i heard my back crack while doing squats:-( Anyone else ever?

[soldier74]

Followedq by severe pain. I was on the downhill side of a pyramid routine, so this injury happened with lighter weight which was odd, but I guess normal if I compromised my form. Anyways, I'm curious if anyone else experienced this before & what can I expect? Like I said., I heard it crack at the bottom of the rep, like a normal back crack sound. After I racked the bar the painq started setting in qwick. It's right in the middle lower sectionq of my back. Prety much where ass back meet. It's painfull to do movements like walk, sit, lay down, kinda a pinching agonizing pain. Thanksfor the feedback fellas.

 

[Teutonic]

Damn it.

Agonizing huh ? If it s debilitating it s " go see Doc " time.
A crack followed by AGONY usually indicates the need for a pro to get involved. X ray, MRI...la dee da...

Man I really hope ur OK.

 

[soldier74]

Thanks Tuet! Funny thing is I was raised like " well there no blood, no bone sticking out, your fine, walk it off boy!". I'm able to get around ok. My range of mobility is definantly less tho. My obsessed ass will most likely hit the gym today, conscious of my back of course. But yea, I'll wait a couple days n see if I don't start feeling better, I'll make an appointment to see Dr. What do you think about seeing a chiropractor???

 

[Ganicus]

hey bro,

sorry to hear about that- but a chiro is not a dr. A chiro will do adjustments between the 2-3 visits followed by more after that. Dr will advise on MRI

A disc rupture will likely be extremely painful IF it happened quickly. It would feel like lightning or burning or tingling pain. It can possibly travel past the knee into the lower leg.

Strain/Spasm of the quadratus lumborum (your lumbar) typically makes it impossible to stand upright. After bending over, hard to impossible to stand back upright.

Primary culprits tend to be the Quadratus Lumborum, Gluteus Medius, IlioPsoas and Rectus Abdominis. The QL can play a major role since as it gets overused, other muscles step in to compensate and then they get overused. View attachment 563401

ice your back as much as possible and following stretches may help-
anterior-posterior leg swings and side-side leg swings with minimal range of motion,

Piriformis Stretch-
1.Lie on your back. ...
2.Cross your left leg over your right so that your left ankle rests on your right knee.
3.Use your hands to grab hold of your left knee and pull it gently toward the opposite shoulder. ...
4.Hold for 15 to 30 seconds.
5.Relax, and then repeat with the other leg.
6.Repeat this cycle 2 to 4 times.

Hang from a pull-up bar throughout the day if possible - 5-10 seconds, slow release down (might want to have a crate or stool below you if you are hanging higher in the air) and repeat.


hope that helps

 

[soldier74]

Thanks. Thankfully it started feeling better the next day. Now, two days later almost back to normal. I'm just glad it seemed worse than what it is. I plan to do some lighter weight squats & slowly work my way back up again to be on the safe side.

 

[luckypaul]

A crack followed by pain is usually a bad thing. Slipped disc maybe. You will know next time you get into the gym.

 

[Gbrad]

Without pain running down the thigh, leg, and down to foot it sounds like you dodged a disc herniation.

I have had SI joints pop out of alignment and it sucks for a few days. The pain is sharp and stays in lower back radiating out to hip area. Then the pain usually goes as quick as it came on. In this instance, Chiro care will work for most. I'm not a Chiro btw.

Good luck and ease back into it bro

 

[darkwing86]

u need to go to the doctor man , not a steroid forum

 

[halfwit]

hey bro,

sorry to hear about that- but a chiro is not a dr. A chiro will do adjustments between the 2-3 visits followed by more after that. Dr will advise on MRI

A disc rupture will likely be extremely painful IF it happened quickly. It would feel like lightning or burning or tingling pain. It can possibly travel past the knee into the lower leg.

Strain/Spasm of the quadratus lumborum (your lumbar) typically makes it impossible to stand upright. After bending over, hard to impossible to stand back upright.

Primary culprits tend to be the Quadratus Lumborum, Gluteus Medius, IlioPsoas and Rectus Abdominis. The QL can play a major role since as it gets overused, other muscles step in to compensate and then they get overused. View attachment 563401

ice your back as much as possible and following stretches may help-
anterior-posterior leg swings and side-side leg swings with minimal range of motion,

Piriformis Stretch-
1.Lie on your back. ...
2.Cross your left leg over your right so that your left ankle rests on your right knee.
3.Use your hands to grab hold of your left knee and pull it gently toward the opposite shoulder. ...
4.Hold for 15 to 30 seconds.
5.Relax, and then repeat with the other leg.
6.Repeat this cycle 2 to 4 times.

Hang from a pull-up bar throughout the day if possible - 5-10 seconds, slow release down (might want to have a crate or stool below you if you are hanging higher in the air) and repeat.


hope that helps

Actually a chiropractor IS a medically trained doctor, and my experience has been that there are two approaches to back issues: physiological (MD) or anatomical (DC). You see a chiro for the mechanical stuff, and if the issue extends beyond their expertise - they refer you to an Ortho for further diagnosis.

I'm not saying that an MD can't be helpful, but with resistance training, I would bet on a good DC (Doctor of Chiropractic medicine) any day of the week over a Medical Doctor that treats disease. This is coming from a guy that has had multiple knee surgeries, a shoulder surgery, and deals with spinal arthritis from years of beating my body up.

In fact, I used to have the opinion that DC's were quacks until I really hurt my back getting out of bed one day after a brutal back session the day prior. An x-ray and MRI later showed nothing, so I was given a bottle of narcotics and sent on my way. I then (under advisement of a good friend) went to see a DC. He found my hip had been somehow dislocated slightly, and after a couple adjustments, I have been pain free since. Bill from the MD and staff? 1500 bucks. The awesome chiro? 40 dollars and change.

Just sayin'.

OP: I'm betting you weren't looking up while squatting. If you look down or to the sides, you force your spine out of alignment, which can cause muscles to twist while under tension. I'm going to guess (I'm not any sort of doctor) that you may have slipped a disc or strained one of your spinal erectors. I would get on top of this ASAP as the longer you allow inflammation to set in, the worse it can get. It seems counterintuitive, but keep moving around! You really don't want that to lock up on you either, that makes for some rough times.

My .02c

 

[soldier74]

Lol. I musta got lucky. But I'll defiantly keep these points in mind.....incase next time not so lucky. And yeah, Dr for sure in that case.
It did hurt pretty bad the day it happened & into the next morning but definantly has subsided almost completely at this point.

 

[Roush]

If you completely blow out a disc or discs you'll know it.. happened to me, felt like someone was pouring warm water down the back of my legs (that was from the fluid in the disc that had blown out onto the nerves).. As for the pain, unable to move. was crippled up on the floor for hours until the wife got home and her and my son got me on a blanket and used that to pull me across the house to the bedroom to get to bed. Unable to sleep, move, go to the bathroom, hurt to even breath etc.. was bed ridden for months until the surgery. This last time was the second time this had happened and the second back surgery.

If your functioning like a normal person, but with some pain. it will probably subside and get better with rest. If the pain is debilitating you to the point where you can't move, drive a car, function as a normal person, and have to have narcotic pain meds just to attempt to get out of bed. . then you've got a possibly serious bad back problem.

when you blow out something major,, like a disc that blows out backwards and gets lodged against your spinal chord,, you'll know your in serious shit. . but I've had upper back issues that were extremely painful, that I knew it was not major just by the way it felt,, it hurt like hell but was nothing like blowing out a disc. . for that I went to a chiropractor and found out I slipped a few rib heads out of place,, easy fix and the pain was gone.
as for blown disc pain,, there is absolutely no fix and no way to escape the pain.

 

[Teutonic]

Squating is a major size builder/ strength enhancing movement. However we are not designed anatomically for this kind of stuff.

When I powerlifted 198 s at 5 ft 11 in, once u cradle that weight across the back of your DELTS AND TRAPS u need to plant your feet, look at a spot up high and fixate throughout entire set. Not until the work is over do break form, re racking, then ...you dodged another potential trainwreck.

I even get out of my car correctly now as I m old and f k n tired of being hurt due to poor form.

 

[luckypaul]

Squating is a major size builder/ strength enhancing movement. However we are not designed anatomically for this kind of stuff.

When I powerlifted 198 s at 5 ft 11 in, once u cradle that weight across the back of your DELTS AND TRAPS u need to plant your feet, look at a spot up high and fixate throughout entire set. Not until the work is over do break form, re racking, then ...you dodged another potential trainwreck.

I even get out of my car correctly now as I m old and f k n tired of being hurt due to poor form.

It comes with wisdom. My form is spot on now. I have lifted the last 3 years without pain. I think I get more out of squating 225 now than 405 10 years ago. Squatibg has always been my favorite lift.

 

[soldier74]

It comes with wisdom. My form is spot on now. I have lifted the last 3 years without pain. I think I get more out of squating 225 now than 405 10 years ago. Squatibg has always been my favorite lift.

I used to dread leg day, mostly because the pain the next day after a good workout was damn near unbearable to me. Now a days I look forward to leg day & the next day pain that comes along with ;-) I am going to start doing lighter weight squat workouts though. This little ordeal and the comments I've read got me feeling a bit more cautious than usual. Plus I'm getting past my prime like some others here no what I mean. I'm not 20 anymore! Lol.

 

[soldier74]

Thanks for the good feedback fellas!!

 

[Milton]

Thanks for the good feedback fellas!!

How it going so far, any more pain?

 

[soldier74]

How it going so far, any more pain?

Appreciate it. I have stayed away from squats ever since. Doing leg curls instead. I figure I'll work my way back into squats slowly eventually as it's one of my favorite workouts. My back really doesn't hurt anymore, thank God. I think I got lucky, blessed, whichever. Any thought on how long I should give it? Before squating again? Although it doesn't hurt now I'm old enough to use my head and the couple brain cells that I have left in it. Even though there s only two in there and they are playing freeze tag. Take suggestions. Thnx.

 

[soldier74]

Btw, I understand there is h magic number of days to wait. Also understand listening to my body theory. But it's my back and I don't have youth necessarily on my side. Anyways, I'll shut up n listen for others experience with similar situations....

 

[carverelli]

I'd ease back into squats with 1/2 the weight you were using and see how you feel afterwards. Then add weight as you feel comfortable doing. Sounds like you strained a muscle without major soft tissue damage. It's possible your form may be to blame. The deeper the squat, the more hip flexibility you'll need to keep from rounding the lower back at the bottom of the rep

 

[maurij1]

I'd ease back into squats with 1/2 the weight you were using and see how you feel afterwards. Then add weight as you feel comfortable doing. Sounds like you strained a muscle without major soft tissue damage. It's possible your form may be to blame. The deeper the squat, the more hip flexibility you'll need to keep from rounding the lower back at the bottom of the rep

Agree with Carverelli, check your form on your squats, sounds like you had a case of butt wink at the bottom of your squat and just strained your muscles. Like Roush I've herniated both L4 and L5 and I couldn't do anything but lay on the floor and take a fist full of pain killers. Took 4 doctor before one gave me an MRI and that took over a month. Now I'm left with permanent nerve damage on the side of my calf and big toe which isn't a big deal, I don't even notice it anymore. A chiropractor finally fixed me after the injection the doc gave me didn't work. This was 15 years ago and I've been deadlifting ever since with no problems, but I'm anal as hell when it comes to form!!

Anyways good luck, hope you're back to squatting full strength soon!