There is nothing wore than getting ready to hit a big squat day, and you have to stop halfway through due to lower back pain. Lower back pain after squats is a frustrating injury because it happens during movement that is central to being an athlete. The squat is the building block to any weightlifting program. When you suffer from lower back pain after squats, it can be easy to seek short-term remedies like painkillers or ice. What your body needs is a long-term solution that gets to the cause of the lower back pain.
Symptoms of Lower Back Pain After Squats
- Sore back after squatting – Back should not be sore from squats
- Soreness only to one side – shows an imbalance
- Difficulty Hyperextending Back
- Pain at the bottom of the squat
- Difficulty getting back warm for workouts
Causes of Pain Lower Back Pain After Squats
It is important to note that some of these cases require medical attention from a sports medicine provider. There is no way around it for some of these causes if you ever want to be able to squat pain-free. It is also important to note that you only get one spine, so you don’t want to let these issue persist.
Disc Issues
Between each facet of the spine, there are spinal discs. Sometimes this disc can be pinched by the fascets, and they rupture. These disc ruptures can be very painful, and they 100% require medical attention. You will not be able to foam roll or rest your way out of this. You will continue to have lower back pain squatting until you see the right healthcare provider.
Over Rotation of Hips
If your hips rotate anteriorly, it means that you are sticking your butt out and putting more pressure on your lower back. If your hips rotate posteriorly, it means that you were sticking your lower back out and putting your back in a structurally unsound position. The critical thing you need to know with both of these is that they are bad. They are putting your body in a position that is not optimal for your lower back.
Facet Irritation
Facet irritation can occur for a variety of reasons. This Facet irritation means that when you move your spine, it will hurt.
Causes Include:
- Old age
- Disc disease
- Poor posture
- Heavy lifting with poor form
Muscular Imbalances
When you have muscular imbalances, you will be able to tell because one side of your body will always be sorer than the other. The soreness is due to one side working hard to make up for the slack on the other side of the body. If you want to get rid of your lower back pain after squats, you need to do everything you can to get your body to be more balanced.
Poor Squat Form
The poor squat form is one of the most common reasons people feel lower back pain after squats. The reason is that squatting allows you to live a lot of weight. To life this weight it is important that your core is tight, your feet are locked in, your knees are in the correct position and that you breath properly to maintain a healthy spine position. IF you do not do this, you immediately put yourself in a position to be hurt.
Remedies for Lower Back After Squats
Foam Rolling The Right Areas
- Quads
- Glutes
- Hips
- TFL
- Lower Back
- Lats
All of the areas above need to be foam rolled or self-massaged to make sure that you are getting the treatment that you need to be healthy. The body is all connected, if the TFL is tight, it will pull your leg out and put more strain on the groin than needed. The goal is to make sure that your body is free of trigger points and self-therapy will help you do this.
Activate Glute Before Workouts
When you experience lower back pain after squats, it could be a sign that your glutes are not turned on. The glutes turn off when we sit down for too long. It is essential that before sprinting, jumping or lifting that we turn the glutes back on. The exercises in the following video will help you to do this.
Stretching The Correct Areas
- Quads
- Glutes
- Hips
- TFL
- Lower Back
- Lats
- Groin
- Psoas
The areas above are vital areas to stretch to help keep your body functioning correctly. Like I said before the body is all connected. The lats are connected to hip function; the psoas is directly related to lower back pain. It is essential that you are hitting all of the items on the list at least once a week to help with lower back pain after squats.
Work with The Right Sports Medicine Provider
Your best solution to this problem is going to be working with a sports medicine provider even if you don’t consider yourself to be an athlete. The reason is that these providers are used to dealing with people who get hurt and have a big game the next week. They know how to get people healthy quickly when rest is not an option.
A good healthcare provider may use a skill like Functional Movement Screen (FMS) for example to help you evaluate your imbalances and create the path to being healthy.
The Skills or Type of Providers You Should Look For
- Functional Movement Screen
- Fascial Stretching
- Active Release Technique
- Acupuncture
- Massage Therapy
- Chiropractic
- and Much more…
If you need help finding any of these providers 9INE POINT Health can help you to do just that. 9INE POINT Health can help you to find providers locally who have specific skills. If you have no idea what you are looking for 9INE POINT can help guide you to the perfect person for your injury and needs.
Work with a Strength Coach to Improve Form
The last solution you have on your side is seeking a strength coach. A strength coach will be able to watch you squat and make sure that your form is impeccable when under stress. The good news is that there are health care providers that also are strength coaches that would love for nothing more than to work with you on your squat as well. It can be very different squatting when you do not weight vs. having 300 pounds on your back. A good coach will be able to coach you in both scenarios.
KHO Health was acquired by was acquire by 9INE POINT in the summer of 2019 and is now referred to as 9INE POINT Health.
