Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsCauses of Back PainDeadlift TipsRelieving PainAlternative Exercises
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Causes of Back Pain
Deadlift Tips
Relieving Pain
Alternative Exercises
When performed incorrectly, deadlifts put a lot of strain on the lower back, which can lead to injury and lower back pain. In a deadlift, a barbell is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips and then returned to the ground. It’s important to use proper form, especially keeping your spine straight.
The deadlift targets multiple muscles in the legs and core, including the hamstrings,gluteus maximus,quadriceps, abdominals, and muscles that stabilize the lower back. Deadlifts also strengthen muscles that attach to your shoulders, such as the upper trapezius and latissimus dorsi.
This article discusses whylower back paincan happen after deadlifts, as well as recovery and prevention methods.
What Causes Lower Back Pain After a Deadlift Workout?
Reasons that you could have lower back pain after a deadlift workout include:
A Word From VerywellLow back pain can occur during deadlifts if you lift too heavy, don’t have enough rest, or have improper form. If your back pain persists despite supportive measures like rest, stretching, and anti-inflammatory techniques, reach out to a healthcare provider for an evaluation.—LAURA CAMPEDELLI, DPT, MEDICAL EXPERT BOARD
A Word From Verywell
Low back pain can occur during deadlifts if you lift too heavy, don’t have enough rest, or have improper form. If your back pain persists despite supportive measures like rest, stretching, and anti-inflammatory techniques, reach out to a healthcare provider for an evaluation.—LAURA CAMPEDELLI, DPT, MEDICAL EXPERT BOARD
Low back pain can occur during deadlifts if you lift too heavy, don’t have enough rest, or have improper form. If your back pain persists despite supportive measures like rest, stretching, and anti-inflammatory techniques, reach out to a healthcare provider for an evaluation.
—LAURA CAMPEDELLI, DPT, MEDICAL EXPERT BOARD
Tips for Deadlifting Without Pain
Steps you can take to decrease your risk of lower back pain from deadlifts include warming up before your workouts and using proper form.
Warming Up
It’s important to warm up your muscles before you perform deadlifts. A good way to start is with 5 to 10 minutes of low-intensityaerobic exercise—such as walking, jogging, rowing, or using an elliptical or cycling machine. This gets your heart rate up and increases blood flow to your muscles.
Stretches improve muscle flexibility and prepare your joints for the range of motion (movement) required to perform a deadlift.Stretchesshould target muscles throughout the body, such as:
Foam rolling is another effective way to warm up your muscles before performing deadlifts. Target the muscles in your legs, buttocks, and back.
Perform a few repetitions of deadlifts with a light weight on the barbell as part of your warm-up.
Use Proper Form
Proper form is key to decreasing the risk of lower back pain after deadlifts. Although it’s a simple concept—lifting a barbell off the ground and putting it back down—it’s a technical movement.
There are two types of deadlifts—conventional and sumo.
To perform a conventional deadlift with proper form, follow these steps:
To perform a sumo deadlift, follow these steps:
Can Deadlifts Help With Back Pain?Strength training exercises—including deadlifts—can help decrease chronic back pain.However, before starting a new exercise program, it’s important to know the underlying cause of your symptoms and determine if deadlifts are safe for you. Discuss your exercise plans with a healthcare provider.
Can Deadlifts Help With Back Pain?
Strength training exercises—including deadlifts—can help decrease chronic back pain.However, before starting a new exercise program, it’s important to know the underlying cause of your symptoms and determine if deadlifts are safe for you. Discuss your exercise plans with a healthcare provider.
How to Relieve Lower Back Pain After a Deadlift
If you experience lower back pain after deadlifts, you can manage your symptoms in several ways.
Self-Care
To speed up your recovery, try these self-care measures to decrease lower back pain after deadlifts:
Using NSAIDs
Examples include:
Physical Therapy
If your lower back pain isn’t improving with home remedies, consider seeing aphysical therapist. These healthcare providers use a variety oftreatmentsto help relieve pain and improve mobility after a muscle strain.
Your therapist can also assess your deadlift technique and make any needed corrections to your form.
When Is It Safe to Return to Deadlifting After Soreness or Pain?Once your lower back pain has resolved, you can return to deadlifting. However, it’s important to address factors that might have caused your pain in the first place. Consult a fitness professional to make sure you are using the proper form and following an appropriate training schedule.Don’t pick up where you left off—start light. This might mean starting with an empty barbell to ensure your muscles are fully recovered.
When Is It Safe to Return to Deadlifting After Soreness or Pain?
Once your lower back pain has resolved, you can return to deadlifting. However, it’s important to address factors that might have caused your pain in the first place. Consult a fitness professional to make sure you are using the proper form and following an appropriate training schedule.Don’t pick up where you left off—start light. This might mean starting with an empty barbell to ensure your muscles are fully recovered.
Once your lower back pain has resolved, you can return to deadlifting. However, it’s important to address factors that might have caused your pain in the first place. Consult a fitness professional to make sure you are using the proper form and following an appropriate training schedule.
Don’t pick up where you left off—start light. This might mean starting with an empty barbell to ensure your muscles are fully recovered.
Alternative Exercises to Deadlifts
If you can’t safely perform deadlifts, you may be able to do other strengthening exercises that target the same muscles.Perform eight to 10 repetitions of each exercise.
Clamshell Exercise
Glute Bridge
This exercise targets your gluteus maximus muscle—the large buttock muscle that is very active during a deadlift.
Fire Hydrants
This exercise targets muscles in your buttocks and hips.
Summary
The barbell deadlift is a popular exercise that strengthens muscles throughout the legs, hips, and back with one movement. However, if performed incorrectly, this exercise can lead to lower back pain. You can also develop back pain from using a weight that is too heavy for you or not resting enough between workout sessions.
Home remedies such as rest, ice, and anti-inflammatory medications can help treat lower back pain from deadlifts. Physical therapy can also be beneficial. If you have back pain from deadlifts, consider consulting with a fitness professional to make sure you are performing them correctly to avoid serious injury.
10 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Vecchio LD, Daewoud H, Green S.The health and performance benefits of the squat, deadlift, and bench press.MOJ Yoga Physical Ther. 2018;3(2):40‒47. doi:10.15406/mojypt.2018.03.00042Bengtsson V, Berglund L, Aasa U.Narrative review of injuries in powerlifting with special reference to their association to the squat, bench press and deadlift.BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2018;4(1):e000382. doi:10.1136/bmjsem-2018-000382James Madison University.Dynamic warm-up.National Academy of Sports Medicine.Guide to foam rolling.Holmes CJ.Understanding the deadlift and its variations.ACSM’s Health and Fitness Journal. 2020;24(3):17-23. doi:10.1249/FIT.0000000000000570Stock MS, Bodden ME, Bloch JM, Starnes KL, Rodriguez G, Girts RM.Acute, non-specific low back pain does not impair isometric deadlift force or electromyographic excitation: a cross-sectional study.Sports (Basel). 2022;10(11):168. doi:10.3390/sports10110168American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.Sprains, strains, and other soft-tissue injuries.American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.What are NSAIDs?George SZ, Fritz JM, Silfies SP, et al.Interventions for the management of acute and chronic low back pain: revision 2021.J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2021;51(11):CPG1-CPG60. doi:10.2519/jospt.2021.0304Princeton University.Pelvic stabilization, lateral hip, and gluteal strengthening program.
10 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Vecchio LD, Daewoud H, Green S.The health and performance benefits of the squat, deadlift, and bench press.MOJ Yoga Physical Ther. 2018;3(2):40‒47. doi:10.15406/mojypt.2018.03.00042Bengtsson V, Berglund L, Aasa U.Narrative review of injuries in powerlifting with special reference to their association to the squat, bench press and deadlift.BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2018;4(1):e000382. doi:10.1136/bmjsem-2018-000382James Madison University.Dynamic warm-up.National Academy of Sports Medicine.Guide to foam rolling.Holmes CJ.Understanding the deadlift and its variations.ACSM’s Health and Fitness Journal. 2020;24(3):17-23. doi:10.1249/FIT.0000000000000570Stock MS, Bodden ME, Bloch JM, Starnes KL, Rodriguez G, Girts RM.Acute, non-specific low back pain does not impair isometric deadlift force or electromyographic excitation: a cross-sectional study.Sports (Basel). 2022;10(11):168. doi:10.3390/sports10110168American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.Sprains, strains, and other soft-tissue injuries.American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.What are NSAIDs?George SZ, Fritz JM, Silfies SP, et al.Interventions for the management of acute and chronic low back pain: revision 2021.J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2021;51(11):CPG1-CPG60. doi:10.2519/jospt.2021.0304Princeton University.Pelvic stabilization, lateral hip, and gluteal strengthening program.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Vecchio LD, Daewoud H, Green S.The health and performance benefits of the squat, deadlift, and bench press.MOJ Yoga Physical Ther. 2018;3(2):40‒47. doi:10.15406/mojypt.2018.03.00042Bengtsson V, Berglund L, Aasa U.Narrative review of injuries in powerlifting with special reference to their association to the squat, bench press and deadlift.BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2018;4(1):e000382. doi:10.1136/bmjsem-2018-000382James Madison University.Dynamic warm-up.National Academy of Sports Medicine.Guide to foam rolling.Holmes CJ.Understanding the deadlift and its variations.ACSM’s Health and Fitness Journal. 2020;24(3):17-23. doi:10.1249/FIT.0000000000000570Stock MS, Bodden ME, Bloch JM, Starnes KL, Rodriguez G, Girts RM.Acute, non-specific low back pain does not impair isometric deadlift force or electromyographic excitation: a cross-sectional study.Sports (Basel). 2022;10(11):168. doi:10.3390/sports10110168American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.Sprains, strains, and other soft-tissue injuries.American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.What are NSAIDs?George SZ, Fritz JM, Silfies SP, et al.Interventions for the management of acute and chronic low back pain: revision 2021.J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2021;51(11):CPG1-CPG60. doi:10.2519/jospt.2021.0304Princeton University.Pelvic stabilization, lateral hip, and gluteal strengthening program.
Vecchio LD, Daewoud H, Green S.The health and performance benefits of the squat, deadlift, and bench press.MOJ Yoga Physical Ther. 2018;3(2):40‒47. doi:10.15406/mojypt.2018.03.00042
Bengtsson V, Berglund L, Aasa U.Narrative review of injuries in powerlifting with special reference to their association to the squat, bench press and deadlift.BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2018;4(1):e000382. doi:10.1136/bmjsem-2018-000382
James Madison University.Dynamic warm-up.
National Academy of Sports Medicine.Guide to foam rolling.
Holmes CJ.Understanding the deadlift and its variations.ACSM’s Health and Fitness Journal. 2020;24(3):17-23. doi:10.1249/FIT.0000000000000570
Stock MS, Bodden ME, Bloch JM, Starnes KL, Rodriguez G, Girts RM.Acute, non-specific low back pain does not impair isometric deadlift force or electromyographic excitation: a cross-sectional study.Sports (Basel). 2022;10(11):168. doi:10.3390/sports10110168
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.Sprains, strains, and other soft-tissue injuries.
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.What are NSAIDs?
George SZ, Fritz JM, Silfies SP, et al.Interventions for the management of acute and chronic low back pain: revision 2021.J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2021;51(11):CPG1-CPG60. doi:10.2519/jospt.2021.0304
Princeton University.Pelvic stabilization, lateral hip, and gluteal strengthening program.
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