Anyone else have experience with occasional lower back twinges?

[beq1991]

I'm not asking for any medical advice here...I will be going for my regular physical in a month and will be bringing up my back pain with my doctor then if it is still around then, but I'm looking to see if anyone here has the same experience as me. I have been having this lower back twinge off and on the last 3-4 months now. It seems to slowly be getting better after changing my lower-body workout routine around. I basically avoid exercises that put a significant amount of compression on the spine and now I am pain-free most days. Upper-body exercises exercises have never been an issue-the only issue is with lower-body exercises. I still get random twinges that sometimes seem to pop up at random and can't be attributed to using bad form when deadlifting, or something obvious like that. Usually rolling around on racquetballs provides immediate relief. Has anyone else had this happen to them?

I've thought about doing a "safe" lower-body workout that includes things like sled pushes, glute ham raises, kettlebell squats, etc.

[HeMB]

Could you describe the twinges in detail?

[WolfRose7]

What sort of quality is your mattress.

100% serious.

What type of job do you have

[beq1991]

Could you describe the twinges in detail?

I would say it feels like I strained/tweaked my back, but I’m hesitant to say it is a strain/tweak, when I’m not sure if it’s an acute injury. I can’t tell if it’s coming from the spine or muscle..I’m thinking it could be muscle because rolling around on racquetballs helps.

[beq1991]

What sort of quality is your mattress.

100% serious.

What type of job do you have

Mattress is relatively new and firm. I work a desk job, but have a standing desk that I use often.

[TolerantLactose]

Mattress is relatively new and firm.

That could be it.

[HeMB]

I would say it feels like I strained/tweaked my back, but I’m hesitant to say it is a strain/tweak, when I’m not sure if it’s an acute injury. I can’t tell if it’s coming from the spine or muscle..I’m thinking it could be muscle because rolling around on racquetballs helps.

I mean, do you just randomly get some sharp pains out of nowhere or it starts and persists for a longer time?
Also, sharp pain, dull pain etc..

[HeMB]

That could be it.

Maybe but if he has the pain on and off, I'd say unlikely (it would be a constant issue)

[NerdyLady]

It could be a pinched sciatic nerve or, possibly, a bulging disc. I've had issues with it that only manifest when I bend and get to a certain angle. So I've had to introduce yoga stretches to my life. It's annoying but it really has helped me a lot especially since I started doing more glute work. That brought the sciatic issue to the forefront and I needed to get past it.

If it doesn't go away, go and see a doctor. Make sure it's nothing serious.

[beq1991]

I mean, do you just randomly get some sharp pains out of nowhere or it starts and persists for a longer time?
Also, sharp pain, dull pain etc..

So originally I thought that using improper form when doing certain exercises was the driver, because I’d get sharp pains after doing certain exercises. Back squats, leg press, and RDLs seemed to be the worst, because of compression on the spine. I recently swapped those exercises out for things like the front squat, goblet squat, etc., but the pain will now flare up randomly and I can’t pinpoint any exercise being the cause anymore. The other day my back started to hurt several hours before I even went to the gym and the day before I had upper-body day, which never aggravated my back. So the back pain seems to come up at random and is usually pretty sharp, but not debilitating.

[HeMB]

So originally I thought that using improper form when doing certain exercises was the driver, because I’d get sharp pains after doing certain exercises. Back squats, leg press, and RDLs seemed to be the worst, because of compression on the spine. I recently swapped those exercises out for things like the front squat, goblet squat, etc., but the pain will now flare up randomly and I can’t pinpoint any exercise being the cause anymore. The other day my back started to hurt several hours before I even went to the gym and the day before I had upper-body day, which never aggravated my back. So the back pain seems to come up at random and is usually pretty sharp, but not debilitating.

uhh sharp pain is bad.. may be nerve/disc related.

[beq1991]

uhh sharp pain is bad.. may be nerve/disc related.

I’m hoping it’s not disc related. I feel like everyone I’ve talked to with disc issues had pain worse than mine and had numbness in their legs and/or feet. I’m talking pain so bad you can barely get out of bed, which is not the level of pain I’m dealing with.

[HeMB]

I had never such a strong pain that I could not walk/get out of the bed etc.

Yet I have a large herniated disc in the lower back which hurts everyday, more or less.

And when It was not herniated but instead it was bulging (I strongly suspect) I was experiencing random sharp pains, aches but thought ir was just minor strains.

Until a single bad workout.



I mean everyone is different and has differenrt levels of pain, toleration, anatomy etc.So better get it checked out.



P.s. and I am younger than you lol ( if your age.is real)

[WolfRose7]

uhh sharp pain is bad.. may be nerve/disc related.

Tbf. I ****ed my back on a squat once. Legit pain bad enough I couldn't walk for a day.

Took a week of lower body exercises to be safe.
Week after back to squats and deadlifts as usual with no issues.

Level of pain might not be a reliable indicator of how severe the issue. If its a constant issue than obviously get it checked. I wouldn't avoid spinal loading personally, if you can do the movement pain free I'd do so and stop before the load was too much

[beq1991]

I had never such a strong pain that I could not walk/get out of the bed etc.

Yet I have a large herniated disc in the lower back which hurts everyday, more or less.

And when It was not herniated but instead it was bulging (I strongly suspect) I was experiencing random sharp pains, aches but thought ir was just minor strains.

Until a single bad workout.



I mean everyone is different and has differenrt levels of pain, toleration, anatomy etc.So better get it checked out.



P.s. and I am younger than you lol ( if your age.is real)

Do you/did you have any numbness? I feel like everyone I know of who has dealt with a herniated disc had numbness to some degree. I haven't had any numbness. I had the random sharp pains that feel like minor strains as well. Rolling around on tennis balls or racquet balls works wonders.

[HeMB]

Do you/did you have any numbness? I feel like everyone I know of who has dealt with a herniated disc had numbness to some degree. I haven't had any numbness. I had the random sharp pains that feel like minor strains as well. Rolling around on tennis balls or racquet balls works wonders.

Very rarely and minor, only when having major flare ups.

Numbness means that the herniation is of a very, very bad case and compresses the nerves to a great extent. Usually if numbness persists, docs recommend surgery immediatelly.

In other words, numbness is one of the last symptoms you can suffer from when dealing with herniation. That is no joke.

Obviously, usually if you herniate smth, you know it and feel it.

What's more common with less pain is a bulging disc. But it is crucial to determine it and prevent it from herniating.

I am not saying that you have one but who knows? Rolling a ball can sometimes help feel better in the case of a bulge as well, because it often makes the lower back muscles tight.

Anyway, you can go to a good sports doc, but without an MRI he likely won't be able to determine a disc issue for sure.


Long story short, the best thing you can do anyway is to strengthen your core, improve bracing, double check your form everywhere, maybe reduce intensity % on Sq,Dl and avoid going to form failure.Take it easy.

Boi you don't want to experience a real herniated disc. People who had, regret a lot of things

[Gneejack]

That could be it.

I also agree that the mattress could be a possibility. I used to have lower back pain that was somewhat chronic. It would come and go, sometimes months at a time. It would usually be exacerbated by squats or deadlifts, so I avoided those exercises as much as possible. I would still have the back issues when I slept on other beds, so I never considered a mattress to be a solution, but after getting a memory foam mattress recently, I have no more back pain.