Lower Back Pain After Deadlifts: Common Causes and What to Do

A tight or sore lower back after deadlifts is one of the most common gym complaints. Most of the time it is a technique or load problem, not a serious injury.

Here is how to tell normal muscle soreness from a warning sign, what to do in the first days, and how to fix the usual causes.

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Written by Velion Physique. Working in the fitness industry since 2019, with five German trainer licences including Medical Fitness Training (A) and Back Training (A).

Soreness or injury?

Usually harmless: a dull, even ache in the muscles on both sides of the spine, starting several hours to a day after training and easing over two to three days.

See a doctor or physiotherapist if you feel a sharp pain during the lift, pain that shoots down a leg, numbness, tingling or weakness in the legs, problems with bladder or bowel control, or pain that is getting worse instead of better after a few days.

The 5 most common causes

1. Rounding the lower back under load

The bar drifts away from the body, the hips shoot up and the lower back takes over. Keep the bar close enough to brush your legs and keep your back neutral.

2. Pulling with the back instead of pushing with the legs

Think "push the floor away" at the start instead of "pull the bar up". The legs start the lift, the hips finish it.

3. Overextending at the top

Leaning back at lockout compresses the lower back. Finish by squeezing the glutes and standing tall, nothing more.

4. Too much weight, too soon

If form breaks down in the last reps, the weight is too heavy for now. Leave a rep or two in reserve on deadlifts.

5. Stiff hips and hamstrings, weak glutes

Common in people who sit all day. If the hips can't hinge well, the lower back compensates. See tight hamstrings from sitting and glute training when you sit all day.

What to do in the first days

• Keep moving gently. Walking usually helps more than lying in bed. See walking for lower back pain.
• Heat often feels good for muscle tension. See heat or ice.
• Skip heavy hinging for a few days, but keep training what doesn't hurt.
• Return gradually with lighter Romanian deadlifts or hip hinges with perfect form before going heavy again.

How to deadlift without back pain

1. Warm up properly, including a few light sets. See warming up before lifting.
2. Bar over mid-foot, shins close to the bar.
3. Brace: big breath into your belly, tighten your core as if bracing for a punch.
4. Push the floor away, keep the bar close, stand tall, lower with control.
5. Film a set from the side once in a while. Most technique problems are obvious on video.

If conventional deadlifts keep bothering you, trap bar deadlifts or Romanian deadlifts are excellent alternatives.

Daily routine for a calmer lower back: the lower back guide or the complete Mobility Bundle. Free: The 7-Minute Desk Reset.

More: lower back exercises · lower back pain from sitting

This article is general information, not medical advice and not a diagnosis. If pain is severe, persistent, or comes with numbness, weakness or bladder/bowel changes, see a doctor straight away.

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