Last week I believe I slipped a disc while in my warm up for squats. Monday I squatted 5X5 at 225, which for me was a lot [I just started the texas method a few weeks before and this was a volume day]. Also, Monday I worked on my deadlift, which is one of my worse lifts–I don’t remember what I was pulling 250 or 260 but I felt a tightness in my hips. It went away fairly quickly but Wednesday during my next work out I was doing my regular warm up and got up to around 185. On my fifth rep I felt something move or tear in my upper right glute. I quit the work out right away, thinking it was a muscle strain or at worse a tear. The pain got worse the next day and day after but started to subside after that. However, ever since the injury I’ve periodically experienced a warmth in my right foot. I can’t even really call it a burning, just a slight warm feeling like its sitting next to a fire place. Sometimes it extends up the back of my leg.
This leads me to believe that I’m looking at something more serious. I was wondering what your thoughts might be and if it is indeed a slipped disc what my rehab should look like. I haven’t touched a weight since it happened. I’m anxious to get back to the gym but don’t want to rush it. I’ve seen on the forums low weighted deadlifts for high reps recommended for back injuries, does that seem appropriate in this instance?
I’m also confused how it happened in the first place. I don’t recall breaking form in the least although I was concentrating on keeping my elbows down, which was something I’d been working on the previous workout as well after Starting Strength posted a workshop on the topic.
Hey MCG, I’m sorry your are experiencing some low back pain. I want to start by stating the “slipped discs” are not a thing but an unfortunate narrative that we will probably still be working to put away 10 years from now. If you are experiencing some radicular symptoms (pain down your leg) the good new first is that they will resolve on their own, although the time frame can vary from person to person. If your symptoms are sporadic though your prognosis is excellent. As for training, “low weighted” deadlifts tends to be a bit ambiguous as what constitutes “low” should be restated as “tolerable.” I would recommend training at a tolerable load as a means of creating a bigger foundation as your symptoms resolve. This can also be seen as a time to work on the technique of your deadlifts as thinking of anything as your worst lift likely implies it could use some extra work over just forcing intensity.
As for why this happened, my first answer is because there is always a probability that we can have an injury with training, and it is way too multifactorial to attempt and distill down to one or two variables. My second answer would be that is the wrong question. While it is important to look for factors that may contribute to an injury, the better question would be “what can I do to reduce the likelihood of this happening again.” Not only does this move the focus from the past to the present/future, it places within focus steps to get moving and stronger. Training is a process, an very rarely is any process without obstacles. That is also part of the beauty of training, learning to recognize obstacles as the next challenge to be faced. To answer the second question, keep moving, realize this will take a little time to resolve, and keep training to what is tolerable during that time.
Thanks for your thoughts, Derek. I plan on getting back to the gym early next week seeing what I can do. I’ve also ordered a belt from bestbelts that should be arriving in a few weeks.