Low back pain is the leading cause of pain and disability as research suggests 50-80% of people will experience at least one episode of low back pain in their lifetime (1). This means it is very common to have low back pain as well as recurrence of low back pain making it a huge financial burden in our society. Many people who experience low back pain are told to rest, give it time, and take medications to relieve the pain.
While time can heal low back pain it does not increase the tissue healing or capacity to tolerate activities such as laborious jobs, picking up a box from the ground, or bending over to get your shoes on. Another big question is how to get back in the gym with back pain especially when it is one of the most common exercises performed in gym and CrossFit WODs. While many people think deadlifting is bad for your low back or avoid it forever after a back injury it can be one of the best ways to heal and strengthen your back to make it more resilient.
So, the question is when can I start deadlifting with low back pain? There are two criteria that indicate who would benefit from deadlifting with back pain according to a research study done in Sweden on participants with mechanical low back pain. This study showed that those who have pain severity of less than 6/10 and a score of greater than 60 seconds on the Biering Sorenson test for posterior chain endurance would benefit from deadlifting with back pain (2). So, if your back pain allows you to and you have enough baseline strength to support your back during a hinge movement such as a deadlift you not only can deadlift, but you should deadlift with back pain. The participants in the above study who met the criteria had significant improvements in pain, strength, and functional abilities from 1-2 deadlifting training sessions per week for 8 weeks (2).
If you are looking to get back into the gym and deadlift but are not sure if it is the right movement or timing for you or if you have the proper form and training volume come see an expert at Mend to learn more about how you can get out of back pain by deadlifting and make your back more resilient to future injury.
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References:
- Rubin DI. Epidemiology and risk factors for spine pain. Neurol Clin. 2007;25(2):353-71.
- Berglund L, Aasa B, Hellqvist J, Michaelson P, Aasa U. Which Patients With Low Back Pain Benefit From Deadlift Training?. J Strength Cond Res. 2015;29(7):1803-11.