Low back - Leg Numbness

Hello,

Sorry for the long post, tl:dr is whether it is ok to workout with mild leg numbness or is this a situation that needs more caution and rest.

I used to do boxing and had some left sided back pain with explosive rotation then switched to powerlifting/strongman training for about 5 years and pretty much most back pain disappeared, I’ve really strengthened my low back in all positions, 280kg sumo deadlift, 180kg zercher, all types of awkward and various lifts and never had anything more than soreness for a few days.

First problems started when I combined combat sports with lifting heavy. When I started doing explosive rotations I would get this annoying back soreness and a year ago when I did a 260kg top set and first time ever my back tweaked during lifting, I had slight pain and problem bending over but I did do everything you have advised and I’ve essentially gotten to deadlifting 60% next day and working sets 3 weeks later. Since then though low back has been flaring up every few months and I’ve fixed it in a similar manner it really seemed to be like a guarding mechanism combined with soreness and always on the left side.

Now it is a bit different, I went crazy with the work load, muay thai, bjj and lifting (not as heavy) doing 2 training sessions a day which affected fatigue as 2-3 weeks later I had trouble sleeping, brain fog etc. After a really intensive day I started getting a similar back flare up so I deloaded deadlifts that week, took a full rest day where I sat down and the day after I started getting strange slight knee pain behind the leg when flexing the quad. Still I did a 3 plate ssb the same day with no issues. I did take it light next few days but one day after sitting I got left leg numbess below the knee around the calf and it didn’t go away for 2 hours, then it disappeared then returned.

It seems like my slouched sitting position triggers it and today it was gone and then returned and over and over. Numbness is combined with a tender-ish low back but overall I have almost complete mobility, feels a bit uncomfortable but I can touch my toes do everything ok, deadlift,squat, move. Some end range positions like full deep squat cause slight pain in the back. The numbness is slight, no zaps or anything crazy just annoying and worst thing is I’ve been thinking about it 24/7 and had trouble sleeping, not because it hurts but just overthinking.

What would be the smart thing to do, to let it settle as I’m worried it’s a structural problem this time and I could cause a serious problem that could sideline me for a long time? I was thinking of doing very light deadlifts (like 2 plates), taking it easy the next few days but not sure if doing bjj is ok in a week as there’s a lot of unpredictable movements not under my control. The pain in the back has definitely gotten better the past few days and I’m no longer as stiff but the numbness is still on and off albeit slight, I’m worried this time it’s a real injury and not just my brain-pain mechanism going haywire.

Hey there,

Sorry to hear about this frustrating issue. In general, isolated numbness/tingling (meaning, without weakness or other neurological symptoms) does not require substantial changes in management or severe activity restrictions – but some smart modifications to your training in the short term may still be helpful. Doing activities with lots of high-velocity, unpredictable movements may not be the best while you are dealing with a flare-up of symptoms.

We do have some material to guide management in these types of situations:

And if you need further individualized guidance, a consult with our pain & rehab team would be a great option.

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Hey,

Thank you so much for the response. Just to update a few days later I did the same rehab protocol, first 2 plate block pulls felt a bit weird in the hamstrings but ended up feeling better. 2 days later did 3 plate deadlifts off the floor felt great. The numbness is also gone, I’m not even sure if it was back related as I remembered I did front splits daily so that might have irritated the nerve.