Other/Mixed Pain at the left quadratus lumborum every time I do FLs.

[u6at_siganin_marcelo]

Hi, (18 M) here. Been doing front lever for almost 2 years. I can hold a solid 15-20 seconds with straight arms and clean form.

One day I was doing some front lever raises with negatives (I saved that exercise for the end of my training session) and on the last set and rep while I was doing the last FL negative, I felt a bit of a pain on my left quadratus lumborum.

I immediately thought I injured myself, so the reasonable decision to do was to skip some FL training and give a rest on this specific back muscle. I rested for a few 2-3 days and when I performed a FL again after that, the pain in my back muscle was still there. Then I gave myself even a longer period of rest, depriving myself from doing FL for a while.

When I did a FL after that rest, at first the pain was gone, I thought the trauma has recovered. But after continues FL holds, the trauma was gradually becoming sensitive again and with each new FL hold, getting worse.

This cycle of resting and getting my trauma sensitive again on FL holds has repeated for 5 months already. I’ve minimized my FL performance to the point of doing it just for the sake of not losing the movement. I can’t progress on it anymore without sacrificing my back muscle.

What do you think? Is it normal for that trauma to seem to be endless and do you think it can be threatened at all? Or do you think I should be using a specific technique while performing the front lever to minimize the amount of pain?

 

[bluejeff]

Are you sure it's your QL and not your lat...? Do you have any video to share? I would be looking for asymmetries in your form, and looking for a physio that understands your goals

 

[Daniel Vintila]

What do you think? Is it normal for that trauma to seem to be endless and do you think it can be threatened at all?

It can be endless if you don't seek for a specialist to take a look at it and know exactly what the problem is. Some ultrasound exam might help see what exactly is wrong with your muscle.
When you know what your problem is is also good to know why it occurred. If it mainly appears when you do FL then there are some flaws in your exercise, possible asymmetries as mentioned above, which cause that problem to always come back.

 

[u6at_siganin_marcelo]

Judging by the look of my FL videos + confirmation from other mates I train with, I can confidently state that there isn't any asymmetry or other flaws on my FL performance.

I will make sure to seek a physio, though I'm not certain if he/she will be able to identify the source of my problem if I'm rested.

 

[bluejeff]

Judging by the look of my FL videos + confirmation from other mates I train with, I can confidently state that there isn't any asymmetry or other flaws on my FL performance.

I will make sure to seek a physio, though I'm not certain if he/she will be able to identify the source of my problem if I'm rested.

This is exactly what I thought when I went to my physio for a weird shoulder issue last year. They might have you do a FL, but they will likely be able to find something that's "off" by doing other tests.

For example: In my case, I thought I had good shoulder flexion on both sides, but she tested me a few different ways and surprise, surprise, I was compensating for poor shoulder flexion with the left side by using poor mechanics. I also had asymmetries in my rib expansion and pelvis-to-rib alignment. Before I discovered all this, I thought I was "straight" when doing calisthenics skills. I was far, far from it.

Point being that sometimes it takes a seriously trained eye and pair of hands to detect these things. It might not be visibile to you or your friends. The source of your pain might also have nothing to do with front levers, and only manifests when you place that load on your body in that position.