers of your hand how many practitioners (chiro, MD, whatever) actually is good at diagnosing the true cause of back pain. Granted, back pain is a complex and difficult thing to nail down, but IMO, if it's what you do for a frikkin living, you need to frikkin understand it. No excuses. Anyways, thats my rant of the day lol

[ColorNotColour]

"Based on reading webMD and drawing a layperson's conclusions, I've decided to rely on my unqualified opinion instead of pursuing medical aid which I could urgently need."

Risking life long crippling injury at age 19 because you're too proud to admit your chit might be fukked up?

Good luck with that one, dumbass.

Sure will be a shame to see another busted up 19 year old bitching in the misc about how lifting ruins your back.

I meant no offense by my statements, I simply feel like all I'm hearing is worst case scenarios that, frankly, seem unrealistic given my symptoms.
In response to jazztrumpet, sorry, I misread. A bulging disc may be the situation here.
I'm going to take some time off heavy deadlifting as well, obviously.
If my back gets any worse in any way shape or form, or doesn't get better within a week, I'll go to the chiropractor and see what they have to say.
And if it's any comfort IDrinkBloodLOL, I will not be ranting in misc about how lifting screws your back up. I pushed my deadlift really hard because I have been told time and time again on this form that it's low for my other lifts (BP 235, Squat 305, Dead 305). Trying to be the best at every single thing I do is a bless and a curse, and I guess in this instance it has been a curse since I injured myself.
After reevaluating what's at stake I feel foolish for so confidently stating that I'm invincible to back injury.

[IDrinkBloodLOL]

After reevaluating what's at stake I feel foolish for so confidently stating that I'm invincible to back injury.

That's good. Now what you need is an MRI and some qualified medical attention to make sure you back isn't jacked up forever before drinking age.

Glad you're coming to see things more clearly. Best of luck.

[ColorNotColour]

That's good. Now what you need is an MRI and some qualified medical attention to make sure you back isn't jacked up forever before drinking age.

Glad you're coming to see things more clearly. Best of luck.

This is probably going to sound really stupid but getting an MRI isn't as easy as it sounds. My Mom is an emergency room nurse and my sister is a medical school student in her 3rd year. They both seem rather skeptical about my injury and make it sound like I just need to rest it a little.
So I guess I'll just give up squats and deads for a while and hope it gets better, if not I'll have to try persuade them.

[KBKB]

This is probably going to sound really stupid but getting an MRI isn't as easy as it sounds. My Mom is an emergency room nurse and my sister is a medical school student in her 3rd year. They both seem rather skeptical about my injury and make it sound like I just need to rest it a little.
So I guess I'll just give up squats and deads for a while and hope it gets better, if not I'll have to try persuade them.

Rest is a good idea, but I think you should also do some soft tissue work in the interim. Get yourself a LaCrosse ball and a foam roller so that you can start the Limber 11 program (or something like it).