Lower back issues - suggestions Cathe?

fitcat33

Active Member
Hi Cathe.
I'm experienced in fitness and have been using your workouts with traditional forms of exercise for quite a while. Last week, while doing deadlifts (probably in a rush using improper form), I seemed to have really hurt my lower back. At this point, I can barely pull my knees to my chest to stretch. Sitting/driving/standing certain ways seems to irritate it. Would you happen to have any suggestions on what to do? Should I continue to workout, just take it easy?
 
I did the same thing with deadlifts -- I think I went too heavy and my low back is already a weak part, as it bothers me from high impact aerobics, etc.

I would like to know what we are doing improper, other than keeping your shoulders back, I can't figure out what I did wrong. Can you do this exercise properly and still cause back pain?

Also, I saw that someone on the Forum said they herniated a disc in their back doing this. I wonder how that would happen. I don't want to do that. Would like to see Cathe comment on this.
 
I would love to see what Cathe says about this as well. I injured my back years ago doing deadlifts and refuse to do them anymore. I tried adding them into my workouts slowly and always end up injuring myself again. I usually do supermans in place of deadlift.
Debbie in OH
 
Not Cathe here, but I too couldn't see the point in how I was doing them, always ended up with a hitch in my lower back/pelvis area. I did some searching around on the internet (don't have the link right now) and saw someone performing one. Now I focus on keeping the roundness out of my lower back (almost to the point of keeping an arch in it) and keeping my shoulders back. You can even practice it without any weights and you will feel your hamstrings. I finally got some good feeling in my hamstrings for a few days after doing these this way. Don't go too low either, as it's harder to keep the roundness out of the back. Hope this helps.

Jeanette
 
I do them the way you suggested but if I go to heavy....I have the pain problem and I don't really think my form is suffering because of the weight, but I guess it's possible.
 
I'm not Cathe but you can also start your dead lift in about the same position downward row. Stand with feet a little wider then shoulder width apart, bend knees a little, bend at the hips, and make your back as flat as possible in table top position. Now use your hamstrings and bring yourself up. The main thing on dead lift is to keep your back straight and only go down until you feel your hamgstrings start to tug, then force them to bring you back up. Most people make the mistake of useing the middle back which just can't take this, and injure themselves. Or round their back going up or down, which is also a no no. But if you use the hamgstrings once they start to bring you up your lower back will take over, but keep stright, don't round pretend you are a board. Which exactly what you want. I've been using the downward row position for a lot of my clients it seems more doable and everyone seems to stay in position better. I also think that is one of the hardest exercises to just watch and get it right.

Hope that helps,

Kit
 
I am sorry about your pain. hurting your back is not fun. I had problems getting the proper form down also. I figured out to make my back flat but your back has a natural curve in it that you have to aknowledge. Meaning your butt kind of sticks up your lower back in a slight downward curve with tension in your hams then in your butt muscle. Kind of hard to explain. Hope this helps and Cathe can explain it to us better.
 

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