Hi, I’m Jim Wittstrom. I’m a physiotherapist who works with all types of high-level athletes, including national-level powerlifters.
If you're having lower back pain after deadlifting, here's how to assess and fix it:
- Treat normal soreness vs serious pain
- Improve your technique
- Go through a checklist to self-assess the source of pain
- Improve hip mobility
- Try a new deadlift variation
That's just the super short answer, and there are many specifics you need to get right to deadlift in a pain-free way.
In this article, I will share everything I know about dealing with back pain while deadlifting, from why it might occur to how to solve it in the short and long term.
How To Assess & Treat General Soreness After Deadlifting
The most common issue you’ll face is general soreness after deadlifting. Sometimes it can be painful, especially if it’s a new exercise for you.
General soreness appears 1-2 days post-lifting, manifesting as a heightened awareness of the worked muscles. But it typically resolves within a week with proper rest.
However, serious pain is often immediate, sharp, and localized, occurring during or shortly after a session.
Treatment: Key remedies for general soreness include hydration, active recovery, and adequate protein intake. Active recovery strategies, such as light stretching or low-intensity exercise, facilitate blood flow to the sore muscles, aiding in recovery. Ensuring sufficient hydration and protein intake supports muscle repair and recovery.
Related: Powerlifting Recovery Programs
If discomfort doesn't improve within a week or if pain is acute and localized, consult a healthcare provider. Prompt attention to serious pain helps prevent long-term issues and accurately identifies the cause, paving the way for an effective recovery plan.
Doctor Tip: I know too many lifters who have landed themselves in a lot of back pain simply by thinking it was acceptable to push through it. Instead, I’ll show you how to work around the pain and look for the causes, so you can fix them.
Optimize Your Deadlift Technique
A good place to start hunting for the culprit to your back pain after deadlifts is by analyzing your deadlift form. It may or may not be what's caused your back to start acting up, but without evaluating your technique, it's impossible to know.
Consider consulting a coach for a technique evaluation, which can be done in person or remotely. If that's not feasible, video analysis by a trusted individual can offer critical feedback.
Remember, your deadlift technique can vary with different loads. For a comprehensive evaluation, record or assess yourself across various weights—from light warm-up sets to near-maximal 3-5 rep lifts—to ensure your back can handle them.
Proper deadlift form involves keeping your back flat, engaging your core throughout the lift, and simultaneously ensuring your hips and chest rise.
Several articles on this website will be a good starting point for you to learn perfect deadlift form:
- The Best Hip Position For Deadlifts
- The Best Deadlift Bar Path
- The Best Deadlift Stance Width
- The Best Deadlift Back Angle
- Top 19 Deadlift Technique Mistakes
- Top 10 Deadlift Cues For Better Technique
- Is Sumo Deadlift Easier On Your Low Back?
- What Is A Deadlift Hitch And How To Avoid It?
- How To Fix Hips Shooting Up In The Deadlift
- Is It Okay To Deadlift With A Round Back?
- How To Keep Your Back Straight Deadlifting
- How To Breathe Properly In The Deadlift
- Deadlifting Without A Belt: Pros, Cons, & Should You Do It?
Self-Assessments To Understand Why You Have Back Pain
To self-assess lower back pain while deadlifting, closely examine your technique and consider common pain sources like discs, nerves, facet joints, and the SI joint.
A qualified healthcare practitioner you trust to guide you through this process can be highly beneficial.
Assessing the Discs
Intervertebral discs can cause lower back pain for lifters and non-lifters due to bulging or herniation, which may compress nearby nerves.
To do this test:
- Bend forward as if touching your toes, and then stand back upright.
- Don't overthink this movement – perform it in whichever way feels most natural for you.
- If your pain worsens over ten or so repetitions, it may signify disc pathology (injury) to some extent.
Mild disc injuries may only create minimal increases in pain, while more moderate to severe disc issues will greatly flare up the pain.
Assessing the Nerves
You can try the slump test if you're experiencing leg pain and have difficulty determining whether it is from muscle tissue (the hamstrings) or an irritated nerve.
To perform the slump test:
- Sit on a chair with your arms behind the back.
- Slump forward and bring your chin to your chest.
- Hold this position while you then take your leg and straighten it outwards as far as you can until you feel the stretch in the back of your leg.
- Hold this position and then look up towards the ceiling. If your pain/the stretch decreases as you look up, it signifies that the nerve is sensitive or irritated (likely coming from the nerve root near the disc).
Assessing the Facet Joints
Facet joints, the spinal connections between vertebrae, can cause sharp, localized back pain if irritated or compromised.
Your pain may increase or decrease if you’re deadlifting in positions that compress or decompress these joints.
Quadrant Testing for the Facet Joints:
If one of the left facet joints is irritated in the lower spine, the movement shown above (extension with combined rotation to the left) will likely irritate the joint further.
If one of the left-sided facet joints in the lower back is irritated or painful, the combined movement of flexion with rotation to the right will likely be a pain-relieving position for that joint.
Related Article: Deadlifting With Anterior Pelvic Tilt: Risks & How To Fix
Assessing the SI Joint
If the sacroiliac (SI) joint is out of alignment, it can cause significant lower back pain and potentially affect deadlift mechanics. This joint pain often arises from a misalignment or subluxation and can significantly impact your deadlifting performance.
Check for pain using these tests:
- Fortin's Finger Test: Point to your pain using one finger. This could indicate SI joint involvement if it's over the SI joint.
- Pain with Movement Changes: Notice pain when rolling over in bed, moving from sitting to standing, or walking? These can be signs of SI joint issues.
- Mobilization: If the SI joint is suspected to be the source of pain, specific joint mobilizations may help alleviate discomfort.
Improve Hip Mobility for Deadlifting
Hip mobility is crucial for deadlifts to maintain proper form and prevent lower back pain. An inadequate range of motion in the hip joint forces the lower back to compensate, leading to discomfort and potential injury.
Assessing Hip Mobility: Limited hip flexion can impede achieving an optimal deadlift starting position, unnecessarily flexing the lower back.
Hip Capsule Stretch Steps:
- Assume the quadruped position on the floor.
- From there, rock back like you're doing the child's pose in yoga, but there's one caveat: you can only rock backward as far as you can without letting your lower back flex or round even slightly.
- You'll notice that you won't be able to rock too far back before you can't move any further back unless you allow your spine to round (flex). Hold this position and continue to push back without moving your spine.
- If done correctly, and if your capsule is tight, you'll feel a sensation in the front of your hip, indicating that the capsule is being challenged for mobility.
- Hold this position for at least thirty seconds or longer, then relax. Repeat as often as desired.
Improving hip mobility through specific stretches like the hip capsule stretch can greatly enhance the deadlifting technique and reduce the risk of lower back pain.
Read more about why it’s important to keep your back straight while deadlifting.
Best Deadlift Variations To Try If You Have Lower Back Pain
Adjusting your deadlift approach can be a game-changer when navigating lower back pain. While traditional deadlifts might exacerbate discomfort, certain variations can allow you to maintain strength without aggravating your back. Here are some deadlift alternatives that might just be what you need:
- Sumo Deadlifts: This wider-stance lift reduces the demand on your lower back by allowing a more upright torso position, shifting the focus to your hips and legs.
- Trap Bar Deadlifts: By standing within the hexagonal bar, this variation alters the lift's biomechanics, offering a more neutral spine position and distributing the load more evenly through your legs and less on your back.
- Block Deadlift: Elevating the bar on blocks decreases the range of motion, limiting the amount of hip flexion required and thus reducing stress on the lower back.
- Single-Leg Deadlifts: Focusing on one leg at a time challenges your balance and stability and reduces the overall load on your back, making it a safer option for those with back concerns.
- Romanian Deadlifts with Dumbbells: Dumbbells can maintain a more controlled movement and minimize lower back strain, focusing on hamstring and glute engagement with less spinal loading.
Tips To Train Around Back Pain While Deadlifting
Understanding your back pain is crucial, but so is finding ways to train without worsening it. Here are effective strategies to continue deadlifting with minimal discomfort.
- Try Experimenting With Various Ranges of Motion: Consider shortening the deadlift's range of motion by lifting the barbell plates off of blocks or using squat rack safety pins to reduce hip and lumbar spine flexion.
- Experiment with Trap Bar: Experiment with the trap bar to alter the biomechanics of force through your lower back, allowing for a more favorable load distribution.
- Adjust Tempo and Load: Adjust tempo and load in your training to strengthen muscles without heavy loading, utilizing tempo-based training for rehabilitation and return-to-sport progressions.
To learn more about tempo training, check out our other resources:
How to Relieve Lower Back Pain After A Deadlift
Good form and technique is the best way to relieve lower back pain after a deadlift. If you had a bad day and are beyond this point, your next best bet is to take yourself through these self-assessments and exercises.
Here’s an easy way to remember what to do: Assess, Stretch, Correct. Assess yourself and see if you can locate the problem area. Stretch out the problem area. Finally, use corrective exercises, like clams, side planks, and bird dogs, to strengthen those problem areas. This process will keep you lifting heavy and safe for a long time.
Common faults that can contribute to low back pain:
- Bar is too far away
- Looking up
- Reaching too far forward
- Going too far down
- Lifting too heavy
- Yanking the bar
- Grip is uneven (hands should be equal distance from legs)
- Lifting too fast
- Rounding your back
- Breathe evenly, deeply, and slowly throughout your lift
- Lift with your hamstrings and gluts, not your lower back
Related Articles
- Does Overhead Press Hurt Your Back? Try These 6 Tips
- 8 Back-Friendly Glute Exercises (Build Glutes & Avoid Pain)
About The Author
Jim is a physical therapist, strength & conditioning specialist and former competitive powerlifter. He loves treating lifters and other active individuals in the clinic and working with them in the gym in order to help them move better, feel better and maximize their training potential.
Website: www.strengthresurgence.com
