For every person that says the deadlift healed their low back pain, there’s 2 people that got hurt doing it.
Just like the squat, I typically evaluate 1-2 people a week that have back pain with the deadlift.
After I make sure nothing is seriously wrong with their back (LINK), I’ll assess their technique.
Low and behold technique is the issue.
I’ll show you the technique I like to use, 2 of the most common errors I see, and how to fix them.
The simplest technique is from Mark Rippetoe
I can have complete noobs deadlifting in 5 minutes, and people that normally have pain deadlifting pain free.
What people get wrong
Pulling the Bar Close
Using Your Legs
I’ll reference the above video when I describe these.
How to fix it
#2 Pull The Bar Close when Deadlifting
In the video step #4 is “squeeze the chest.” This does two things.
Straightens out the back
Engages the lats
A lot of people have no clue how to engage their lats. The above video shows how to feel them working.
Put your arms out in front of you like Frankenstein
Shrug your shoulders up to your ears
Un-shrug your shoulders down HARD
This is scapular DEPRESSION, one of the jobs of the lat. You should feel your lats engage.
This is the same thing you should feel when you “squeeze the chest up.” You should also feel your low back muscles turn on.
DO NOT try to squeeze your shoulder blades together. A common mistake.
#3 Use your Legs
After you “squeeze the chest up” you PULL (stand up). If you feel back pain here it’s because you aren’t using your legs.
He says “Pull” but you also want to PUSH the ground away. This helps you actually use your legs.
Notice in the video above when the bar goes from mid shin to the bottom of the knee, her knees go
backwards and
her hips and shoulders raise at the SAME time
The trunk is stiff as the legs “push the ground away.” Do this, and your pain will go away.
There’s a third error associated with these 2 as well
It happens when people do touch and go reps. Touch and go is where you bounce the weight off the ground to get the next rep.
This causes you to skip steps, mostly “squeeze the chest up” and “push the ground away.”
So, rest after each rep, then the problem is miraculously solved.
Summary
Hurting your low back while deadlifting is totally unnecessary if you are just a casual strength trainee focused on general fitness. If you think your technique is to blame, comment here.