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Lower Back Pain on One Side

KingBeans

KingBeans

Level 3 Valued Member
As the title says, I've been experiencing lower back pain but only on one side. It has been present in one form or another for as long as I remember. If I flex my core, the left side of my lower back feels tighter than the right, if I do back raises, that side "feels the burn" faster.

I did a walking challenge a while back and constant daily treadmill walking led to my left hip and lower back seizing up for months. After a lot of stretching, mobility and banded side steps, it's been feeling mostly okay.

I was recently doing deadlifts and felt a pop or pull in that side and now that stiffness, tightness and (mild) pain is back. It's hard to isolate the pain, it's definitely not surface-level, I definitely can't touch the muscle that hurts.

It hurts when I bend over but doesn't seem effected by bearing the weight of picking something up. Troubleshooting a bit this morning I discovered that doing a single leg deadlift movement with something fairly light (bag of dog food) was totally fine on the left (hurt) side, but when I do a right-sided SLDL, my left lower back hurts.

I have no idea what's going on or how to address it. Any suggestions?
 
KingBeans said:
I have no idea what's going on or how to address it. Any suggestions?
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I had very good luck with my 3rd ... Wait. Or was it 4th ... Chiropractor.

I'd look into seeing if there's anyone that you can hook up with like a chiro or a physio . Someone who's keyed in on soft tissue.

As I've been told, but never got involved with, there are sports injury types who might be more in line with the kinds of concerns a lifter might have.
 
I have been going to a chiropractor for the better part of 15 years. I know I would have a lot more pain in different areas of my body without them.
 
KingBeans said:
Yeah doctor was just like "muscles are weird, sounds like it's just one of those things" and my current chiropractor sucks. But I'll keep looking.
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It pays to get second and third opinions. I had to see a number of physical therapists and trainers before I found one that knew what was going on with my back pain.
 
I THINK I HAVE THE ANSWER.
I have the exact same problem based on your post. I am not a doctor but my symptoms are identical.
17 years ago when I was deadlifting 300 lbs. in sets of 8 reps. I may have been hungover as well.
I came up on one rep and felt a "noise" inside my body like someone dropping the window blinds down fast..."fssssst".
The next day I woke up and could not move for about a week. My entire back seized up.
I have been suffering on and off ever since. This has been the biggest problem in my life.
I no longer Deadlift. I stick to Kettlebells and now working with Heavy Clubs as well.

My physical therapist tells me that I have Sacro Illiac Joint Disfunction. There are 2 large joints inside the pelvis. One of them got pulled. And when this happens, it can twist one side of the pelvis, which has the effect of making one leg longer than the other. Then walking, bending, etc. is painful.

This is what I do to alleviate the issue when my back goes "out".
1. I push my tight glute muscles on a Lacrosse Ball against a wall. I keep Lacrosse Balls at home, work, garage, everywhere.
2. I also turn to the side to get the muscles on the outside of my hips this same way.
3. I use a thick wood curtain rod one leg over and one under to push my pelvis back in place. You need a PS to show you this one and to see which leg is longer.
4. I have begun working out with HEAVY CLUBS via Mark Wildman's instruction on Youtube. The twisting motion of the movements help a lot.
 
the hansenator said:
It pays to get second and third opinions. I had to see a number of physical therapists and trainers before I found one that knew what was going on with my back pain.
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I had a similar experience with chiropractors.

The last chiropractor who I was with for years, but seeing less and less often as time wore on (which I viewed as a good sign of his treatment) , took some shopping around to find.
 
KingBeans said:
Yeah doctor was just like "muscles are weird, sounds like it's just one of those things" and my current chiropractor sucks. But I'll keep looking.
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I know the general advice is always to go see a doctor and Im glad you did. However, most probably wont do much except offer the same advice. Ice it, take some pain meds, and relax. In my own experience, one of the best things to do is find a good chiropractor who will perform a full body assessment and literally adjust just about everything on your body head to toe. Consider getting a good massage from a reputable massage therapist because its likely your muscles will be experiencing some spasm and tightening in weird ways to protect your body from that pain. After 20 years of bjj training and competition, I have probably had almost every joint in my body cause some type of issue for me. A good chiropractor, massage, and a qualified strongfirst coach may be a good route to take. And if it hurts stop doing what hurts.
 
Mark Limbaga said:
How sharp is the pain on a scale of 1-10 10 being the highest
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It's honestly not that bad, it's just stiff. Even the other day when I felt the "pop" it really didn't hurt, just felt uncomfortable. Now it just feels stiff and sore. It definitely does not feel like nerve damage or a tear but I for sure want to speak to a physio.
 
I don't know. Low back pain is difficult.

If I were you (and I have had symptoms like yours), I would experiment w. the following - some of these are things I've been doing for decades, others I just started re-examining after an adductor issue:
*do light stretching as tolerated (straddle stretch, hip flexor, hamstring, butterflies, quadripedal rocking, tactical frog, downward dog, chest opener/mantle/doorway/dislocates stretch for chest and t-spine)
*do foam rolling of IT band and TFL
*do Russian Hockey Deadlifts and KB Windmills - careful to not load heavy at all, and not push range of motion
*standing one legged hip abduction/adduction w. band
*lateral steps w. short band


 
It could be a muscle spasm. I had this a few months ago. I could barely walk after a few days.

I went to the doc and got some meds. I went on a stretching-only protocol per the doctor's orders. I'm now back to full speed, and my back feels better than ever.
 
I've had a similar pain off and on for a while.

Basically it happens when I don't do a ql and 90/90 stretch after workouts. Its not immediately after forgetting, it is usually a couple weeks to a couple months of neglecting it.

Fix I use is use a percussion gun through all my leg and hip muscles until I find the "right" one. You will know it when you find it. Once that relaxes I start the stretching routine again.
 
Boris Bachmann said:
I don't know. Low back pain is difficult.

If I were you (and I have had symptoms like yours), I would experiment w. the following - some of these are things I've been doing for decades, others I just started re-examining after an adductor issue:
*do light stretching as tolerated (straddle stretch, hip flexor, hamstring, butterflies, quadripedal rocking, tactical frog, downward dog, chest opener/mantle/doorway/dislocates stretch for chest and t-spine)
*do foam rolling of IT band and TFL
*do Russian Hockey Deadlifts and KB Windmills - careful to not load heavy at all, and not push range of motion
*standing one legged hip abduction/adduction w. band
*lateral steps w. short band


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Man, super helpful thanks!
 
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