Lower back pain from bent over dumbbell rows

[backinthegymbro]

I did some rows with bad form due to being careless. And after the third rep, i immediately felt pain in my lower back so i knew i injured it.
I quit the work out and went home.
When i first felt it, i had trouble bending over, but 15-30 minutes later i had my mobility back although i did feel more tightness.
Later on the day i felt pretty good and could touch my toes again.

Now 1 day has passed and i feel some stiffness/pain in my lower back.
I did the straight leg test, and when i lift my left leg up, i feel a bit of shooting pain in my left butt cheek. But not down my thighs or legs.
I also feel the dull pain whenever i'm sitting, is more on my lower left back, not in the middle or in my spine.

I looked up many threads but i thought i make one here just for extra information.
Does it seem serious or most likely a pulled muscle?
I didn't know bent over rows with dumbbells on a bench could cause big injuries. Thought they would be safer due to having your knee on the bench.
I did it with 80 lbs dumbbells so not extremely heavy either but it was a PR for me.

[manishyadav1979]

Hi ! Most of the time LBP ( Lower Back Pain ) is due to weakening of core muscles. When your core muscles majorly transverse abdominal muscles becomes less responsive then it puts extra load on Lumbar and cause injury.
I would suggest to first focus on strengthening core muscles and lower back muscles. Thereafter gradually start doing loaded exercises.

Manish Yadav
ACE Certified Personal Trainer & Nutrition Specialist

[air2fakie]

This doesn't sound like a core strengthening issue mentioned above - but like you said, a form issue. 1-arm db rows whether on a bench or not can be harmful, as people's form tends to be worse than other rows. Since you also strained your lower back from pendlays recently, you should do lower weights/higher reps on your rows - you sound like you're rounding your back and compromising form for heavier weight. 80 lbs is plenty heavy for db rows if you're able to do it w/ good form and no cheating - don't go for PRs on your rows.

As for your lower back, sounds like another strain - more serious than last time since it sounds like you have that "electric" pain and not just stiffness (all lower back issues are serious enough to warrant care IMO). The back tweaks are a warning sign that something is off w/ your form and you're lifting too heavy, so focus on proper form. And maybe give it a rest until the pain/stiffness subsides a little.

[backinthegymbro]

This doesn't sound like a core strengthening issue mentioned above - but like you said, a form issue. 1-arm db rows whether on a bench or not can be harmful, as people's form tends to be worse than other rows. Since you also strained your lower back from pendlays recently, you should do lower weights/higher reps on your rows - you sound like you're rounding your back and compromising form for heavier weight. 80 lbs is plenty heavy for db rows if you're able to do it w/ good form and no cheating - don't go for PRs on your rows.

As for your lower back, sounds like another strain - more serious than last time since it sounds like you have that "electric" pain and not just stiffness (all lower back issues are serious enough to warrant care IMO). The back tweaks are a warning sign that something is off w/ your form and you're lifting too heavy, so focus on proper form. And maybe give it a rest until the pain/stiffness subsides a little.

Last time on the pendlay rows i just experienced stiffness but no pain during the lifts.
This time however, i definitely felt that pain during the last rep immediately knowing i injured myself.
I'll take your advice and focus on higher reps with less weight and better form for now.

The reason i messed up on the bendover dumbbell rows is because the bench i was on, was thicker in the middle.
So each time i pulled the dumbbell up, it would hit against the side of the bench.
I thought: If i simply move more to the side (off balance) then i won't hit the bench anymore, the downside was i injured my back with this stupid idea.

Thanks for the reply and advice!
You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to air2fakie again.



Lesson learned: Don't do rows on this type of bench.

[air2fakie]

I thought: If i simply move more to the side (off balance) then i won't hit the bench anymore, the downside was i injured my back with this stupid idea.

If you need to use that bench again and move off to the side, try to stick your rear foot further back and out at an angle for a little better stability.

[ProgrammerHunch]

Your core can be strong as **** and you can still **** up your lower back.

Proper form, posture, and adequate mobility are probably most important. Also making sure to fire the right muscles for the exercise, making sure you're not overstraining the lower back and sharing the stress with other muscles.

Work on form, flexibility, posture, and making sure you're flexing all the muscles involved with lower weight is probably the way to go.