Strange Lower Back Pop During Deadlifts – Should I Be Concerned?

Pain & Rehab Forum [Moderated]
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Hi everyone! First off, thank you for all you do for the health & fitness community - your approach to spreading evidence-based information is truly of one the kind!

I’d love your advice on an odd experience I had recently in the gym. While doing deficit deadlifts at around 80% of my 1RM, I felt a strange pop in my lower back in the first work set (the warm-up went really smoothly, so I aimed for RPE of 7-8). There was minimal pain (1-2/10), but the sensation was unusual enough for me to stop the set. Shortly after, my heart rate spike, I felt light-headed (almost fainted) and started sweating heavily. I sat on the floor and everything settled down after a couple of minutes (A similar thing happened last December while squatting, which my doctor attributed to electrolyte imbalance due to stress).

I returned to my session after a couple of minutes of rest, did a few light sets of deadlifts to test things out (but decided to skip heavy lifting for now), and completed the rest of the exercises (heavy bulgarian split squats, some lower body and core work) with only mild discomfort. The next day, my upper body workout felt normal, even with flexion rows (BB rows with flexion/extension of the spine).

My next lower body day is coming up, so I’m wondering - should I go see a doctor, or just back off on the load for a few weeks and ease back in?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

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Mister,

Sorry to hear about that experience. I can understand how it would be worrisome. I don’t have enough information to say whether or not you should see a doctor, though neither the “pop” nor subsequent increase in heart rate seem particularly worrisome regarding back discomfort.

If it were me, I would consider training normally without any real modifications. I think if you’re worried, consulting with our pain and rehab team about this experience and subsequent training would be beneficial.

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Hi Jordan,

Thank you so much for the reply and reassurance. I’ll continue training normally and observe. If the issue continues, I’ll sign up for a consult with your team.

I appreciate your help!

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Happy to hear it. I’m assuming now, ~ 9-days later, you’re feeling pretty good?