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EricT · 04-23-2007, 08:54 AM

It's really difficult to say. The first things that come to mind is that the way you are doing deadlifts just doesn't work for you. I'm also thinking either strength or flexibility imbalances. That is, either you lower back is taking to much of the load proportionately (which may be fine for some people some of the time) or something is tight around the core or posterior chain and is pulling on your lower back causing it to spasm.

One thing to keep in mind is that much of the time aggravation to the lower back is proportionate to load. People tend to think of
SLDL's for instance as a "lower back" exercise. Then they wonder why this doesn't hurt and deadlifts, squats, or something else does. They fail to take into account the load on the back which tends to compound the effect exponentially even if it doesn't involve excessive extension of the back. In other words if you compare the extensor forces of 200 pounds to 100 pounds the difference in effect is not "just" 100 pounds. Obviously the geometical configuration of the body plays a part but you get the idea of what I'm saying.

In a nutshell, sometimes certain things are too heavy and other things are not.

Another thought is that just because it happens during deadlift doesn't mean that other things aren't playing a part in it. At least if it is a general overtraining thing. So I'm not sure if your making wise choices in terms of front squats, for instance, which obviously shifts your center of gravity into an unnatural state and increase extensor forces on the lower back.

But it's soooo complicated to pin down these problems. Most peoples first thought is to strengthen the lower back so they add extensions and all sorts of other stuff. That may be wise but if it is other weakness that is causing the problem it won't help. Cuz it may be that the lower back is not "weak", at least not relatively speaking, but that is simply doing more than it's fair share of the work. That is not to say that some additional strengthening isn't a VERY good idea though. But whether in this particular set up that's a good idea is hard to say. But if you choose to address lower back stregnth you need to choose things that strengthen it without placing such a huge load on it that it just excacerbates the problem.

Because it's one thing to try and strengthen the back when it's all very abstract and you're not having any particular problems. But when it's actually hurting it's a whole nother ball game.

I think you should analyse your deadlift. Try to break it down step by step and determine where, if anywhere, the chain may be breaking.

I would start stretching the entire hip flexor and posterior chain area after every "lower body" thing. Including lower back, psoas/ilopsoas, buttocks (yep!) and hamstring.