The Time I Injured My Back and What I Learned From My Long Road to Recovery
Like too many young, cocky fitness fanatics, I injured my lower back in my early 20s thanks to terrible lifting form and ego pushing way too much weight. Desperate to get stronger and impress my gym bros, I threw caution (and bodily safety) to the wind, deadlifting and squatting well beyond smart limits. It took only one ugly failed rep, ripping my lower right side, to bring me to my knees. Little did I know then that this was merely the beginning of a multi-year educational journey that transformed how I train smarter while overcoming chronic back pain.
The Early Days: Discovering My Bulging Disc
Immediately after badly straining myself deadlifting, agonizing muscle spasms had me hobbling for a week. Even wearing a belt, I knew for sure I’d slipped a disc hearing a concerning “crack” mid rep. At first, adrenaline masked serious trouble, but soon unrelenting spasms set in, revealing repercussions.
Panicked, I turned to Professor Stuart McGill’s renowned “McGill Big 3” core exercises—curl-ups, side planks, and bird dogs—aimed at sparing the spine while building stabilizing muscular corsets around vulnerable joints.
Even though they are gentle at first, these exercises focus on weak deep core muscles like the transverse abdominus that were not supporting neutral pelvic positioning and lumbar stability before. By learning how to properly activate the core and glutes using non-compressing positions, I began the long journey of undoing dysfunction.
The Big 3 allowed basic function in those debilitating early weeks post-injury, granting mobility when muscles angrily seized up. They reduced aggravating nerve compression just enough, buying me time to strengthen wisely long-term.
Gentle Exercises Alleviating Debilitating Nerve Pain
In those early days post-injury, most movements outside of very precise positions aggravated my back, eliciting horrendous pain. But through trial and error, strategically flexing my hips or extending my trunk, I discovered a select few gentle exercises that granted relief when back attacks struck.
Finding these life-saving stretches and activations early on provided a starting point for making the excruciating bouts manageable while buying me time to research and address root dysfunction long-term. My acute relief sequence includes:
Lying single-leg leg raises
Bird dog holds, extending opposite arm and leg minimally
Hollow holds: back pressed to floor, supporting a slightly raised, lowered body
When my back went haywire, I simply cycled through these static activations, drawing inflammatory heat from the seizing muscles surrounding damaged discs. It minimized overwhelming spastic contractions, gradually transitioning me back into normal mobility again. Though not permanently “fixing” anything, these tools made the agonizing attacks survivable.
Dynamically Strengthening My Core and Glutes For Spinal Stability
After I had personally developed effective alleviation strategies to temporarily stifle acute flare-ups, achieving long-term spinal strength and stability became crucial to avoiding future injuries.
I did a ton of studying and found that the majority of persistent low back pain is caused by muscular imbalances that cause the pelvis to misalign and put excessive strain on the spine's already vulnerable joints. Tight hip flexors are the root cause of excessive pelvic tilt, and weak glutes and abs do not control disc hammering. Now that my herniation makes sense,
I included focused exercises to increase flexibility and control, starting from the bottom up, based on these problematic habits. I put forth a lot of effort over the years to improve the thoracic mobility, glute/hip strength, and core stabilization needed for prolonged, pain-free lifting of larger weights.
My whole attitude toward training changed when I realized that working out on trigger points and releasing tension was more beneficial than trying to stretch or strengthen injured areas. Prioritizing the dynamic engagement of supportive muscles around areas of concern, I carefully increased the load by only going through the entire range that I could manage. It developed into a natural equilibrium that supported and shielded my back.
Key Exercises and Stretches Relieving Years of Pain
Through endless trial and error, I discovered key corrective stretches, activation drills and mind-muscle connections that changed everything alleviating years of chronic tightness and compression related discomfort. Here were total game changers:
Child's Pose - Gentle stretching through spine, hips and shoulders.
World's Greatest Stretch - Full body mobility flow opening tight muscles.
Quadruped Thoracic Rotations - Rotation mobility minimizing low back strain.
Lying Leg Swings - Controlled articulation through the hips.
Weighted Jefferson Curls - Light load spinal flexion strength and mobility.
Weighted Seated Good Mornings - Multi angle hip hinge patterns with light resistance.
Through meticulously analyzing pain triggers and thoughtfully addressing whole body weaknesses gradually, I alleviated years of severe back tightness. Consistency truly triumphed!
How I Maintain A Strong, Stable Back Today
Nowadays, my back feels a million times better thanks to changes in my lifestyle, such as comfortable workstations, posture-correcting cues throughout the day, and planned rest periods that keep me from overusing my muscles too much.
I put my back's health first and am very aware of the ways I load things that have hurt me in the past. Even though I am mostly pain-free now, I am still being careful. I am moving more slowly, getting into muscle reflexes, and using mechanics that are good for my joints.
I used to skip "boring" core and hip building drills, but now I do them in addition to my cardio. I’m sorry, younger me, but planks keep lower backs safe. I foam roll and lightly stretch a lot to get rid of tension that builds up from exercise. I also occasionally go for a massage to help alleviate tightness even more.
I am pushed harder by compound lifts like deadlifts because they keep me at lower volumes, where I can focus on quality reps and build raw strength without putting too much stress on my discs. Stop chasing your own ego!
The Takeaway: Use Setbacks as Education
During the painful stages of a serious injury, it is impossible to think that you will ever be normal again, let alone stronger, without the pain. But in the long run, it pays off big to take charge, look at your specific situation, carefully make changes, deal with disorder, and be patient as you see small steps forward!
I am so glad that my humbling back injury made me train better after all these years. My training got a lot better; my posture feels strong and easy, and areas that used to bother me do not bother me anymore. Best of all, what I know helps my clients a lot when it comes to changing activities that support their sore backs, which boosts their confidence and makes it easier to lift, play, and just move around.
If you have ongoing back problems, know that you can live well without pain once you do the work to fix the problems that are causing them. Let failures teach you and give you the strength to make changes that will last. You can do this!
