We are all huge fans of squats and deadlifts. These workouts are compound exercises, which engage various muscle groups in the body and offer a great functional benefit. Despite their benefits, many of us avoid doing squats and deadlifts because of the dangers of injury and pain.
According to this report, 80% of adults are more likely to get low back pain.
The greatest fear most of us have is hurting our back and spine. Squats and deadlifts put unbearable strain and force on the lower back even when the lift/squat is correctly performed. This can bring muscle cramps and soreness in the back, which can last for many days/weeks.
If you always experience lower back pain after squats or deadlifts, you may want to know more about why it happens and probably take notes from this article that explains what you can do to stop the pain.
But first, let us understand the spine.
To grasp what causes pain in the back, let us understand the spine. The spine mainly consists of different bones called vertebrae. The vertebrae are separated by intervertebral discs. These disks act as cushions between the vertebrae and absorb all the shocks while squatting or carrying rights.
After doing squats or lifting weights, these disks will contract. Each disk consists of a harder and soft outer part. If the disk is compressed beyond, lower back pain occurs. This is known as herniated slip disk.
The soft inner part can get strained, putting pressure on the nerves.
Causes of Lower Back Pain After Doing Squats and Deadlifts
Tight Muscles
The number of hours you spend sitting at your work desk, on your couch, or watching will not fix your spinal needs.
Doctors explain that lower muscles in your back often become under stretched due to a lack of physical exercise. The current levels of physical inactivity are partly due to insufficient participation in physical activity during leisure time.
Because the origin of these muscles is in the lower back, they may become weak. Working out can ease the strain. As you get more sedentary, you will likely see the pain and soreness subside.
You May Have Chronic Venous Insufficiency
When your veins have trouble sending blood from your limbs back to the heart, it is known as venous insufficiency. In this condition, the blood does not flow back properly to the heart, causing blood to pool in the veins of your legs.
This condition can be caused by blood clots, obesity, and muscle weakness. The easiest way to deal with venom insufficiency is to elevate your legs to increase blood flow if you squat or do deadlifts.
Too Much Workout
Talk to any professional athlete, and they will stress the importance of alternating between different exercises during a workout. People overdo a workout by lifting too much weight, doing several challenging weight-bearing exercises while overweight, doing cardio without training, or squatting will overextend the low back muscles and cause strain.
Lower back pain happens when someone tries to maximize their training when their core muscles and lower back are not strong enough. To avoid this, start at a comfortable lifting weight with the Portable Fusion Gym.
You can also build your strength by working out your abdominals, hamstrings, quads, and each muscle group. After all, if your entire body is strong enough, your lower back and spine will reap the benefits.
Again, pay close attention to the tingling sessions you experience in your lower back. More often, it will not be anything serious. However, do not overwork it.
6 Exercises That Help Relieve Back Pain (Alternatives to Deadlifts and Squats)
The sedentary way of life, long hours at work can cause tension that may bring all of us irritating back pain and cramps. With these basic exercises, you can prevent back pain, and these workouts can be done pre or post-exercise.
Knee to Chest
The knee to chest back pain exercise is an easy method for back pain relief that doesn’t require any special equipment.
How to Perform the Knee to Chest
- Lie on the ground and try to support the majority of the body on it
- Flex the legs and support your toes
- Stretch your right leg and maintain this position for about 30 seconds
- Pull the knee towards the chest
- Repeat workout
To do knee-to-chest stretches the right way, watch this YouTube video.
Back Stretch
A back stretch is an essential movement that helps reduce back pain by loosening, stretching, and lengthening the back muscles. There are many back stretches, each targeting different areas of the back for better back pain treatment.
How to Perform a Simple Back Stretch:
- Stand on your feet.
- Without twisting the knees, place your hands on your waist and do a reverse stretch
- Lean back slowly and hold the position for several seconds
- Replicate the motion at least 5 times or even more.
For more back stretches, click watch this video.
Deep Squat
A deep squat is a compound exercise that helps to improve flexibility and range of motion in the hips, knees, and ankles. This exercise is beneficial for people with back pain because it strengthens the muscles around the spine, which can help to support and protect it.
How to Perform a Deep Squat:
- Simply stick your back again to the wall structure
- Spread our legs at shoulder height and decrease efficiently in a direct line until achieving the right position with the legs
- Both descent and the ascent must be achieved with ease
- Feel the tension in your lower back
- Repeat exercise
Watch video: performing deep squats.
Leg Raises
The leg raise is a great exercise that helps to strengthen the lower back and abdominals, especially when done in conjunction with other exercises such as crunches.
How to Perform Leg Raises:
- Lay on your back.
- Place the hands firmly on the floor
- Raise one leg and keep it in the air for about 15 seconds
- Repeat workout.
Watch how to do this exercise here.
Standing Donkey Kicks
Standing donkey kicks are a great way to help improve balance and coordination, strengthen the muscles of the lower back and abdominals, and also stretch out the hips.
To perform a donkey kick:
- Stand on your feet
- Kick back one leg without twisting and keeping the trunk as right as you possibly can
- Raise every lower leg back again, alternately
Watch this YouTube Video for more proper donkey kicks.
How to Prevent Lower Back Pain
Warm-Up Before Workout
Through warm-up, you prepare your lower back muscles for all the strains and overstretching that it will have to take when you do weighted squats and deadlifts. Warming up involves doing dynamic stretches and light warm-up lifts.
Performing dynamic stretches not only stretches your joints and muscles but also increases the temperature and blood flow in your muscles. Higher blood flow and temperature allow for higher contractile force to be generated in your muscles.
Also, the best dynamic stretches for the back are standing dynamic twists and dynamic side-bends as they are very simple, basic, and easy to perform.
If you do not know how to perform them, just watch this YouTube video, and you will find a ton of information).
Perform 15 or more reps for each side.
After completing the dynamic stretches, do not move directly to lifting full weights. Instead, start out with the ANCHEER Incline Decline Sit-Up AB Bench With Speed Ball to gently introduce your joints to the loads they will be subjected to.
When we put moderate pressure on joints, they absorb water. This reduces the risk of back pain and friction in the joints by improving their ability to absorb shocks.
Always Cool Down After Workouts
After you have completed your physical workout, your disks have been compressed due to the heavy load you have lifted. You now need to stretch your back to decrease this compression and reduce pressure on your nerves.
A cool down is important after any workout, especially if the workout involves intense cardio or strenuous activity. A proper cool-down helps prevent blood pooling in the muscles of the lower back, which can lead to muscle stiffness and pain.
To cool down properly after a workout, start by staying active for about five minutes by doing something low intensity like walking or light cycling. Once you’re feeling a little more relaxed, do some gentle stretching exercises for the back, hips, and legs.
Finally, drink plenty of fluids to help flush out any toxins that may have built up during your workout.
One of the easiest ways to stretch the back is using a hydraulic power twister from Dedayl twice after a workout.
Another good way to reduce the compression is using the Lux Fit Foam Roller. The first thing you will notice is the high density. Made of excellent medium density sponge and cushioned rolls with an innovative full textured surface that improves motion range, this foam molded material supports any weight up to 500 pounds.
The combination of foam rolling or weight lifting will reduce muscle strains and minimize lower back pain. The similarity between weight lifting and foam rolling is the versatility and flexibility that will carve out relief and lower the risk of chronic spine pain.
Bottom line: Warm-up and stretching are an integral part of any workout and should not be cut out. They are very simple to do and take very little time. The consequences of not doing them can be detrimental to any fitness level/ program.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it normal for my lower back to hurt after squats?
The short answer is that many factors can contribute to lower back pain after squats, so it is difficult to say definitively whether or not it is normal. However, lower back fatigue and discomfort are common side effects of squatting, especially if your form is not quite right.
Why do I have lower back pain after deadlifts?
Lower back pain after deadlifts could signify that you are not engaging your lower back muscles during this exercise. Again, it is difficult to say whether or not lower back fatigue is normal for this reason. Some people will experience lower back pain after deadlifts because of poor form, and others will not.
A general rule of thumb is to make sure that your lower back is engaged at all times during squats and deadlifts, as this helps to support the weight properly. You should also ensure that you do not round or arch your lower back when performing these exercises. If you maintain a straight spine throughout, you will reduce your risk of experiencing lower-back fatigue.
How often can the lower back get tired?
The lower back is a muscle group that can become fatigued relatively quickly, especially if you regularly do squats and deadlifts. As with any other muscle group, you should allow your lower back time to rest and recover in between workouts. If you are experiencing lower back pain after squats, it may signify that you are overtraining this area and need to take a break for a while.
How do I stop my lower back from hurting when I squat?
Strengthening your lower back muscles will reduce lower back pain after squats by making it easier to support the weight and maintain good form. If you are experiencing lower back fatigue after an intense set of squats, you should stop and allow your lower back a break before continuing with more exercise.
Key Takeaway
Proper spinal alignment can be maintained in a straight-ahead or upward gaze. This reduces the urge to lean too far forward, which places more stress on the spine. Make sure that you only squat as far as you feel in control and maintain good form.
To minimize low back pain during squats or deadlifts, concentrate more on form and control and less on depth. Lower back pain after squats usually results from repetitive lumbar flexion overload.
The perfect squat form is impossible to achieve. Instead, increase weight and higher volume sets to boost the likelihood of excessive lumbar flexion. It does not take much lumbar flexion when load and volume are combined to lead to lower back pain, soreness, or discomfort.
The bottom position of the squat is always the point where excess lumbar flexion happens. Many different workouts can achieve this.