Do You Have Back Pain from Lifting Weights?
By Sara Butler
Lifting weights is a great exercise. It helps to build muscle, which in turn helps to support your body and posture, and keep you strong. It also helps you to maintain a healthy weight. So, what could be bad about it? Any time you lift pretty much anything, you run the risk of hurting your back. When you’re on your way home from the gym you should feel strong, not be in pain from something amiss in your back. Here’s what you need to be aware of to keep your back safe as you lift weights.
Weightlifter’s Back
Injury to the muscles and ligaments in the lower back is so common that it has its own moniker: weightlifter’s back. If the pain you experience appears to be limited to your lower back, then that may be an indication that your back muscles or ligaments have been strained during your weightlifting.
Be diligent in reporting this pain to your chiropractor in order to make sure what you’re experiencing isn’t actually a more serious condition.
Symptoms
If you experience the following symptoms, you may have injured your back when lifting weights:
- Muscle spasms – These spasms can be painful and intense, and even painful to the touch, similar to a bruise.
- Spinal weakness – This may be a sign of a more serious problem, so tell your chiropractor.
If you have any kind of symptoms such as loss of bladder or loss of bowel control, you should go to the emergency room, because that is a medical emergency.
What Causes It?
When you experience pain due to lifting weights, it is most often due to poor technique or poor posture as you lift. For example, if you round your back during exercise, it can place your hips at an angle that puts more stress and strain on your ligaments. Add some weight and you’ve created a perfect storm for muscle strain and pain when you’re finished.
You should practice caution when you do any kind of squat, deadlift, snatch, and clean-and-jerk exercises. They can put a lot of stress on your soft tissue and joints, causing injury – especially if you’re older.
Let Your Chiropractor Help
Your chiropractor can help to remedy any joint dysfunction or joint restriction you may be experiencing in your lower back due to weightlifting. They can also help you to understand how important proper form is and help get you on the road to healing, as well getting relief from your pain.
To learn more about your health and wellness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic.
