squats = back injury

[Zerfman34]

bad day for me today. I was on a normal workout, normal weight, good warmup, felt great then when I was on the 7th rep of a sqat set i felt something crack really hard. EMS had to take me to the hospital. I thought for sure I slipped a disc because I haven't felt any back pain like this before, shooting down both legs. They said hopefully it is just a muscular injury tho, which could be a pretty quick fix!!!! :headbang:

just freakin sucks I could lose 1-6 weeks of riding during the best time of the year.

 

[Philip Clemmons]

Good luck with that................pain in the legs is usually not muscular, but I'm sure you know that and are hoping for the best. My wife and I are both dealing with back pain as well, hers disc related, mine muscular (so they say but I am not convinced yet).

On a side note, my PT put me on leg presses for part of my recovery for my lower back...............kinda odd.

Best of luck and keep us informed.

You could always load up on skelaxin and indocin and go ride..........

 

[Gainera2582]

You say its shooting down your legs? Is it both sides or just one? Very likely a tight pirformis muscle and quadratus lumborum on both sides causing the problem. Goto a massage therapist asap if you can so they can treat the scar tissue.


What type of squat was it? Back, front, smith machine(worthless contraption), etc...? If its the back squat, most likely you may have leaned forward a bit and rounded your lower back causing a muscle to spasm and pull something out of place. I just got over a groin injury from squating due to overloading and am using lunges plus some squats for rehab. It will go away if you massage, stretch, and continue to train(lighter and what doesnt cause pain).

 

[Gainera2582]

And btw, if you rehab, use weighted lunges to get you back in the game. Your injury most likely is a result of overloading, repetitive motion, or muscular imbalance.

 

[Zerfman34]

ya it was a back squat. i'm pissed because like you said, if i want to do a lot of weight i do lunges or leg press or something else. i go easy on the squats so I DONT get hurt. here i have my body weight on (185) and this happens.

it was on the last rep so even tho i wasn't straining a ton (not a lot of weight) it's likely i leaned forward and got this spasm jazz.

the pain in the legs was only during the initial spasm, after that it pretty much went away so the doc thought it was muscular.

thanks for the advice...are you guys in the medical field? I start med school in august! :headbang:

 

[ATLxGT13]

You say its shooting down your legs? Is it both sides or just one? Very likely a tight pirformis muscle and quadratus lumborum on both sides causing the problem.

what he said :bananapowerslide:

sorry to hear it
summers the best time for riding, lets hope u get back out in a week or two

 

[Gainera2582]

B.S. in kinesiology(phys ed.) and health minor. I study this stuff in my offtime since I am all about performance enhancement for athletes.

Oh by the way, get a foam roller(or pool noodle) and do this on any muscle group before you go train. It will deactivate trigger points and allow the muscles to stretch better and prevent injury(also a great recovery tool on off days).


YouTube - Top 5 Foam Roller Exercises

 

[oxnard111]

B.S. in kinesiology(phys ed.) and health minor. I study this stuff in my offtime since I am all about performance enhancement for athletes.

Oh by the way, get a foam roller(or pool noodle) and do this on any muscle group before you go train. It will deactivate trigger points and allow the muscles to stretch better and prevent injury(also a great recovery tool on off days).


YouTube - Top 5 Foam Roller Exercises

i'm gonna totally try that... looks like it would really help.

where could I find a place like them in my area... i need some buck kicking to rehab my back.

 

[Zerfman34]

B.S. in kinesiology(phys ed.) and health minor. I study this stuff in my offtime since I am all about performance enhancement for athletes.

Oh by the way, get a foam roller(or pool noodle) and do this on any muscle group before you go train. It will deactivate trigger points and allow the muscles to stretch better and prevent injury(also a great recovery tool on off days).


YouTube - Top 5 Foam Roller Exercises

good lookin out! did you go to school around here? i just graduated from wayne state.

I didn't think i was gonna get such a strong response from you guys. I'm feelin better already!!!

 

[Gainera2582]

Wayne State grad as well. After you foam roll, heres the exercises I would do to loosen up your hips:

Fire hydrants
YouTube - Fire Hydrants - Glute Activation Exercise


Band walks
YouTube - Band Walks (straight leg)

Glute bridges
YouTube - Glute Bridge - Nutrex Solutions

Also a good stretch for your back before exercise(not in morning regardless of what video says, wait about an hr if you can per mcgills studies):

YouTube - Weight Training - Cat and Camel - Sports Training



I do about 10 reps generally on each side(glute bridge just 10 reps), but focus on quality and not quantity. in the first two, you are trying to get your gluteus medius firing, and the kickback in your fire hydrant will active the gluteus maximus. The xband walk will also do the gluteus medius activation, but remember it should be felt mainly there, not in your back and keep you feet straight.

For the glute bridge, try to squeeze your butt cheeks together without using your hamstrings primarily. The glutes should be activated first. If the hams dominate the movement, touch your quads lighty to inhibit them. If that doesn't work, stretch your hamstrings and groin(after foam roller) before doing this and it should be real easy to do.


Lastly, don't forget to include some of the birddogs in your core work and plank bridges/side bridges. These really help strengthen your core without doing a bunch of useless compressive crunches or situps:

Planks:

Side
YouTube - Core Muscle Toning & Strength Exercises : Side Plank Exercise for Core Muscle Toning & Strength

Front
YouTube - Ab Exercises: The Plank


Birddogs:

YouTube - Exercises to Reduce Back Pain : Exercises for Back Pain Relief: The Bird Dog

 

[Zerfman34]

thanks again man... I owe you a beer. I guess now I have some extra valium/vicodin laying around too, haha.

 

[Zerfman34]

hey i have a question. should i be wearing one of those neoprene back bands while i'm just sitting/laying around? i just popped a valium and that helped a lot i was able to walk to the shower and wash the day old workout sweat off...it feels like that neoprene band keeps everything in the right place and warmer/looser.

 

[Gainera2582]

Its fine if your worried about warmth in the lower back. Better than a belt(belts are worthless unless your competing in powerlifting).

 

[Jetaddict]

Just watch the self-medication. A lot of people end up addicted to Oxy and other pain meds with back issues. You're better off with a muscle relaxer like Skelaxin that is not as habit-forming. Sure, it's not as powerful, but it treats the spasms and makes life a lot easier.
Squats, deadlifts, and bench press are the core exercises, but unless your form is always impeccable, you will eventually end up with overuse/improper use injury. I used to bench all the time heavy,and thanks to that I have impingements in both shoulders. I also squatted a lot and have some minor lower back injury that I don't need to medicate for yet.
So, I changed up my workout. I eliminated benches and barbell squats. I do strictly pushups (multiple variations- spiderman, alternating, explosive) and bodyweight only squats with variations (squat jump, alternating squat jumps, ball squats, etc.) Since I have been doing this, my endurance has gone through the roof, and I have been pain free. I honestly find it more impressive that someone can do lunges across a football field and back as opposed to some musclehead doing a single rep on the bench of 500 lbs. It'll make you feel better, and you won't become musclebound.

 

[Zerfman34]

ya good thinkin. i usually switch up workouts like do a chest/legs power day, back power day, then for about the next five or six workouts I'll just do more explosive, lighter weight stuff like you're talking about. I totally agree about doing weight training that makes you a better athlete than a bigger muscle head at the beach. besides, if I'm at the lake i'd rather have a wetsuit/lifejacket on!!! :headbang::headbang:!!

 

[Gainera2582]

I generally say a three-four day a week(either full body or upper, lower splits) based on compound movements. My core lifts generally are olympic back and front squats, power cleans, deadlifts, military press, and bench press. My rule of thumb is one pressing exercise per workout for legs and upper body(think overhead press and the squat) and a pull for lower(pullup and the deadlift/powerclean). The next session you will change to a different movement. This is why i alternate standing overhead press with bench press to avoid shoulder issues and it works well.

I am much more impressed when ppl can shoulder press their own weight from shoulders to overhead without any leg bend than a 300lb bench press. Its also easier on the shoulders if benching is giving you problems.

If your getting injuried on a lift, find out whats weak and strengthen it. For legs, do signle leg lifts every so often to create balance between both sides and for upper body, make sure your rowing more than bench pressing to avoid protraction of the shoulder(the main cause of winged scapula in weightlifters).

Injuries are part of the game. Because this is in a controlled enviornment(not a side hit on the knee from football), these injuries heal faster when you do the proper self-rehab and take the right supplements to speed up the process.

 

[Gainera2582]

The barbell back squat is my favorite exercise(besides the power clean and overhead press). I worked at my flexibility everyday to get into position and now I can easily just by doing overhead squats with a pvc bar and doing activated isolated stretching along with dynamic stretching.

This is the main reason why ppl's backs get into trouble on the squat bc most round at the bottom causing compression to the spine. Learn to get into position by doing the exercise daily with bodyweight and stretch your lower leg muscles.

Ankle flexibility needs to be great if you intend do go ass to grass(hams to calves), so work on dynamic stretches for that and do some ais stretches for them to speed up the process.

The goal of every workout is to increase workload if your a novice-intermediate. Advanced lifters need to periodize because they will not recover as quickly(aka plan in advance and have lighter workout sessions to speed up recovery and aid in strength). You should be adding weight everyweek generally whether its 1lb, 2lbs, or 5lbs. Remember, progressive overloading is the key. Don't be afraid to make smaller jumps so you don't stall as quickly.

Also, have a deload week occasionally if your feeling tired or fatigued(assuming your diet and nutrition is good, if not, fix it bc thats the problem generally), drop the volume a bit and/or the intensity and you will still be lifting, but you will be able to get through it faster and it won't give you any real muscle soreness.

 

[Zerfman34]

thanks again, fellow wayne stater. man i woke up today feeling a lot better. yesterday i was able to walk about 100 yards TOTAL through the whole day on valium. today i woke up (i'm stayin on motrin around the clock) and without any 'big meds' i walked down stairs then around the outside of my house.

I'm just tryin to keep this back loose w/o goin too far. i hope i'll see you guys out there in no time!:bananalama:

 

[Zerfman34]

wow that was just a really bad muscle spasm. the valium helped relax it so I could walk around the past few days and the more I walked, the more it loosened up, less pain = less pills = more walking = even less pain. Tuesday, EMS took me out of the gym on a stretcher. Today, I feel like I just rode hard yesterday! I'm gonna stick to low-impact cardio for a week or two before I EASE back into the weights.

Those stretches you posted links of are helping a TON. Thanks again guys!!!!!

 

[Gainera2582]

Just do bodyweight exercises or use an empty barbell for high reps. Be sure you get a massage from a therapist sometime soon to heal the scar tissue that accumulated from that injury. The sooner the better.