Can Deadlifts Cause Back Hernia?
Jul 1st, 2007 by Mehdi Tags: Deadlift, Exercise, Injury, Lower Back, Strength Training, Weight Lifting
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A Recent Conversation on a Forum. “I did a hernia deadlifting a few weeks back. I’ve had a hernia in the same place before so it classes as a recurrent hernia. I’ve been referred to a keyhole surgeon.
I think I know why I have a hernia - I always wear a weightbelt when deadlifting. I did a bit of Google searching of “hernia” and “deadlift” and a few stories similar to mine came up.
The pressure inside your abdominal cavity raises when you deadlift and that is exacerbated when you wear a belt. The downside for the extra back support is that you risk popping your ab wall open, lo and behold a hernia.”
Deadlifts & Hernia. Let’s be clear about this. A correctly executed deadlift will not cause a hernia. The pressure inside your abdominal cavity increases when doing deadlifts or squats or any other stressful physical activity like pushing your car. There’s nothing wrong with the increased pressure: it happens naturally.
If you’ve got a hernia from deadlifts, you are:
- Bending your lower back.
- Hyperextending your lower back.
- Pulling the weight with your back, not with your glutes.
Start by keeping your spine neutral during the whole lift. Next check your pelvis alignement using a side mirror:
- Is your lower back hyperextended?
- Pelvis tilt forward?
If you sit alot, you’ll notice a forward tilt of your pelvis. This is called Lordosis.
Treating Lordosis. I had a beginning stage of hernia back in the days. When looking back, it was caused by deadlifting with a wrong technique & lordosis. Took me some months to get rid of both. What I did:
- Quit deadlifting & any sort of heavy pulling from the floor
- Light Squats
- Lots of glute activation work
- Postural realignement for the pelvis
- Abdominal work
- Relearned to deadlift with correct technique
About Surgery. You can treat the symptoms & effects as much as you want using medication/surgery/… but if you don’t treat the causes, you haven’t change a thing. It will come back. If your hernia is caused by:
- Lordosis
- Weak Glutes
- Decreased hip mobility
You’ll get lower back and/or knee problems after the surgery. If your doctor says you need surgery, and it’s your opinion you need it too. Then do it. But be sure to look at the other factors too, or it will come back.
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good article…
I see kids a lot in the gym having horrendous form in the DL, and I try to stop all of them and help them with their form. The DL is an exercise that you NEED to have impeccable form in.
Being that I was a PT for a few years and majored in physical therapy in college I feel it would be wrong of me not to help out a kid with bad form when I do see it.
You are doing a great job with this site, I enjoy reading your input and your willingness to talk to the people who comment and/or disagree.
Totally agree Jay. Bad technique leads to injury & gives strength training a bad reputation.
I don’t like mainstream gyms letting trainees passing away with doing exercises the wrong way.
Thanks for the motivating words on the blog Jay.
Ive been doing deadlifts for 3 weeks now
and in the beginning i was kinda scared that my form wasnt that good
but now the deadlift goes better and better, reps are going good
and when i have done it i can feel my lower back
the day after i feel my hamstrings and butt more then my lower back
i always have a little doubt if i am doing it correct
but when i look on these sites and videos i dont think that i am doing them wrong
If you have a video of yourself performing a deadlift, feel free to post it. I’ll give you my opinion.
You will indeed feel more soreness in the hamstrings/glutes/traps the day than in the lower back. I rarely get a sore lower back at all, whatever the exercise.
Salaam Mehdi
First off I want to state what a great site you have created, lots of great “usable info”- I as well am a big fan of the routines, and theories of Mark Rippetoe and Bill Starr- Two q’s- 1) what is your opinion of using a belt- and when and on which exercises? 2) I have a difficult time arching my low back for squatsm, deads,m and rows- any tips? Thanks
Hello Ali
1) A belt is useful to teach you bracing your abs. To be honest, I never use one. Edit: if needed, you could use them on the Squat/Deadlift/Overhead Press. But only when the weight starts to get serious (the last sets).
2) If you have difficulties arching, check the back extension-flexion post. They will improve your back flexibility.
Thanks for the kind words on StrongLifts.com. Keeps me going.
im kinda confused on the deadlift form now.
1. lumbar arch throughout, yes?
2. as for his motion in the video, what i find surprising is that his hips move first. as in he sticks his ass out n up before raising his upper body. i always thought it was-back goes up first, legs follow afterwards.
??
thanks man!
Michael:
1) Natural lumbar arch: yes. Extreme arching: no. Bending: no.
2) The knees extend first on the deadlift, next the hips come forward & the back comes up. Lockout is complete extension of all three.
The deadlift is not a pull back motion, it’s a hip forward. If you raise the weight with your back, your lower back will hurt. Check this article on deadlift & pulling back.
Hello I am from Brazil, 29 years old. First of all I’d like to say that this is a great website. well I have a lot of bulge discs in my lower back, and that’s because of poor form and weigthliftingbelts. weigthliftbelt is not good for the back in my opinion, every lifter must learn how to use the core-stability of our own body, God has made a great machine with great core-stability. I Know that the bulges discs still there in my lower back, but now I am doing front squats and deadlifts using my core-stability and I don’t want to see a belt again.
Thanks Roberto. I agree about the belts. I never liked using belts. Many use belts not to increase stability but because they have lower back pain. In those cases the belt gives a wrong sense of security without solving the cause of the lower back pain which is not using the trunk muscles as you point out. Great comment Roberto.