Go through back surgery, and you will never want to do squats again. I hurt just thinking about it.
i powerlifted several more years after a double back surgery and a neck surgery where a disc was removed and a dead guys legbone and steel plate put in to replace it.
did the lifting speed up my spinal deterioration ? probablly .
i do know that i never hurt my back lifting and the only knee surgery i ever needed was from league basketball. i also know that my doctor was amazed at my recovery post op and conferred with other doctors who decided that the only reasonable explanation was my advanced muscle growth supported my body far more than normal which took weight off my bone structure. i was sent to post op after haveing my neck operation which took several hours and was to be fitted with a neck brace in recovery , after scouring the the hospital they were unable to find a brace that would fit my neck and insisted i couldnt move without one . since i was still asleep the suggested that my wife go to town and buy lengths of velcro to extend the neck brace out so it would fit , by the time she got back i was walking the halls wide awake and in minor discomfort at worst . she wasnt very surprised and had the GALL to call me STUBBORN , i was deeply hurt lol . when the doc rounded the corner and saw me pushing a little old lady down the hall in a wheel he said OH SHIT !!! and everyone around heard him even the old lady , she laughed lol .
the fact is im 46 years old and have abused my body in one way or another almost my whole life from being a farm boy and competitive sports during the military and even into my late 30's competeing at tennis at the state level and even the regional level. i quit powerlifting almost 2 years ago but dont regret doing powerlifting a bit , IF and i say IF i had had the surgery sooner instead of waiting until nerve damage was permenant i would be fine today .
long story even longer IF i had listened to my body when it needed rest and not pushed it past my limits and if i had had the surgeries sooner before the damage was permenant i would be better off than 99% of people my age .
i was so stubborn i had my workout partners stop by the house post op [ day or 2 ] and carry me to the gym to hang out and i would sit on the machines to watch them lift and would sneak reps on the machine when noone was looking [ yeah i know im a stupid son of a gun ] .
as MP5 said the pain from back surgery is equivilant to trying to shit a bowling ball while stabbing your nuts with a ice pick.
funny story's
the back surgery took a lot longer than expected apparently the spreaders werent able to hold my back muscles apart and nurses had to take turns with 1 on each side trying to pry them apart so the DR could work on the spine , it was like hawaii five o they had to call in backup lol.
his personnal nurse came to tell my family what was takeing so long and came back with him when he met with them post op when my family asked if i was allright he said yes and she added that i was better off than the doc and those other nurses lol the doc couldnt even stand up when he talked to the family , he was exhausted .
during the neck surgery apparently the dude who knocks you out [ i aint spelling that name ] didnt believe me when i told him i have a high tolerance to meds so i woke up and sat straight up with my neck gaped open in some kind of cage , the only way they could get me back down was to have the nurses rub on my arms and talk sweet and lull me back to sleep while the knockout dude broke out the elephant tranquilizer .
for the original poster squats can be rough on the shoulders , the last year or 2 i had to stretch my shoulders CONSTANTLY to get my hands behind the bar , i would literally place my hands squat height on the jam of every door i went through and push in with my body weight stretching and would stretch a LONG time pre workout .
what a lot of people dont realize is that it isnt JUST the wear and tear on your shoulders from squatting and benching . once you become more advanced and gain a lot of upper back thickness that only heavy lifting can do your suddenly haveing to reach farther and farther behind you to grab the bar because of your thickness , combine that with the naturall loss of flexibility most get as they age and it can be tough . i couldnt hold the bar the last few years except in a thumbless grip at the very ends of the bar .
