Lower back pain after deadlifts or squats: what happened and what to do

A general ache across the lower back a day or two after a heavy session, which eases as you warm up and move, is usually muscle soreness. It is not an injury and needs no treatment beyond lighter training for a session or two.

A sudden sharp pain during a rep, often followed by stiffness and spasm that makes bending or getting out of bed difficult, is usually a strain of the muscles or ligaments around the spine. It can be very painful for a few days, but most strains settle within one to three weeks with sensible activity.

Pain that travels down the buttock and into the leg, especially below the knee, or comes with tingling or numbness in the leg or foot, can mean an irritated nerve, sometimes from a disc. This still usually improves with physiotherapy, but it needs a proper assessment before you load the spine heavily again.

The bar drifts away from the body. In a deadlift, every few centimetres the bar moves forward adds a large lever on the lower back. Keeping the bar close, almost touching the legs, is the single most useful cue.

The lower back rounds under load, especially at the bottom of a deadlift or a deep squat when the hips run out of movement. A little rounding is not dangerous in itself, but rounding that appears only when the weight is heavy or you are tired means the load is ahead of your control.

Jumping in weight too fast. Many new lifters add weight every session because they can, or because the trainer or the person on the next platform is lifting more. Muscles adapt in weeks; the tendons and ligaments around the spine take longer.

Too many hard sets close to failure, too often. A back that never gets a lighter day eventually complains. So does a session of heavy deadlifts after a night of little sleep or a long day sitting at a desk.

Keep moving within comfort. Walking, gentle stretching and normal daily activity help a strained back recover faster than lying in bed. Short rests lying down are fine when pain is high, but bed rest for days slows recovery.

Heat, a warm shower or a hot water bag can ease spasm. Painkillers from a pharmacist can help you move in the first days; check with a doctor if you have stomach, kidney or heart problems.

Skip heavy deadlifts and squats until bending and getting up from a chair feel close to normal. You can usually keep training the upper body, and gentle movements like the ones below often help.

Start with a hip hinge you can do without pain: a light dumbbell or kettlebell deadlift, or a Romanian deadlift with an empty bar, keeping the bar close and the back in a position you can hold. Build back over two to four weeks rather than returning to your old working weight.

Add back and hip strength work that does not load the spine heavily: bridges, bird dogs and side planks. These build the control that keeps the lower back steady when the load goes up again.

A lifting belt can help experienced lifters brace on heavy sets, but it does not fix technique and is not a treatment. If you need a belt to lift without pain, the load is ahead of your recovery.

If the same pain comes back each time you return to heavy lifting, have a physiotherapist look at how you move. Often the fix is a small change in setup, stance or hip mobility, which is much easier to see from the outside.

Numbness around the groin or inner thighs, difficulty passing urine or controlling your bladder or bowels, or weakness in one or both legs that is getting worse are medical emergencies. See a doctor or go to an emergency department the same day.

Also see a doctor if the pain followed a fall, you have a fever or feel unwell, or the pain is severe at night and does not ease with any position.