Lower back problem while training legs....need advice

[MattyFSU]

Need some help....

i have been training heavy ( D.C. training ) for 3 weeks now and just started to train legs again ( fastest part of my body that grows ). this has never happened before but anytime i do squats or leg press my lower back hurts. only in one spot lower right side, right wear my boxer line is at. i strech real good before i begin any workout esp legs. its a pinched nerve or a pinched muscle but after a heating pad and some streching after 2 days i'm fine. it only seems to bother me when i'm doing legs.

so i what i guess i need to know is has this happened to anyone and what have you done? and what should i do to avoid that lower back pain.


thanks in advance......

 

[Dusty Hanshaw]

Quadratis Laboram (not sure on spelling)

Your quadratis laboram is tight. Usually when you have pain on one side it is the other side that is tight. The pain travels bi laterally. What happens is when your QL is tight it causes the hip to hike up and throw off your body. That is why you only notice it after legs. It is just a matter of stretching it out really well before and after training. I have a massage therapist here in Az that works on mine every saturday along with the rest of the body. If you can afford it I would recomend finding an ELITE therapist to work on you at least every ten days. Mine charges $80.00 an hour and works on me from 60-120 minutes weekly. Hope that helps.

 

[MattyFSU]

Thanks for the advice....

i'm in the hunt for a good message therp. to work on me, now that i'm training heavier and more often.

 

[oldfella]

Try this, Go to a hyper extension bench and rip off a few 15 rep sets before you squat, this will help pump the lower back some and stretch it out a bit. Incorporate good mornings into your training somewhere well away from leg day.

 

[MattyFSU]

Good idea....thanks for the help!!!!!!!!!

 

[flexmaster]

dusty's right

definately sounds like the quadratus lumborum, try this stretch before and after legs. if you can get someone to stretch you that would be ideal

https://images.google.com/imgres?im...uadratus+lumborum+stretch&svnum=10&um=1&hl=en

edit: i forgot to say that you should really focus on breathing correctly when doing this, it dramatically increases the effectiveness of the stretch.

 

[wakejump4me]

imo , it could be 2 things , according to your pain description .
it could be your periformis muscle that is deep in your glutes . it could be sprained . then it swells up and pinches the femoral nerve , which goes along where you are experiencing pain and it travels from there through the hip into the front quad until the upper knee .
or if you are not too lucky , you could have a bulged disc which is not unlikely n this sport . it could be a bulged disc between L1 - L2 or L2 - L3 . in this case , the femoral nerve would be pinched as well . just type in femoral nerve and image search it in google .

i am not a doctor , so i could be wrong . feel better !

wake

 

[MattyFSU]

thanks flexmaster for the advice and double thanks for the pics showing the stretching.

and i agree......breathing helps when stretching but it also helps me while i train, esp. legs.

 

[MattyFSU]

imo , it could be 2 things , according to your pain description .
it could be your periformis muscle that is deep in your glutes . it could be sprained . then it swells up and pinches the femoral nerve , which goes along where you are experiencing pain and it travels from there through the hip into the front quad until the upper knee .
or if you are not too lucky , you could have a bulged disc which is not unlikely n this sport . it could be a bulged disc between L1 - L2 or L2 - L3 . in this case , the femoral nerve would be pinched as well . just type in femoral nerve and image search it in google .

i am not a doctor , so i could be wrong . feel better !

wake

so wake do you think i should visit a doctor? i mean i know your not a doctor but if it is what you think it is.....is there anything that a doctor could do?

i only ask this because i HATE wasting the time to go back and forth to the doctor because all they want to do is run tests after tests just so they can rack a bill up with my insurance company and get paid. or is this something that i can take care with stretching and message therp.

thanks in adavance

 

[allbeef]

If you are going to see a doctor

see a sports physician. If you are in a PPO it should only cost you your copay.

Allbeef

 

[wakejump4me]

i suggest to work around the pain for a few days . if it is the periformis , you don't wanna do stiff legged deads or dead lifting . i actually injured that muscle 2 weeks agao and i was so scared that i injured my disc again , well i was actually scarred that i injured a different disc than i had before . i already had a procedure done on L5-S1 .
any ways , take a week off or at least try to work around it , don't stress it . does it hurt when you are trying to get out of your car ? most of the times that last twist will hurt a little . if you are still experiencing pain after 7 to 10 days , i'd see a doctor and get a CT scan done to see if you got problems with the disc . in the mean time , take a week off and do lots of stretching . don't try to look for the pain , if you don't feel it .

wake

 

[neverbigenuf]

my two cents

For what its worth I currently have a bulging disk in my lower back. My back right side, around and below the belt line, is almost always spasmed. Sometimes its just a nagging stiffness sometimes it presses that nerve and it radiates through my ass and hammy. Currently going to phys therapy and they have me focusing efforts on strengthening my glutes, max and min, flexors, extensors, etc. In other words, my ass and hip area. Definetely get it checked out, sounds like the same thing. IT DOES GET WORSE!!!!

 

[MattyFSU]

thanks for all this info guys.....i think i'm going to stretch a WHOLE HELL of alot and just keep my eye on it. if it continues to hurt while doing legs because thats really the only time that it hurts, i'll go to the doctor and have it looked at.

 

[Dad]

guru,

Another thing to consider is weak abs and midsection.

General conditioning on a lot of BBer's is poor as they're so concerned about burning extra calories and sacrificing size that they tend to do little but their specific routines to target the muscles they're trying to make bigger.

Not saying this is yuo, just that it's a pretty wide-spread pattern, so something yuo might want to consider.

 

[MattyFSU]

guru,

Another thing to consider is weak abs and midsection.

General conditioning on a lot of BBer's is poor as they're so concerned about burning extra calories and sacrificing size that they tend to do little but their specific routines to target the muscles they're trying to make bigger.

Not saying this is yuo, just that it's a pretty wide-spread pattern, so something yuo might want to consider.

Thanks DAD!!!! hahaha....thats funny.....sorry, i'm not bashing you but i had to do that. hahahaha....hope you get the humor.

anyways you make a good point.....i should start training abs just alittle to increase my strength in my midsection because as of right now i don't. just don't want to lose the waist line so probably going to do high reps no weight and once or twice a week only.

thanks for the advice.

 

[Paul Bunyan]

ANother thing to look into is a DVD called "Magnificent Mobility" by Eric Cressey and Mike Robertson. It's made a huge difference in my hip mobility. The exercises can be used as a dynamic warm-up for your workouts and also on your off days. You can find it at www.elitefts.com for about $50.

PB

 

[Dad]

guru,

I'd train yuor abs just like yuo train any other muscle yuo want to be as strong as it can - with weight, a lot of different exercises, and as much as yuo can without over-training.

Paul Bunyan makes a great recommendation, and the site he mentioned has a huge vloume of free, valid training advice.

 

[Dusty Hanshaw]

I agree with training abs to keep them strong enough to keep you from getting injured but I have to disagree with using weights. To much weight means resistance causing the body to adapt thus increasing the size of the abs and the waist. I have seen a ton of guys with over developed abs and obliques causing the waist to ruin the lines of the physique.

 

[maldorf]

I agree with training abs to keep them strong enough to keep you from getting injured but I have to disagree with using weights. To much weight means resistance causing the body to adapt thus increasing the size of the abs and the waist. I have seen a ton of guys with over developed abs and obliques causing the waist to ruin the lines of the physique.

Yes, this happened to me. I was using weights on decline crunches and think it made me thicker. I also think it happened when I was going really heavy in squats and working abs too much. I layed off doing abs but 2 giant sets per week and my waist is going down.

 

[Apro]

For whatever it's worth, I have lived with chronic lower back stiffness/irratation/pain for a good decade - used to awaken every morning feeling like the tin man left out in the weather. Anyway, some of my friends turned me on to a simple enough plate loaded machine invented by Louie Simmons called a Reverse Hyper Extension. Google and read up on it and how it works and effects the spine - amazing stuff. After I began to work with one, damned near over night my back enjoyed some incredible relief. No more stiffness, no more burning and pain from heavy squats - BUT, I backed off of using it for a bit and my back began to stiffen up again. Pretty much like clockwork, if I use it at least once every two weeks, I am walking on sunshine. Truly one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced.