Deadlifts *always* hurt my lower back

[stthomaschristian]

So I’m not currently doing CrossFit but figured I’d post since I might go back soon.

I did CrossFit regularly for years, going 4-5 days a wk.

I’m female, 5’7 and ~150 lbs. I love the weightlifting aspect of CrossFit, and all my lifts (OH, clean, back/front squat, clean and jerk) were pretty solid, form was good and I was able to increase my 1 RM regularly.

But deadlifts always hurt my lower back. I don’t have any history of major lower back injuries, I would have multiple coaches watch my form (which they would tweak but overall said was fine), and no matter what I did it always hurt my lower back.

I would end up going way lower on the weight during workouts, and would skip one rep max days.

Anyone else experience anything similar?

I am wondering if it’s possibly due to having foreword head posture. As in, my form is fine in my deadlift but my posture in general is bad because my head is too far foreword, according to X-rays (I was having shoulder pain so I went to see a doctor)

Anyway I have no idea if this is what it is, I’m just throwing things out there because I have no idea

No other lift caused me any pain

 

[lowkeyme]

@stthomaschristian This was me for a very long time. Deadlifts didn't hurt my lower back, but my lower back was stupidly sore for days after deadlift sessions to the point where I would think I'd injured it. I also have a history of SI joint issues. I've always been quad dominant due to years of cycling, but coaches never had anything terrible to say about my deadlift form.

Years ago I totally threw out my SI joint while running and during my recovery process I learned that I basically didn't really use my glutes at all while doing physical activity, and proceeded to spend an inordinate amount of time doing clamshells, one-leg RDLs, and other pilates-type exercises to "activate" my glutes. This stuff is seldom programmed into most CF programs, and people like to have arguments about whether glute activation is even a thing, but ever since I've added this stuff to my routine I don't have SI joint issues anymore, and my deadlifts no longer totally screw with my lower back. My hamstrings and glutes are tired for a while, but my lower back feels nothing like what it used to.

 

[undine]

@lowkeyme Yep same. Hurt my SI doing a 1RM deadlift, fixed it (and a whole lot more) with reformer Pilates. Couldn't imagine doing CrossFit without it now, it's like mobility on steroids plus it works all those muscles CrossFit can miss.

 

[therealwitness2027]

@lowkeyme

and other pilates-type exercises to "activate" my glutes

"and other pilates-type exercises to "activate" my glutes"

Do you have the link which workout you used, or maybe a list of those? That would be awesome!

 

[lowkeyme]

@therealwitness2027 I used yoga and pilates classes on glo.com (requires a subscription).

This is a good link with some exercises that I've used though:

https://prehabexercises.com/hip-and-glute-activation/

 

[therealwitness2027]

@lowkeyme Thanks mate!

 

[ck90]

@lowkeyme You have no idea how helpful this is, my back’s so sore from lifting I can hardly bend , ty!!!

 

[scassidy77]

@stthomaschristian Yep. Always had pain with deadlifts, even at light weights. Would always get coaches to watch and give feedback, but they would say form looks perfect and no issues there.

Eventually I did some sessions with a coach one on one to figure it out. Took a few months of trial and error, but we figured it out eventually. I was overarching my back, which was straining lower back. Looked all right from the outside, but for me that position of 'chest up, look ahead etc' just doesnt work. Instead I do a version now where I look down at floor more. Back is still straight and doesnt bend, but it doesnt look like the typical deadlift. It's what works for my body and proportions (tall, long femurs), so I'll stick to that.

 

[troylee]

@scassidy77 THANK YOU!!! I’ve struggled with back pain during deadlifts for years, I rarely even tried them anymore. I also have a tendency to overarch my back and bring out my chest fairly far forward. But finishing looking down instead of looking forward let me do several full sets with no discomfort.

 

[keris]

@scassidy77 Do you have any videos of this form?

 

[dawn16]

@keris I want to see as well. We have a similar body structure.

 

[keris]

@dawn16 Do u suffer from serious backpain after deadlifts and end up not able to lift for weeks or months?

: I've tried both different pelvic tilts forward and back. I think the way may try to be just keeping it straight with no emphasis on the hips. Thoughts?

 

[byword]

@stthomaschristian I have bulging discs in my L4/L5 and I used to get a ton of problems with deadlifting to the point I wanted to just quit. Over time, I realized I was making some small errors in setup that were contributing to the pain, and I now have less back pain than any point over the last 20 years due to strengthening the supporting muscles in my back. I suggest getting a knowledgeable coach to take a look at what you are doing.

I was looking forward in the start postion, and over exaggerating my finish position which caused a undue stress on my lower back. A neutral head position was key for me. Making sure the shoulders aren't rising too early as well.

Here's a video I feel helps address some of the issues I was having, maybe it will help you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4\_5TkRlTB4

 

[throwawaymana]

@stthomaschristian

This guy is amazing. This is exactly what was wrong and helped me. He has a few videos on it but to me it sounds like you don't know how to properly brace and use your core and glutes. This isn't a form thing it's a muscle priming thing, which may influence form and how you do your deadlifts.

Struggled with lower back for a month with deadlifts in crossfit. Doing his stuff, sun worshipers and getting a back support for my computer chair fixed me and I did 80 reps at 185 two days ago with no issues and 5 reps and 365 with no issues last week.

I started doing like 4-5 exercises once a day now I do them maybe once a week sometimes twice just right before a deadlift based workout

 

[kay_asmith]

@throwawaymana I need That guy to be my personal trainer. Seriously, every time I have a pain I think “shit better lookup squat university to see what I’m doin wrong mechanically”

 

[maddieh567]

@stthomaschristian In my case, I used to feel that towards the end.

Why? Lower ab on the same side wasn't turning on. Look into core activation, correcting imbalances, look up Strongfit.

Saw a trainer who had learned from them, identified issue right away, and then worked to correct it.

 

[kevin76]

@stthomaschristian Sounds like not using your glutes. Maybe not activating/firing when deadlifting.

Hip thrusters to build some glute muscle and a lot of band work (daily) to help activate glutes.

 

[helloitsme]

@stthomaschristian Do you get a sharp pain at some point during the lift or does just it get really sore and tired?

 

[stthomaschristian]

@helloitsme More like really sore and tired. It feels like I’m working out my lower back instead of hamstrings/flutes

 

[helloitsme]

@stthomaschristian Deadlifts do work your lower back, not just hams/glutes. It’s normal to get tired and sore there. If you lift with more of a Romanian Deadlift style you will work your lower back even more. That would explain why cleans don’t bother you since you start even lower and use even more quad and less back.

You can think of it as a scale. Clean DL uses most squat, Sumo DL more squat, standard DL some squat, RDL little/no squat.