Hopefully a sports doctor or someone with experience with Spinal Injuries can help me.
A little background: I have been playing sports all my life. One of my favorite sports: Powerlifting. This sport includes 3 major lifts -- Squat, Deadlift, and Bench Press. I have an athletic build and have never had any major injuries, especially with my spine *knocks on wood*
What happened: I was squatting and on my very first set, second rep, I was "getting out of the hole" (in Powerlifting, your thighs have to be below parallel for it to count as a legal lift--this is known as "the hole") and my back cracked like it had never cracked before. It was as if you were to crack 4 knuckles at once but in my very lower back (almost to my tailbone.) It wasn't a violent pain that instantly disabled me, as I was able to finish the lift and rack the barbell. As a matter of fact, I almost did another rep, but opted otherwise since I hadn't experienced such a cracking sensation before. Once I started walking around I knew something was wrong. I felt discomfort in my lower vertebrae. It wasn't terribly painful. On a scale of 1-10, 10 being unable to walk from the pain, I'd give it a 5.
Symptoms:
-I can walk, and run to an extent (I ran up 2 flights of stairs to my apartment to see how bad it was -- probably not a good idea lol)
-The pain is constant. Again, it's not terrible, but I feel it even when just laying/sitting down.
-I can curl up into a fetal position without the pain increasing
-But if I try to tough my toes while standing, the pain increases.
-I haven't felt any numbness while sitting still or walking, but when I try to raise my left leg while laying down, I feel a soreness type of pain in my left glute.
Other Information - I warm up thoroughly before lifting, and the weight was not heavy by my standards. I also perform all lifts with proper form. This was just such a freak accident being that I have never experienced such an injury while performing much heavier squats. I have not been stretching as well as I should have been as of late. To top that, I have been doing super heavy deadlifts (hamstring/lower dominant lift) Could it have been tightness in my hamstring from lack of flexibility that pulled my lower back apart to crack so violently? Or did it just give out?
What should I do? Please help!
Best answer:
The test you did while lying on your back and raising your straight leg (Lasegue's test), is a test that stretches your sciatic nerve. Local pain at 0-35 degrees is sacral/iliac, sacral/spinal, or piriformis spasm; radiating pain at 35-70 is sciatic or spinal nerve roots (L5, S1, S2) or disc lesion; local pain at 70-90 is lumbo-sacral or sacral/spinal.
You can verify that this is sciatic by doing Braggard's test. Lye on your back, have a friend put your leg into a straight raise until you feel the same glut pain you explained above. Then have your friend lower our leg just until you don't feel the pain. At this point your friend should dorsiflex your foot (bring toes closer to body as if you're doing a calf stretch). If you feel the same pain in this position then its a positive for disc lesion or sciatica.
Furthermore you can verify this by doing Kernig's test. While lying on your back have your friend flex your thigh 90 degrees (so your hip is flexed at 90 degrees and your knee is bent at 90 degrees). Next have your friend straighten your bent knee into a straight leg raise. Radiating pain = disc or sciatic lesion; resistance without pain = tight hamstrings.
I hope this helps. I'm a 2nd year Naturopathic medical student and I actually have an exam this Friday in my physical medicine class, so this is good review for me. Good luck man.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
Why Compound Exercises Should Shape The Foundations Of All Weight Training Regimes
Article by Ben Wain
There are specific exercises in the gym that should mold the centre of all training routines, whether a hardened veteran or a absolute beginner. They are specifically important for a beginner wanting to maximise quick gains in lean muscle and size, or to burn body fat as quickly as possible. They are also the most effective strength and conditioning exercises that exist. The simple reason being, they involve heavy lifting and are very effective. Each of the below exercises when done the right way use several muscle groups at the same time. This not only means you are working the body as a unit, you are in fact improving strength and muscle tone in several different areas at once in as little time as possible. Boxers, sprinters, bodybuilders and power athletes all over the world, use these common lifts frequently in their training regimes because they work. Maybe you are looking to begin training for the first time,modify a current training regime, or even if you already have an effective program that is seeing results, you should be incorporating the following moves into your workouts.
Squats
Probably the most taxing move to achieve, you either love or hate performing squats. Most beginners believe this lower body exercise just concentrates on the legs; however, this could not be further from the truth. There is no disagreement it is the best exercise to encourage trouser busting thighs and a firm gluteus, yet it will also work your entire core and back. Perform free weight squats, ideally using a squat rack, Olympic bar and having a spotter on hand, or try with a pair of dumbbells or a smith machine if not available, then try to go as heavy as possible whilst holding form. Squatting heavy will build immense power throughout your whole body whilst producing natural growth hormone to help grow long term muscle mass. As you will be causing the whole body to work as one, you will be tourching off more calories as a result turning your body into a fat burning furnace. Think about it logically, which move is going to let you to add additional weight to the bar to go heavier, or be more taxing on the body, performing knee extensions or powerful squats. Make sure you squat deep, lower the bar slowly and in a controlled manner and then power the bar up to perform a truly effective squat.
Deadlifts
Similar to squats, deadlifts are certainly not everyone's cup of tea. Again, they are a move that exercises almost the entire body; lower back, hamstrings, entire core and posterior chain. Like squats, use an Olympic bar, and if you are starting for the first time, use little weight or no weight at all. It is essential that you perfect the technique before you start adding more weight to the bar, as if executed incorrectly can put serious strain on the lower back. There are a variety of different techniques you can perform, straight legged, stiff legged, and Romanian being some of them. Perfect one, and then try another to keep working the body from different angles. Like squats, once you start to go heavy you will start to see some noticeable improvements in size, strength or fat loss. Try them for yourself, no matter how demanding you think your workouts are, they will never be the same again.
Bench press
The bench press is normally everyone's favourite exercise; it is also the most commonly used. Bench pressing may be the best exercise to improve the mirror muscle pectorals, however it is also one of the top strength and conditioning exercise used by rugby players, footballers and professional athletes alike. Not only does it work the chest, it is also very demanding on the triceps. If you are looking to add more size to your triceps, do you think a few dumbbell push downs with a low weight would work better than bench-pressing 100 kilograms for five to eight reps. Heavy weights build muscle, fact. This exercise should again be executed with free weights over machines, this because machines can remove some of the resistance and the need to keep a tight core. If possible use an Olympic bar and where possible always use a spotter, this so you will have a person near by to help you squeeze out that last rep and take the bar off you when you have finished. Have trust, it makes a big difference. Grab the bar slightly wider than shoulder width, then lower slowly and in a controlled manner to your chest, squeeze your shoulder blades together and enjoy the stretch across your chest before powering the bar up, then straight away begin lowering again. Change your routine by inclining your bench to work the upper pectorals or declining to hit the lower pectorals.
Chin Ups / Pull Ups
Chin-ups or pull-ups mostly work the biceps or back depending on your grip. By holding onto the bar with an underhand grip, i.e. palms facing towards you, then you will be using the biceps to pull yourself up. This is a chin up. Grab the bar with an overhand grip, i.e. palms facing away from you, and you will be working the back, specifically the laterals. This is a pull up. When doing chin-ups you can use either a narrow grip on the bar to work the long head of the bicep, or a wider grip to work the short head. Change it around every now and then, you will be able to feel more strain placed on the different heads depending on the width. When completing pull-ups, you should grab the bar with a slightly wider than shoulder width grip. On either exercise, ensure you are fully hanging from the bar with your arms fully extended, and then power yourself up so your chin is over the bar before slowly lowering yourself back down to the starting position. Immediately and forcefully, power yourself back up to start the next rep.
Chin-ups or pull-ups can be a very demanding exercise to perform at first, which is one of the reasons they are so successful. You are definitely lifting a much heavier weight (your own body weight) when executing a chin-up over a regular bicep curl. To make things easier there are various things you can try, including performing negative reps. A negative rep is where you grab the bar and start the move with your chin above the bar, use a weight bench to help you get up there if needed, then as slowly as you possibly can lower yourself to the hanging position. Repeat this until you can no longer slowly lower yourself down. An alternative option is to use an elastic chin-up assist band if you have one; they are not very expensive to buy. You just attach one end to your bar and place your knees inside the other. If you train at the gym then they should have chin-up machines with a padded knee support to assist. Of course, once you have been practicing these exercises for a while, you may need to make them more taxing. You can do this by buying a gym belt and hanging extra weight plates from it, or simply by placing a dumbbell or medicine ball between your thighs.
Shoulder Press
Shoulder presses are a killer of an exercise and you will regularly find yourself reaching exhaustion quickly when performing. You can perform shoulder presses either standing up or sitting down, however, use free weights over a smith or shoulder press machine. Standing up exercises your core more than sitting down, nevertheless in either variation you should ensure your core is kept tight at all times to stop pressure being applied onto your lower back. Use a low weight at first, start with a straight bar or dumbbells held at chin level and ensure your elbows are at right angles. Power the weight past your face and hold over your head with your arms extended, tuck your chin into your chest when the bar is in the upright position, then slowly lower back down keeping your elbows at right angles. Immediately power the bar back up for your second rep.
In summary, the above exercises will see your achieve you training objectives much quicker if incorporated into your training regime. You can perform them in a old school split, where each muscle groups worked once a week. Alternatively, they are most effective when used in a push pull or full body routine when executed more than once a week with at least forty-eight hours rest in between.
Orignal From: I injured my lower back while squatting. Can anyone help?
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