I have disc degeneration in my lower back confirmed on imaging. Occasionally while deadlifting or squatting heavy singles I will irritate this disc and suffer through days or weeks of spasms. The current iteration (4th of the year) has been 6 weeks after getting too horizontal on a heavyish squat. Many of this year’s issues have been from pressing to get stronger after inconsistent training last year. So the year absolutely corresponds to injuries from asking my body to do things it isn’t used to.
I’m 48 with a desire to continue competing. My primary goal is to stay healthy and active. A close second is to be as strong as possible. Competition is third.
I’ve been seeing an Airrosti practitioner that claims to have powerlifting experience. He cautioned 1) this will get worse over time with recurring injuries, 2) encouraged me to switch to trap bar deadlift, 3) every long term powerlifter he knows has some chronic injuries, whether low back, shoulder, etc.
I am 99% healthy now. My plan has been to: 1) work back slowly and cautiously with limits around RPE 6-7 until I am confidently 100%, 2) work on staying vertical while squatting and deadlfting to minimize shear forces on my back, and 3) be super cautious with heavy singles.
Anything else you’d suggest? Do I have long term risk from continuing to straight bar deadlift? Is it wise to incorporate trap bar deadlift on heavy days during the off season?
Howdy,
Good to see you again. It’s been awhile!
I think that disc degeneration is more accurately called age-related changes to the spine, as these types of changes seen on imaging do not appear to be a harbinger of pain, increased risk of injury with exercise, or dysfunction. They are more like wrinkles on an x-ray, a sign of time gone by.
While they are well-intentioned, I would push back against the Airrosti pro on all three points: 1) Yes, injuries often cause pain, but this is not unique to age-related changes the spine seen on imaging. 2) Trap bar deadlifting places significant load on the back and lower body, which is good (if dosed correctly). It does not appear to be safer or less injurious to deadlifting with a barbell, though some people who are currently in pain may find the trap bar more tolerable for a spell. 3) All humans will get injured regardless of exercise and those joints are the most common ones too. Use it or not, that’s likely where you’ll hurt. Still, it’s not exactly profound to point out sports with risks of overuse injuries sometimes cause overuse injuries. Competitive powerlifting has an injury rate of ~ 2-4 injuries/1000 hours. That’s a little bit more than walking/cycling, but about 1/3-1/2 that of running.
If I was advising you, I would be interrogating your programming first, as I think this may be contributory to why you got imaging in the first place (to receive the degenerative disc diagnosis), as well as why you see the Airrosti person.
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