Can i deadlift with a bad back

We get it, we have dealt with low back issues too! The Low Back [P]Rehab Program is a physical therapist developed, step-by-step program that blends exercise science, current evidence, our clinical expertise, and our personal experiences to provide you with the ultimate solution!

Click HERE to learn more. One note on safety: in rare cases, a low back injury can be accompanied by bowel and bladder changes as well as significant changes in the strength, sensation, or reflexes of your lower extremities. If you have any or all of these symptoms you should seek a consultation with a healthcare professional. In all of the above cases, the key is to focus on what you can do, and do it!

Rather than focusing on your pain and limitations. Fortunately, a research study in Sweden sought to answer the exact question of which people with back pain would benefit from deadlift training. Essentially, if your back pain allows you to, and your low back muscles are strong enough to support you during the movement, you not only CAN deadlift with back pain, but you SHOULD deadlift with back pain! The test is designed to assess the endurance of your posterior chain by using your glutes, hamstrings, and low back muscles to hold your unsupported upper body in a neutral position.

Watch the videos below for a more detailed explanation:. While this may come as a surprise, participants in this study were successful despite being instructed to continue deadlifting with back pain.

This is a major point! These subjects had massive improvements, despite being allowed to continue deadlifting with back pain. Now, this is not an instruction to continue deadlifting through worsening back pain. Rather, it is an important illustration of the fact that, as you train your back for the stresses of a fully functional life, you may feel some discomfort and that is OKAY!

Unfortunately, we can sometimes spend too much time focusing on decreasing pain that we fail to return a patient to their full functional capabilities due to fear of pain or discomfort. This is especially true when it comes to low back pain, where the effects can be so debilitating. However, this study is a good reminder that focusing on improving your strength, form, and functional abilities will more than likely address your pain along the way! To see the same benefits as the participants in the study when deadlifting with back pain, proper form is crucial!

To achieve this, you must start with a weight that will allow you to maintain proper form. Participants in this study started with weights of lbs. The most critical form aspect is to maintain a neutral spine throughout the motion. This is accomplished by keeping a flat lower back, taking care to avoid excessively rounding or arching your low back. In addition to the proper technique, it is very important to perform a proper warmup to ensure your body is ready to meet the demands of the task you are about to perform.

This is not only applicable to deadlifting, but any activity you may perform related to exercise, including running, squatting, jumping, and so forth. We have a previous blog article where Mike takes us through the deadlift warmup essentials that you can read below with included videos! The criteria described above are for barbell deadlifting with back pain. It stands to reason the best way to avoid a sprain or a strain is by performing the lift properly.

In order to achieve a proper deadlift stance, your feet should be positioned so the bar is directly over the center of your feet. With an overhand hold on the bar, your arms should be vertical — perpendicular in relation to the floor — and your shoulder blades should be directly over the bar.

With your back straight, begin the lift by extending your legs as you push down on your heels. When the bar reaches your shins — just below the knees — continue the lift by thrusting the hips forward to bring the body to an upright position. This is important because pulling back on the bar creates stress on our lower back, which may result in a strain or sprain of the lumbar region. Finally, complete the lift by squeezing the gluteal muscles. To lower the weight, all you need to do is follow the steps mentioned above in reverse order.

One way of making sure you do not inadvertently round the back while executing a deadlift is by thrusting the chest forward and maintaining it throughout the exercise; remember, the chest always wins!

Wearing long pants or shin guards to protect your legs will easily solve this problem. As with any weight-training exercise, proper stretching before performing a set of deadlifts will likely decrease the risk of injury like sprains, strains, or disc herniation. If you find yourself dealing with lower back pain, contact one of our Valley-wide locations and schedule your free assessment with one of our physical therapists and GetYourMoveBack today!

Lower back pain is the most common golf-related injury. This may be something that occurs with each swing, some soreness following your round, or something that is limiting you from playing as much as you like. Typically, lower back pain gets worse without a correct Experiencing knee pain can limit your tolerance to walking. Osteoarthritis OA of the knee is one of the leading causes of functional limitations.

This will be hugely beneficial in building strength in your lower body and back. We would definitely not advise anyone to be using any kind of belt or support at the gym to help you with performing any of these exercises.

The only time you would ever need a belt is really if you are a professional, competitive power lifter and only with direction as to where it needs to be placed. We see people frequently using them in the gym for all manner of different exercises and using them in completely the wrong place. Belts essentially keep a specific section of your spine very stable, but placed incorrectly they can create increased stress at the lumbar-sacral junction and they can put excess pressure on the discs that are located just outside of where the belt sits — i.

With back pain being such a prevalent condition in the UK, we frequently hear questions from patients asking what kind of exercise they can do with their back pain and if they should be exercising.

We do recommend that exercises such as deadlifts can be part of a strengthening and stabilisation process for someone with back pain but only once the flare up of pain has passed.