Pain guide · Back pain

Lower back pain after a workout: soreness or a strain, the moves behind it, and training again

A dull, even ache across your lower back the day after a new, longer or harder session is usually muscle soreness: it starts 12 to 24 hours later, is worst at 1 to 3 days and goes within about a week. Sharp pain at one moment of a rep, pain on one side that catches, or a back that locks up is more often a strain, the commonest lifting back injury, and the National Health Service (NHS) says back pain usually improves within a few weeks. What usually needs to change is the load, the volume or the move, not your whole routine.

Call 999 or go to accident and emergency (A&E) for numbness around the genitals or bottom, new trouble peeing or controlling your bladder or bowels, or weakness or numbness in both legs, and call 999 for a sudden, extremely painful headache during a lift. Get help the same day from the NHS's 111 line (NHS 111), or A&E if you feel very unwell, if your muscles are far sorer, swollen or weaker than the session explains and your pee turns dark, and ask for an urgent general practitioner (GP) appointment or call NHS 111 for back pain with a high temperature. This guide covers soreness against a strain, the lifts and classes that commonly bring it on, what to change today, and a three-stage plan with 3D demos back to your usual training.

3-stage exercise plan When to get help 48 sourcesUpdated 25 October 2026

When to get help first

Exercise is for pain that has been checked or is clearly mild and settling.

Get urgent medical help if

Call 999 or go to A&E: loss of feeling or numbness around the genitals or bottom, new trouble peeing or controlling your bladder or bowels, changes in genital sensation during sex or problems with erections or orgasm, or pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs. These are signs of cauda equina syndrome, which needs treating in hospital urgently. Don't drive yourself.
Call 999 or go to A&E: back pain with chest pain, or back pain that started after a serious accident, such as a car crash.
Call 999: a sudden headache that is extremely painful and doesn't go away, during or after a heavy lift or at any other time, or weakness or numbness in one arm or down one side of the body. A bleed on the brain may be more likely when lifting something heavy.
Same day (call NHS 111, or go to A&E if you feel very unwell): after a big or unusual session, such as hundreds of squats, sit-ups, back extensions or burpees, a challenge or a new class, muscle pain, swelling or weakness far worse than the session explains, and dark pee (red, brown, tea or cola coloured), sometimes starting hours or days later. It can be rhabdomyolysis, a breakdown of muscle that can harm the kidneys.
Call 999: sudden, severe pain in a swollen, tight muscle.
Call 999: sudden, severe pain in the tummy or back, which can come with breathlessness, pale or grey skin, or collapse. It can be a burst abdominal aortic aneurysm, most common in men aged 65 or over and in people who smoke or used to smoke.
Same day (GP or NHS 111): back pain and you feel hot, cold, shivery or generally unwell, or severe pain that starts suddenly or is getting worse quickly.
Same day (NHS 111): back pain after a new, significant injury in the last 7 days, such as a fall from a height (off a box, a bar or rings) or a direct blow to the back.
Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if you think you may have a kidney infection (often pain in your lower back or side, with burning or stinging when you pee or needing to pee more often) and you have a very high temperature or feel hot, cold or shivery, a temperature below 36C, pain in the lower tummy or in the back just under the ribs, blood in your pee, you feel or are sick, you haven't had a pee all day, or you're pregnant. Call 999 or go to A&E if you're confused, drowsy or have difficulty speaking.
Same day: you have or have had cancer, and new back pain that is severe and doesn't let up, is getting steadily worse, is worse at night and disturbs your sleep, is worse when you cough, sneeze or strain, or comes with tenderness over the spine. Contact your cancer team or GP urgently. With cancer, new weakness, difficulty walking, numbness or bladder or bowel problems are an emergency.
Same day: leg weakness that is getting worse.
Same day (urgent GP appointment or NHS 111): new difficulty lifting the front of your foot or toes (foot drop), or a foot that slaps down or catches as you walk, especially if it is getting worse. Weakness in both legs, or with numbness around the genitals or bottom or bladder or bowel changes, is the 999 emergency above.

See a doctor or physiotherapist if

Back pain that hasn't improved after a few weeks of looking after it at home, stops you doing day-to-day activities, or worries you.
Soreness that isn't better after a week, keeps coming back after normal sessions, or is in one spot: see a GP or physiotherapist (our suggestion).
Pain that doesn't improve with rest or is worse at night, or pain that is worse when you sneeze, cough or poo.
Unexplained weight loss, or a lump, swelling or change in the shape of your back.
Sudden new back pain after a minor fall, lift, cough or sneeze, from 50 or past the menopause, or if you take long-term steroid tablets; or height loss, a curved spine or a change in posture: see a GP. It can be a spinal fracture.
A teenager or young adult whose low back pain is worse arching backwards and hasn't settled after a couple of weeks: stop the lifts that arch the back and get it checked by a GP or a sports medicine doctor or physiotherapist. It can be a stress fracture of the spine (spondylolysis), which usually does well without surgery when it's found.
Back pain that started before 45 and has lasted more than 3 months, especially if it wakes you in the second half of the night, comes with buttock pain, eases with movement or within 48 hours of anti-inflammatories, or you have psoriasis or a parent, sibling or child with spondyloarthritis. These can point to inflammatory back pain (axial spondyloarthritis, such as ankylosing spondylitis); the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) refers people with four or more of these features to a rheumatologist.
Pain, tingling or numbness spreading below the knee that isn't settling after a few weeks, is getting worse or stops your normal activities: see a GP.

Where does it hurt?

Location narrows the likely causes; it does not diagnose.

A dull, even ache across both sides of the low back, starting the next day, worst at 1 to 3 days

Usually muscle soreness after a new, longer or harder session. It fades within about a week, and you can still bend, just stiffly. Our muscle soreness page explains it.

Sudden sharp pain or a catch at one moment of a rep, often on one side, or muscles that lock up

Usually a strain or ordinary low back pain, which usually settles within weeks.

Read: Back spasm and pulled back muscle →During or after deadlifts

Our deadlift guide covers the bar, a rounded back and getting back to heavy pulls.

Read: Back pain after deadlifts →During or after squats and leg day

Our squat guide covers depth, bar position and getting back to the bar.

Read: Lower back pain after squats →During or after running

Low back pain is uncommon in runners. Our running guide has a run-walk plan.

Read: Back pain when running →Down one leg below the knee, with tingling, numbness or weakness

Usually sciatica, an irritated nerve, often from a disc.

Read: Sciatica →A doctor or a scan says it's a disc

Our herniated disc guide covers what that means and a plan.

Read: Herniated or bulging disc →Low on one side, by the dimple at the back of the pelvis, into the buttock

Possibly the sacroiliac (SI) joint.

Read: SI joint pain →A teenager or young adult whose back hurts more arching backwards, building over weeks

Possibly a stress fracture of the spine (spondylolysis): stop the lifts that arch the back and get it checked.

Read: Spondylolisthesis →Sudden pain after a modest lift, from 50, past the menopause or with long-term steroid tablets

A possible spinal fracture from thin bones: see a GP.

Read: Spinal compression fracture →

Muscles far sorer, swollen or weaker than the session explains, with dark pee

Possibly muscle breakdown (rhabdomyolysis): see the warning signs at the top of this page today. Our rhabdomyolysis page covers getting back to exercise afterwards.

The side of the tummy, after sit-ups, twists or a hard core session

Possibly a strained tummy muscle.

Read: Abdominal strain →The low back and the hip or buttock together

Our lower back and hip pain guide sorts the back from the hip.

Read: Lower back and hip pain →The side or back just under the ribs, with a high temperature or pain when you pee

Possibly a kidney infection: get an urgent GP appointment or help from NHS 111.

Read: Lower back pain on one side →

Understand it

Soreness is expected after new or harder workStrong evidence

Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) follows unaccustomed exercise, especially lowering (eccentric) work, and is commonest at the start of a season, after a break and with new activities. It typically starts 12 to 24 hours after the session, is worst between 24 and 72 hours, and is gone within 5 to 7 days. How sore you feel matches the amount of muscle damage poorly, and after one session the same work leaves you much less sore for weeks.

Your back muscles hold your trunk steady in almost every standing lift, so a heavy leg day, a new hinge, high-rep back extensions or a long rowing session can all leave them sore.

Sources 1, 2

Low back soreness in the studiesEmerging evidence

When researchers brought on low back soreness on purpose in healthy adults, mostly with back extensions to exhaustion (18 studies, 452 people), the soreness was worst on day 1 and still measurable on day 4, and back strength was down over those 4 days, but people could still bend forward fully. The certainty was low or very low, and these were volunteers, not people with back pain.

Source 3

A strain is the commonest lifting injuryEmerging evidence

The NHS names a pulled muscle, a strain, as a common cause of back pain. A strain usually starts at one moment, often on a tired or grinding rep, and can bring tenderness, weakness and muscle spasms; not warming up, tired muscles and sport are common causes, the NHS says. In 6 years of injury records from elite US weightlifters, 74.6% of back injuries were strains, and 90.5% of all injuries cost a day or less of training.

Lifting sports have low injury rates next to team sports: 2.4 to 3.3 injuries per 1,000 hours in weightlifting and 1.0 to 4.4 in powerlifting (9 mostly low-quality studies), with the spine, shoulder and knee commonest. In US emergency departments, most weight training injuries came from a weight dropping on someone. CrossFit's injury rate looked similar to other sports in 3 retrospective studies. No study we found gives a rate of back soreness or strain in ordinary gym-goers or class members.

Sources 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

The moves that commonly bring it onEmerging evidence

Usually it's more load, more volume or a new move than your back is used to, not one forbidden exercise: NHS inform lists doing more activity than you normally would among the things that bring on back pain. Deadlifts and squats have their own guides. Kettlebell swings hinge fast and hard: with a 16 kg bell, the back muscles worked at about half their maximum in a laboratory study of 7 men, yet 8 weeks of kettlebell training eased back pain in a workplace trial of 40 adults. Bent-over rows hold a loaded hinge for the whole set.

Sit-ups bend the spine under load again and again. Partial curl-ups gave the most abdominal work for the least spine load in 9 volunteers, and in 1,141 soldiers, swapping sit-ups for trunk exercises didn't change injury rates, though back injuries cost more days of restricted duty in the sit-up group (marginal evidence). Back extensions to exhaustion are how researchers bring on low back soreness on purpose. Circuits, burpees and a new class or challenge add many fast reps when you're tired, and very rarely a big, unaccustomed session leads to muscle breakdown. The rowing machine adds thousands of hinges. Low back pain is uncommon in runners (19 studies).

A rounded back while lifting wasn't a risk factor for back pain starting or lasting (9 of 11 studies; low-quality evidence). In 999 people with new back pain, being distracted during a task and handling a heavy load were strong short-term triggers, a heavy load more so in younger people.

Sources 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

When a scan or test helpsStrong evidence

Soreness and strains are recognised from the story and settle without tests. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) advises against routine imaging for low back pain, and scan findings are common without pain: disc bulges were found in 30% of pain-free 20-year-olds and 84% of 80-year-olds.

Tests answer specific questions: X-rays first for a suspected stress fracture of the spine in a young lifter, then a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan if needed; an X-ray for a suspected spinal fracture from thin bones; blood and urine tests when muscle breakdown is suspected; a urine test for a suspected kidney infection; and an emergency MRI scan for the cauda equina signs.

Sources 21, 22, 23, 19, 4

How it usually goesStrong evidence

Soreness is gone within 5 to 7 days. A strain or new back pain usually improves a lot within 6 weeks: across 33 studies, average pain fell from 52 out of 100 to 23 at 6 weeks, 12 at 26 weeks and 6 at a year, and the NHS says back pain usually improves within a few weeks. It often comes back: 69% of 250 people who had recovered had another episode within a year. In elite weightlifters, 90.5% of injuries cost a day or less of training.

A stress fracture in a young lifter, a fracture from thin bones or muscle breakdown takes longer and has its own guidance. No one can promise a timescale.

Sources 1, 24, 4, 25, 6

What helps, and how strong the evidence is

Keep moving: it beats bed restStrong evidence

The NHS says stay active and don't stay in bed for long periods. In a Cochrane review, advice to stay active gave small improvements in pain and function over bed rest for new low back pain (2 trials, 401 people; moderate quality), and NICE asks for people to be helped back to their normal activities.

Sources 4, 26, 21

Training on sore muscles is fineEmerging evidence

Repeating hard lowering work on sore muscles 2 and 4 days later, or on 6 days in a row, didn't worsen the damage or slow recovery in small trials of young men's arm muscles. A review advises lighter, shorter sessions for a day or two after a very sore-making session, or training the less sore areas, and bringing new lowering-heavy work in over 1 to 2 weeks.

Sources 27, 28, 2

Sudden jumps in training load: the likely story, but unprovenMixed evidence

The idea that rapid rises in training cause many non-contact injuries comes from team sports. A review of 22 team-sport studies linked spikes in the ratio of recent to longer-term training load with injuries, but a methods paper concludes there is no evidence that managing that ratio prevents injury, and no study has tested it in gym-goers' backs. In 999 people with new back pain, a heavy load raised the short-term odds 13.6 times at age 20 and 2.7 times at 60. Build up gradually, but treat any exact rule as a guess.

Sources 29, 30, 31, 12

Heat helps a little; stretching and foam rolling barely change sorenessEmerging evidence

Heat wraps gave a small short-term reduction in pain and disability in new low back pain (2 trials, 258 people), there is too little evidence on cold, and the NHS suggests heat for stiffness or spasm and ice for pain and swelling. Stretching before or after exercise reduced soreness by about 1 point on a 100-point scale (12 studies). Across 99 studies of recovery methods, massage eased soreness the most, and compression and cold water helped a little; foam rolling after exercise reduced muscle pain by about 6%. Nothing shortens soreness much.

Sources 32, 4, 33, 34, 35

Exercise is the main treatment for back pain that lastsStrong evidence

For long-lasting low back pain, exercise cut pain by about 15 points out of 100 against no treatment, usual care or placebo (249 trials; moderate certainty), and no single type of exercise is clearly best. NICE suggests a group exercise programme. Many backs have a direction that eases them: in one trial, 74% of 312 people did, and exercises matched to that direction did better.

Sources 36, 21, 37

Belts don't protect a sore backStrong evidence

NICE says don't offer belts or corsets for low back pain, and lumbar supports didn't prevent back pain in 7 trials of 14,437 people. A lifting belt is a performance aid for heavy sets once you're back, not a treatment.

Sources 21, 38

Coming back: about half the load, then small steps (our suggestion)Emerging evidence

For healthy lifters, the American College of Sports Medicine adds 2 to 10% to the load once the current load can be lifted for 1 or 2 more repetitions than the target. No trial has tested a return to training after back pain, so the plan on this page uses those steps as an editorial guide: about half your old load or volume, then about 5 to 10% a week while your back stays within the pain rule.

Source 39

How much pain is OK while you exercise?

Up to about 5 out of 10, settled within an hour, no worse the next morning; soreness a day or two later is expected, a sharp catch mid-rep isn'tEmerging evidence

During the exercise, pain up to about 5 out of 10 is acceptable. It should settle within an hour or so, and your back should be no worse the next morning. If it is worse, do less next time (fewer reps, a smaller range, a lighter load), not nothing. NHS inform's back exercise page uses the same 0 to 10 scale and the same next-morning check, and in trials of long-lasting muscle and joint pain, exercise that allowed some pain did slightly better in the short term than pain-free exercise and no worse later.

An even, dull ache across both sides of the back muscles a day or two after a new or harder session is soreness, which is expected: judge the session by the next morning, not by the soreness. Sharp, catching or one-sided pain during a rep means end the set rather than push through it. Use your first light set as a test: if it's within the rule, carry on up to the planned weight; if it isn't, drop back a step (our suggestion, as in our deadlift guide).

Leg symptoms are the exception: stop or shrink any movement that sends pain, pins and needles or numbness further down a leg. Muscles far sorer, swollen or weaker than the session explains, especially with dark pee, aren't a pain-rule question: see the warning signs. The 5 out of 10 figure matches the site's other back guides and hasn't been tested as a rule in lifters.

Sources 40, 41, 1

The exercise plan: 3 stages

Start at the first stage. Each move opens a full guide with a 3D demo.

Stage 1

The first days: keep moving

About days 0 to 7, daily. Settle a strain without resting in bed, and find out whether bending forward or arching back eases it: use whichever of the knee to chest stretch and the press-up eases your pain, not necessarily both. No heavy lifts, maximal attempts or sets to failure for now; train what doesn't hurt. Soreness alone needs none of this: train other muscles, go lighter, or do 10 to 20 minutes of easy walking or cycling for a day or two (editorial).

Treadmill walking demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoTreadmill walkingBeginner · Cardio machine

5 to 10 min, several times a day · As in our back pain and deadlift guides (editorial); walking outdoors counts the same

Harder: Treadmill jogging

3D demoCat-cowBeginner · No equipment

8 waves, slower than feels natural · The move page's dose, in a comfortable range

Harder: Half lord of the fishes (Ardha Matsyendrasana)

Hip windshield wipers demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoHip windshield wipersBeginner · No equipment

10 slow passes side to side, 2 rounds · The move page's dose (editorial)

Easier: Supine heel slide · Harder: 90/90 switch

Single knee-to-chest stretch demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoSingle knee-to-chest stretchBeginner · No equipment

Hold 20 to 30 s, 2 to 4 times each side · The move page's dose (editorial). Only if bending forward eases your pain; leave it out if it sends pain down a leg, as the move page says

Harder: 90/90 hip lift-off

Prone press-up (McKenzie press-up) demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoProne press-up (McKenzie press-up)Beginner · No equipment

10 slow reps, 3 to 5 times a day, while it helps · The move page's dose (editorial). Only if arching eases your pain; skip it with spinal stenosis or if arching brings on leg symptoms, as the move page says, and if you're a young lifter whose pain is worse arching back

Easier: Sphinx pose (Salamba Bhujangasana)

Pelvic tilt into bridge demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoPelvic tilt into bridgeBeginner · No equipment

8 to 10 slow reps · As in our back pain and deadlift guides (editorial); NHS inform's back exercises include a pelvic tilt

Harder: Glute bridge

Move on when: You can walk for 15 to 20 minutes and get in and out of bed and the car without catching pain, and the pain is easing day by day (adapted from the back hub's and our deadlift guide's checks).

Follow along: a timer, a cue and the next move, one step at a time.

Stage 2

Reload the hinge, the squat and the trunk

About days 7 to 21: 2 or 3 short sessions a week, with walks most days. Bend, lift and brace with light loads again, within the pain rule. Dead bugs stand in for sit-ups for now.

Hip-hinge practice demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoHip-hinge practiceBeginner · No equipment

2 to 3 sets of 10 · As in our back pain and deadlift guides (editorial)

Harder: Dumbbell Romanian deadlift

Glute bridge demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoGlute bridgeBeginner · No equipment

2 to 3 sets of 10 · As in our back pain guide (editorial)

Easier: Pelvic tilt into bridge · Harder: Single-leg glute bridge

3D demoBird dogBeginner · No equipment

2 to 3 sets of 6 to 8 each side, with 3 to 5 s holds · As in our back pain and deadlift guides (editorial); make fists if your wrists complain, as the move page says

Easier: Bird dog, one limb at a time · Harder: Bear crawl

Dead bug heel taps demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoDead bug heel tapsBeginner · No equipment

2 sets of 6 to 8 each side · As in our back pain guide (editorial); then the full dead bug

Easier: Bent-knee fall-out · Harder: Forearm plank

Dumbbell goblet squat demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoDumbbell goblet squatIntermediate · A dumbbell

3 sets of 8 to 10 · As in our deadlift guide (editorial): only as deep as your lower back stays put

Easier: Bodyweight squat · Harder: Barbell front squat

Kettlebell deadlift demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoKettlebell deadliftBeginner · A kettlebell

3 sets of 8 to 10, light to start · As in our deadlift guide (editorial): add weight while it stays within the pain rule

Easier: Hip-hinge practice · Harder: Dumbbell Romanian deadlift

Move on when: Kettlebell deadlifts with a heavy bell and goblet squats pass the pain rule for 3 sets of 10, and your back is no worse the next morning (adapted from our deadlift guide's check).

Follow along: a timer, a cue and the next move, one step at a time.

Stage 3

Back to your training

From about week 3: 2 or 3 sessions a week. Your usual session at about half the old load or volume, adding about 5 to 10% a week while the pain rule holds (editorial; no trial has tested it). Deadlifts and squats come back by their own guides' stages; the moves below cover the rest of a typical session, and sit-ups, circuits, classes and long rowing sessions come back last, one at a time, by the written steps below.

Dumbbell Romanian deadlift demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoDumbbell Romanian deadliftIntermediate · A dumbbell

3 sets of 8 to 10 · As in our back pain and deadlift guides (editorial)

Easier: Hip-hinge practice · Harder: Single-leg Romanian deadlift

Back extension on a 45-degree bench demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoBack extension on a 45-degree benchIntermediate · A bench or box

2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12, slowly, stopping at straight · As in our back pain guide (editorial); never fling into the top position, as the move page says. At home, use locust pose

Easier: Ball back extension · Harder: Horizontal back extension (hyperextension, Roman chair)

Chest-supported dumbbell row demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoChest-supported dumbbell rowBeginner · A dumbbell + A bench or box

3 sets of 8 to 12 · Editorial: use it before bent-over rows come back; the bent-over row's move page suggests it when your lower back limits every set

Harder: Supported single-arm dumbbell row

Suitcase carry demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoSuitcase carryIntermediate · A dumbbell + A kettlebell

3 walks of 20 to 30 m each side · As in our back pain guide (editorial); if you can't stay level, the weight is too heavy, as the move page says

Easier: Farmer's carry · Harder: Overhead carry (waiter's walk)

Half-kneeling Pallof press demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoHalf-kneeling Pallof pressBeginner · A band + An anchor point

2 to 3 sets of 8 to 10 each side · As in our back pain guide (editorial)

Harder: Pallof press

Kettlebell swing demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoKettlebell swingIntermediate · A kettlebell

3 to 5 sets of 10 with a light bell · Editorial, last and optional. End the set if your lower back pumps up, which the move page says means the hips aren't doing the work

Easier: Cable pull-through · Harder: Kettlebell clean

Move on when: Our suggestion: full sessions pass the pain rule for 2 weeks. Keep two strength sessions a week with a hinge after the pain has gone, because back pain often comes back.

Follow along: a timer, a cue and the next move, one step at a time.

What to change for now

Changing the session (written steps)

Our 3D figure can't show these. Each step names its source or is our suggestion.

1. Soreness only: train as planned if it eases as you warm up. If it limits your range or form, train other muscles, go lighter (fewer sets, lighter weights, a smaller range) or do easy cardio, and leave maximal lifts, sprints and jumps until it eases (our suggestion, from a review and small trials on training while sore).
2. A strain: for the first days, no heavy squats, deadlifts, good mornings or maximal attempts. Walk, and train what doesn't hurt, such as your upper body or a bike (our suggestion, as in our deadlift and squat guides). The NHS says stay active.
3. Coming back: about half your old working weight or volume, sets with 2 or 3 reps in reserve, adding about 5 to 10% a week while the pain rule holds, one change at a time (load, then sets, then how often), so you know what a flare came from (editorial, using the American College of Sports Medicine's steps for healthy lifters).
4. After a break of more than a few weeks: restart lighter and treat familiar moves as new, because soreness is commonest after a break (our suggestion).
5. Plan heavy sets for when you're fresh and focused: being distracted and lifting heavy were strong short-term triggers in one study. On rest days, break up long spells of sitting, which went with back pain coming back.

Sources 2, 27, 4, 26, 39, 12, 25

Swapping the exercise for now (written steps)

Our suggestions, built on the move pages and laboratory studies; no trial has tested exercise swaps for back pain after training.

1. Kettlebell deadlifts before swings.
2. Chest-supported rows before bent-over rows.
3. Curl-ups and dead bugs before sit-ups and sit-ups on a glute-ham developer (GHD) machine.
4. Slow back extensions that stop at straight.
5. Rounds of 4 to 5 minutes at a conversational pace on the rowing machine at first, as its move page suggests.
6. For running, the run-walk plan in our back pain when running guide.

Sources 14, 16, 17

Heat, medicines and a sudden spasm (written steps)

These come from the NHS, NHS inform and NICE.

1. Use a heat pack or hot water bottle wrapped in a tea towel for stiffness or muscle spasms, or an ice pack wrapped in a tea towel for pain and swelling (the NHS). Heat wraps have a little trial evidence; cold hasn't been tested enough.
2. An anti-inflammatory such as ibuprofen may help if it suits you; paracetamol on its own isn't recommended for back pain (the NHS and NICE). Ordinary soreness doesn't need painkillers.
3. If a spasm puts you on the floor: bend your stronger knee and come up to a crawling position, move towards a bench or chair, pause for breath, support yourself on it with your arms, bring your stronger leg forward from kneeling, and lean on the support as you straighten both legs, strongest first (NHS inform).

Sources 4, 21, 32, 11

Medicines, injections and surgery

NICE suggests an anti-inflammatory at the lowest effective dose for the shortest time, not paracetamol on its own, and no routine opioids. It says don't offer spinal injections for low back pain, and allows epidural injections only for acute, severe sciatica. Surgery is only for specific problems, such as a disc pressing on a nerve with weakness that is getting worse, or the cauda equina emergency.

Sources 21, 4

Positions to swap, and why

Habit or position	Why it matters	Instead
Bed rest, or no exercise until it stops hurting	Advice to stay active did slightly better than bed rest, and the NHS says don't stay in bed for long periods.	Short walks, little and often.Try: Treadmill walking
Heavy deadlifts, squats or good mornings in the first days	Our deadlift and squat guides bring the bar back in stages, and the good morning's move page says skip it during a low back flare.	Hinge practice, then the stages.Try: Hip-hinge practice
Going straight back to your old weight or volume after a break or a tweak	Soreness and injury are commonest after a break and with jumps in load, though the evidence on load is weak.	About half, then 5 to 10% a week (editorial).Try: Kettlebell deadlift
Training through a sharp, one-sided catch mid-rep	That isn't soreness.	End the set, and use the direction that eases it.Try: Prone press-up (McKenzie press-up)
Kettlebell swings for high reps or against a clock while sore	Swings load the back fast and hard, and the move page warns about a back that pumps up during sets.	Kettlebell deadlifts first.Try: Kettlebell deadlift
Sit-ups or GHD sit-ups for reps	The move page says sit-ups load the lower spine more than curl-ups, and partial curl-ups gave the most work for the least spine load in a laboratory study.	Curl-ups and dead bugs.Try: McGill curl-up
Flinging into back extensions or arching hard at the top	Its move page says never fling into the top position, and back extensions to exhaustion are how researchers bring on low back soreness.	Slow reps that stop at straight, or the bird dog.Try: Bird dog
Bent-over rows when your back limits every set	The move page says switch to a chest-supported or single-arm row.	A chest-supported row.Try: Chest-supported dumbbell row
Long rowing machine sessions with a rounded back	The move page links long ergometer sessions with back pain in college rowers.	Rounds of 4 to 5 minutes at first, hinging from the hips.
Hundreds of burpees or other reps in a brand-new class or challenge, after a break	Big, unaccustomed sessions are the setting for muscle breakdown, which is rare but serious.	A lighter first session, and know the warning signs.
Stretching it out to cure soreness	Stretching cut soreness by about 1 point out of 100.	Gentle movement, if it feels good.Try: Cat-cow
A belt to protect a sore back	NICE says don't offer belts or corsets for back pain, and supports didn't prevent it.	Trunk strength.Try: Knee side plank

Routines to follow

Active recovery workout

A 25-minute easy session for rest days and sore muscles: easy cardio, a gentle mobility flow, optional rolling for sore spots, and slow breathing to finish.

25 minBeginner11 movesCardio machine, A wall

Lower back stretch routine

Seven gentle stretches and mobility moves for a stiff lower back, done lying and kneeling.

12 minBeginner7 movesA wall

McGill big 3 core routine

The McGill big three for the core: curl-ups, side planks and bird dogs, each held for 10 seconds at a time in falling sets of 5, 3 and 1 reps.

12 minBeginner3 movesNo equipment

Beginner core workout

A 15-minute beginner core workout on the floor: dead bugs, bird dogs, knee planks, side planks and curl-ups.

15 minBeginner6 movesNo equipment

Learn to deadlift: hinge to bar workout

A 30-minute session from the hip hinge to your first deadlift: hinge practice, kettlebell deadlifts, slow Romanian deadlifts, a light bar and a carry.

30 minBeginner9 movesA kettlebell, A dumbbell

Squat technique workout

A 25-minute practice session for the squat: find your depth on a chair, groove the bodyweight squat with pauses, then load it with a slow goblet squat.

25 minBeginner8 movesA wall, A bench or box

More moves for this area

Questions people ask

Why does my lower back hurt after a workout?

Usually because your back muscles did more than they're used to: they hold your trunk steady in almost every standing lift, so a heavier leg day, a new hinge or a long session can leave them sore. Sharp pain at one moment of a rep, or pain on one side that catches, is more often a strain, the commonest lifting back injury. Pain down a leg, dark pee or a fever are different: see the warning signs.

Is it normal for my lower back to be sore the day after working out?

Yes, if it's a dull, even ache across both sides that starts the next day: soreness typically starts 12 to 24 hours after a session, peaks at 1 to 3 days and goes within 5 to 7. It is usually much less after the next similar session.

Have I pulled a muscle, or is it just soreness?

Soreness comes on the next day, sits on both sides and eases as you warm up; you can still bend, just stiffly. A strain usually starts at one moment, often on one side, may lock the muscles in spasm and is sore to bend. Both usually settle without a scan.

Should I work out with a sore lower back?

With soreness, yes: train other muscles or go lighter for a day or two, because working sore muscles didn't worsen the damage in trials. With a strain, keep walking, train what doesn't hurt and leave heavy lifts for a few days, then bring them back in stages.

How long does lower back pain after a workout last?

Soreness goes within about a week. A strain or new back pain usually improves a lot within 6 weeks, though it often comes back, so keep the strength work going. See a GP if it isn't better after a few weeks.

Why does my lower back hurt after leg day?

Squats, deadlifts, lunges and hip thrusts all ask the back muscles to hold the trunk still, more so the further you lean forward. Our squat and deadlift guides cover depth, bar position and getting back to the bar. For the rest, go back to about half your usual load and build up (our suggestion).

Why does my lower back hurt after an ab workout or sit-ups?

Sit-ups and crunches bend the spine under load again and again, and partial curl-ups and dead bugs work the tummy muscles with less load on the spine. Swap them in for now, and bring sit-ups back last if you want them.

Why does my lower back hurt after kettlebell swings?

Swings hinge fast and hard, with a large effort from the back muscles. If your back pumps up during sets, the hips aren't doing the work, as the move page says. Go back to kettlebell deadlifts, then swings with a lighter bell; kettlebell training has eased back pain in a workplace trial.

Why does my lower back hurt after running or the rowing machine?

Back pain is uncommon in runners, and our back pain when running guide has a run-walk plan. On the rowing machine, long sessions in which tiredness rounds the back are the usual story, so row in shorter rounds at first, as its move page suggests.

Heat or ice, stretching or foam rolling?

Heat has a little trial evidence for back pain, and the NHS suggests it for stiffness or spasm. Stretching barely changes soreness, and foam rolling and massage ease it a little. Moving gently helps most while you're sore.

When is back pain after exercise serious?

Call 999 for numbness around the genitals or bottom, new bladder or bowel problems, symptoms in both legs, back pain with chest pain, or a sudden, extremely painful headache during a lift. Get help the same day (NHS 111, or A&E if you feel very unwell) for muscles far sorer, swollen or weaker than the session explains with dark pee, and for back pain with a fever or severe pain that starts suddenly.

How do I go back to the gym after hurting my back?

Keep moving in the first days, reload the hinge, squat and trunk with light weights, then go back to your usual session at about half the load and add about 5 to 10% a week while your back is no worse the next morning. That progression is our suggestion: no trial has tested a return to training after back pain.

Related exercise guides

Other pain guides

Sources

Exercise education, not a diagnosis or treatment plan. It is written from the guidelines and studies listed above; review by a clinician is pending. If your pain follows an injury, is severe, is getting worse, or comes with any warning sign listed on this page, get it assessed. Health disclaimer.