Hi, I am a 20-year-old male of about 190lbs. For the past three weeks, I have been dealing with what I thought to be a case of non-specific low back pain. Feelings of stiffness and soreness as well as pain in the bottom of the squat and deadlift movements. I thought this was a result of my recent 3-week training hiatus (I had the flu and any weight above 135 would cause me to have to sit down for fear of fainting). I simply thought that my muscles hadn’t experienced any meaningful stress and that the pain would go away as soon as I got back into the swing of it. Over the last week, the pain has gotten progressively worse and now it is painful to bend over, tie my shoes or pick things off the ground. I also work as a gymnastics coach for kids and spotting has been either impossible or excruciating and I can no longer stretch with the kids due to the pain. Today, while I was driving I had a back spasm and experienced a momentary loss in muscle response to my leg, which was alarming, to say the least. I have been trying not to catastrophize and I am still trying to go to the gym, though, my training numbers are absolutely pitiful as my back pain pushes RPE through the roof. Is this more serious than non specific low back pain? should I see my doctor? Am I being a dumbass by writing on a forum instead of going to the emergency room? any advice would be welcome, thank you guys for your work.
Sorry to hear about this.
The intensity of pain (i.e., just because it hurts badly) doesn’t necessarily reflect that something “worse” is going on, but based on this information alone we can’t really give you any sort of diagnosis here. You mention that your “gym numbers are pitiful as back pain pushes RPE through the roof” … this raises the question of what you’re actually trying to do in the gym, and whether you’re still attempting to load the area well beyond its tolerance.
I would recommend reading this article carefully: Pain in Training: What To Do?
If you would like individualized advice from us, our rehab consult service would be happy to help, or you may opt to consult with a trusted clinician locally, which is fine too.