Hi BBM,
I don’t post here often but just wanted to start by thanking you for all the content and all you do to help.
My issue has been with reoccurring low back pain/sciatica related symptoms for almost a year now.
To start, I had been training somewhat consistently for a few years with no issues. I was squatting regularly in the low 300 lbs and deadlifting a little more than that with no previous issues.
I did have one back tweak in the beginning of my training career while in the hole of the squat once where I heard a pop and the next few days were pretty tough to stand up straight but it went away quickly and had no reason to think sciatica was involved.
Fast forward to October 2021, I had been making some good progress but noticed a little tingling in my right foot, specifically my outside two toes. It was a little numb at times but mostly the pins and needles kind of feeling. I felt like I had read enough BBM resources and training was completely pain free so I carried on, maybe even deloaded slightly to be cautious. I had been running the Bridge 1.0 and got to my first single @ 8. I recorded the lift (which I normally hadn’t been doing). It felt great! It was an easy lifetime PR ( I had never done a single with any measurable PR prior to that days warm ups. The morning after was the first time I felt the pain up and down my leg and the pins in needles in my foot were much more intense. The pain eventually got so bad that day that I went to be seen by a doctor. I had xrays taken and was told it looked fine. I was given a steroid pack and advised to use lidocaine patches if necessary. The excruciating pain slowly subsided that day but pain and numbness feeling in my lower leg and foot remained for at least a month.
Since then I have barely deadlifted at all because the tingling sensation returns so quickly even at low weights. I have tried RDL’s for higher reps at very low weight as well then eventually completely stopped any deadlift or variant. With squats I also get the same sensation once I hit a certain weight. I started with low back back squats for higher reps at low weight, then cut the range of motion to more of a half squat. I then tried a similar approach with high bar squats. Then most recently, front squats. The end result is always the same. I feel no pain whatsoever during training but once I keep progressing for a week or a few weeks, I hit a certain weight (not even a challenging weight, probably under RPE 6) and the pins and needles feeling creeps back in just as I feel im on a roll. I did just purchase the low back pain rehab template but im just starting to feel defeated since I have attempted a lot of the strategies in the template such as adding the tempo to the eccentric portion. When that happens I don’t know what to do next. I thought this would resolve itself by now, with modified training or even just complete rest. I don’t want to push it again and get that radiating pain down my leg and set myself back even further but I know remaining active is recommended. I do feel a small amount of low back pain sometimes as well as the feeling in my foot but it is mild and usually not noticeable. When I have taken a break from squatting and deadlifting though, all back pain is gone and feeling in my foot returns completely.
Just so it is known, during this period I have remained pretty consistent with my upper body training. I have done the upper body lifts for the Bridge and Hypertrophy 1 throughout all of this and have just tried to stay somewhat active by jogging, biking or walking. None of those activities appear to have an impact on my low back.
A little more about me incase it helps:
Age: 35
Sex: Male
Height: 6’4
Weight: 250
Waist Circumference: 43 inches
I know my waist measurement is high and I am working on that. I quit smoking cigarettes two months ago and have been reducing my alcohol intake as it was much higher than 1-2 drinks per day.
I am really not sure what to do next. I work out in my garage gym which is just a platform, rack , bench and barbell with weights. My work has a small gym with machines that I could do leg extensions, hamstring curls and leg press. I would also have access to a lat pull down machine and some other machines. I may try these in place of squats and deadlifts while I bring my waist measurement down. Any input or advice on my situation would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.