Client has back tweak and it won't go away

Pain & Rehab Forum [Moderated]
1

As the title says, my client messed up her back.

I’m having her run the Bridge 3.0 after completing the SSNLP.

I introduced her to Pendlay rows, and I want to say that’s where the back tweak started, but she swears that that’s not the case. After her second set, she said she got some quad and lower back fatigue. It was pretty bad, in my opinion. Ever since then, her back’s been all tweaky and spasm-y. She’ll be walking at work and then out of nowhere her back will spasm and she’ll stop dead in her tracks for a few moments. It pains her to pick things up off the floor, except when she’s done working out. When she works out now, she’ll feel really tight (we work out at 8am), and after a couple warmups with the empty bar, and a slow steady warmup, her back starts to feel better.

She’s approx 5’3", 120ish lbs.

After the workout is finished, she tends to feel better throughout the day.

The caveat is that she can’t deadlift very much weight. Her all-time best was 180lbs. She just block pulled 120 today from a 3" block. 135 gave her pain. Her favorite lift is the DL, so she’s a bit discouraged, but her upper body lifts are improving drastically, so it’s giving her motivation to keep on going in the meantime. I also showed her Alan Thrall’s videos on back tweaks and what to do about them, so she’s equipped to keep on moving, as movement is helping her.

Her squats are also suffering a bit, but not like the deadlift.

How can I help her? Thank you for your time.

2

Oh, I forgot to mention that she’s trying to train for a deadlift meet on Sat, Oct 30, so she’s kinda antsy about everything

3

Aren’t you already helping??? Clearly not the expert here but IMO, you’re providing her with all the tools for her to self-manage the pain, all while still motivating her to continue training.

4

Have you checked out or utilized any of our free content on managing pain in training? This is discussed in some detail here and here.

Ultimately, if she is having persisting or worsening symptoms, continuing to “force” things for a particular competitive timeline may be counterproductive. She may improve rapidly with the right approach (discussed in those resources), but if not, it may be necessary to alter her competitive plans in order to address her symptoms first.

If you/she needs further individualized guidance on the matter, our team would be happy to help through a consult.

5

Thank you all for your answers. Sorry I haven’t replied. She’s doing much better! She actually hit a PR on squats the week after her pain was the worst. I’m not really sure what helped her out. She had a friend recommend stretching, and she says that’s what helped. I’m skeptical of that, but I’m just glad she’s doing better. She does have another issue, but I think I’ll start a new thread, as it’s a different issue than back pain