Lower Back Pain After Deadlifts: What to Do and When

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: 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: 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.
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.

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.
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.
Unexplained back pain with muscle spasms, loss of height, or a curved spine or change in posture, or sudden back pain after a modest lift from 50 or with known low bone density: a possible osteoporotic spinal fracture, more likely with older age or long-term steroid tablets.
A teenager whose back pain is worse arching back and has lasted more than a couple of weeks: get it checked by a GP or sports physiotherapist. It can be a stress fracture of the spine (spondylolysis).
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.

Back muscles and hamstrings, a dull ache a day or two after a hard or new session

It starts 12 to 24 hours after the session, is worst at 1 to 3 days and goes within a week: muscle soreness, not an injury. It fades on its own, and light training is fine (our suggestion).

Low back, often one side, sudden during a rep or stiff the next morning, with no leg symptoms

Sore to bend, sometimes with the muscles tightening into a spasm: ordinary low back pain, often a pulled muscle. This guide's plan fits, and the back spasm guide has more on the first days.

Read: Back spasm and pulled back muscle →Down one leg, below the knee, with tingling, numbness or weakness

The leg often hurts more than the back, and coughing or sneezing makes it worse: sciatica, often from a disc. Ease off anything that sends pain further down the leg.

Read: Sciatica →A scan report says bulging or herniated disc

Disc bulges are common in people without back pain. If leg pain is the main problem, read about sciatica; if the back hurts most, treat it as back pain.

Read: Herniated or bulging disc →Low on one side, just below the belt line

By the dimple over the back of the pelvis, worse standing on one leg or on stairs: possibly the sacroiliac (SI) joint.

Read: SI joint pain →Deep in the buttock at the sitting bone

A deep ache low in the buttock, worse with Romanian deadlifts, deep hinging and long sitting: often the hamstring tendon (high hamstring tendinopathy).

Read: High hamstring tendinopathy →A teenager whose back hurts more arching back, for more than a couple of weeks

Common in sports that arch the back, weightlifting included. It can be a stress fracture of the spine (spondylolysis): get it checked.

Read: Spondylolisthesis →Sudden pain after a modest lift from 50, or with long-term steroid tablets or known low bone density

It can be an osteoporotic spinal fracture: see a GP.

Read: Spinal compression fracture →

Understand it

What usually happenedEmerging evidence

Back pain during or after a deadlift is usually ordinary low back pain: a sudden sharp or catching pain, often low on one side, or a stiff, sore back the next morning, sometimes with the muscles tightening into a spasm. The NHS names a pulled muscle (a strain) as a common cause and says the cause often isn't obvious; an NHS physiotherapy leaflet says back pain can hurt a lot but is rarely caused by anything serious.

The lower back is one of the three commonest injury sites in powerlifting and weightlifting. In elite US weightlifters, 74.6% of back injuries were strains. In 104 Swedish classic powerlifters, 70% had pain that affected their training, but only 16% of those had stopped training.

Sources 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Why it happens

No trial has tested what causes it. In 38 published powerlifting injury reports, only 3 blamed technique, and those named heavy loads or fatigue as well; in Swedish lifters, training more often and a bigger deadlift went with being injured. Our reading of these reports: sudden jumps in weight or volume, grinding heavy reps when tired, and going back to an old working weight after a break are the commonest stories.

Sources 6, 5

Soreness is not injuryEmerging evidence

Muscle soreness after a hard or unfamiliar session (delayed-onset muscle soreness) starts 12 to 24 hours later, peaks at 1 to 3 days and is gone within 5 to 7 days. It is a dull ache in the muscles. Sudden sharp pain during a rep, pain that catches on one side, or pain down a leg is something different.

Source 7

When a scan helps, and what it can't tell youStrong evidence

Only with warning signs, or in a specialist setting when the result would change what happens next: NICE advises against routine imaging, and an NHS physiotherapy leaflet says scans are usually not needed and don't change treatment.

Scans of people without back pain often show changes: disc wear (degeneration) in 37% at 20 and 96% at 80, and disc bulges in 30% and 84%. In elite athletes, weightlifters included, disc changes were found in more than 90%, and they didn't match who had back pain over 15 years.

Sources 8, 9, 10, 2

How it usually goesEmerging evidence

Across 33 groups of people with new back pain, average pain fell from 52 out of 100 to 23 at 6 weeks, 12 at 6 months and 6 at a year; pain that had already lasted months improved less. The NHS says back pain usually improves within a few weeks, and an NHS leaflet says most new back pain improves within 6 to 8 weeks. In elite weightlifters, most injuries cost a day or less of training.

It often comes back: 69% of 250 people who had recovered had another episode within a year, and more than two earlier episodes and sitting for more than 5 hours a day predicted it. No one can promise a date, but keeping strength work going after the pain has gone is the plan's last step.

Sources 11, 1, 2, 4, 12

What helps, and how strong the evidence is

Stay active rather than restingStrong evidence

In a Cochrane review (2 trials, 401 people), advice to stay active gave slightly better pain relief and function than advice to rest in bed. NICE encourages people to carry on with their normal activities, and to consider an anti-inflammatory tablet at the lowest dose for the shortest time; paracetamol on its own and routine opioids aren't recommended. The NHS says don't stay in bed for long periods.

Sources 13, 8, 1

A rounded back hasn't been shown to cause back painEmerging evidence

In a meta-analysis of 11 low-quality studies, how much people bent their lower backs while lifting wasn't a risk factor for back pain, and people with back pain didn't lift with more bending. A review of 41 reviews found no agreement that postures, bending or lifting cause back pain, and training about 20,000 workers in lifting technique didn't prevent it. In one case-control study, using weight-training equipment wasn't linked with a herniated (slipped) disc in the lower back.

Your lower back moves under a bar anyway: in 30 trained lifters doing back squats, it rounded as soon as the bar was on the shoulders, by about 13° in women and 26° in men on the way down. What the evidence can't settle is whether heavy, tired reps with a back that changes shape a lot carry more risk: no trial has compared back positions and counted injuries.

Sources 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

Deadlift training can be part of the treatmentMixed evidence

In 70 people with recurring low back pain, 12 supervised sessions of deadlift training over 8 weeks, with pain education, eased pain about as much as low-load motor control exercise, but improved everyday activities less at 2 months. At 1 and 2 years the groups didn't differ, and 50% to 80% reported less pain and disability. People with less pain and disability and better back muscle endurance at the start did best.

Across 8 small trials (408 people), back-of-body strength training did better than general exercise for disability; for pain the estimate also favoured it, but the result could have been no difference. Programmes of 12 to 16 weeks did better than 6 to 8. A 16-week free-weight programme helped 30 people, with no comparison group, and in a 2026 pilot of 30 men, adding deadlifts to core training helped no more than core training alone. Deadlifts are one option, not the best one: the best exercise is the one you keep doing.

Sources 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

A belt isn't a back treatmentStrong evidence

NICE says not to offer belts or corsets for low back pain, and a Cochrane review found moderate evidence that lumbar supports were no better than nothing at preventing back pain (7 trials, 14,437 people), with unclear evidence for treating it.

In the lab, a belt raised the pressure inside the abdomen in deadlifts at 90% of maximum, cut modelled spinal compression by about 10% only when lifters breathed in first, and added reps in the squat (8.1 against 6.5 at a 6-rep weight); people felt more stable, though measured stability didn't change. Powerlifters who used belts reported more lower back injuries, which may mean people with sore backs reach for one. The site's deadlift guide treats a belt as a performance aid for heavy sets once you can brace without it.

Sources 8, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29

Trap bar and sumo deadlifts change where the load goesEmerging evidence

In 19 powerlifters, a trap bar lowered the peak load at the lower back, hips and ankles compared with a straight bar, raised it at the knees, and let them lift more (265 against 245 kg). Biomechanical studies cited in a powerlifting review found the sumo deadlift lowered the modelled shearing and turning loads at the bottom of the lumbar spine compared with a conventional stance. These are lab measures, not trials in people with back pain.

Sources 30, 6

How much pain is OK while you exercise?

The back pain ruleEmerging evidence

Some discomfort during exercise is fine and doesn't mean you are doing damage: an NHS physiotherapy leaflet says it's normal for back pain to change from day to day, and the NHS sciatica page says that even if moving hurts, it's not harmful. Aim for pain you'd call mild to moderate, no more than about 5 out of 10. 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.

Leg symptoms are the exception: stop or shrink any movement that sends pain, pins and needles or numbness further down your leg.

Use your first warm-up set as a test (our suggestion): if a light pull is within the rule, carry on up to your planned weight; if it isn't, drop back a step (a higher pull, a kettlebell, or less weight). Leave heavy singles until full sessions have passed the rule for 2 weeks. In one analysis, people with less pain and better back muscle endurance did best with deadlift training.

The NHS says to stop exercises if your pain gets worse and see a GP: that means pain that is getting worse day after day, not the passing discomfort this rule allows. The 5 out of 10 figure matches the site's other pain guides and hasn't been tested in a back pain trial; in trials of long-lasting muscle and joint pain, exercise that allowed some pain did no harm.

Sources 2, 31, 32, 21, 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 the pain without resting in bed, and find the direction that eases it, bending forward or arching back. A heat pack or hot water bottle wrapped in a tea towel helps stiffness or spasm, and the NHS suggests an anti-inflammatory such as ibuprofen if it suits you. Doses are editorial, mostly the back hub's starting points.

Treadmill walking demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoTreadmill walkingBeginner · Cardio machine

5 to 10 min, several times a day · Walking outdoors counts

Harder: Treadmill jogging

3D demoCat-cowBeginner · No equipment

8 slow waves, small range

Harder: Half lord of the fishes (Ardha Matsyendrasana)

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

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

3 holds of 20 to 30 s · Keep it only if bending forward eases your pain

Harder: 90/90 hip lift-off

Sphinx pose (Salamba Bhujangasana) demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoSphinx pose (Salamba Bhujangasana)Beginner · No equipment

3 holds of 20 to 30 s · Keep it only if arching back eases your pain

Harder: Cobra pose (Bhujangasana)

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

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

Pelvic tilt into bridge demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoPelvic tilt into bridgeBeginner · No equipment

8 to 10 slow reps

Harder: Glute bridge

Move on when: You can walk for 10 to 15 minutes and get in and out of bed and the car without catching pain, and the pain is easing day by day.

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

Stage 2

Reload the hinge

About days 7 to 21: 2 or 3 short sessions a week, with daily walks. Bend and lift light loads with confidence.

Hip-hinge practice demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoHip-hinge practiceBeginner · No equipment

2 to 3 sets of 10

Harder: Dumbbell Romanian deadlift

Kettlebell deadlift demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoKettlebell deadliftBeginner · A kettlebell

3 sets of 8 to 10, light to start · Add weight while it stays within the pain rule

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

3D demoBird dogBeginner · No equipment

2 to 3 sets of 6 to 8 each side, 3 to 5 s holds

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

Knee side plank demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoKnee side plankBeginner · No equipment

3 holds of 15 to 20 s each side

Harder: Side plank

Dumbbell goblet squat demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoDumbbell goblet squatIntermediate · A dumbbell

3 sets of 8 to 10 · Only as deep as your lower back stays put, with a slightly wider stance, as a clinical commentary suggests with back pain

Easier: Bodyweight squat · Harder: Barbell front squat

Suitcase carry demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoSuitcase carryIntermediate · A dumbbell + A kettlebell

3 walks of 20 to 30 m each side

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

Move on when: Kettlebell deadlifts with a heavy bell pass the pain rule for 3 sets of 10, and your back is no worse the next morning.

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

Stage 3

Back to the bar

From about week 3, 2 or 3 sessions a week. Go back to the bar at about half your old working weight and add about 5 to 10% a week while your back passes the pain rule (written steps below). These steps are our suggestion, and no trial has tested them. The deadlift trial ran 12 sessions over 8 weeks, and programmes of 12 to 16 weeks did better in a review.

Trap bar (hex bar) deadlift demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoTrap bar (hex bar) deadliftIntermediate · Other / check instructions

3 sets of 5 to 8 with 3 or more reps in reserve · From the high handles, at about half your old working weight. In a lab study, the trap bar put less load on the lower back than a straight bar

Easier: Dumbbell Romanian deadlift · Harder: Barbell suitcase deadlift

3D demoRack pullAdvanced · A barbell

3 sets of 5 · The straight-bar route: start with the bar just below the knee and lower the pins over the weeks

Easier: Dumbbell Romanian deadlift

Dumbbell Romanian deadlift demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoDumbbell Romanian deadliftIntermediate · A dumbbell

3 sets of 8 to 10 · To mid-shin, or where your hamstrings stop you

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

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

Barbell deadlift demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoBarbell deadliftAdvanced · A barbell

Sets of 3 to 5 with 2 or 3 reps in reserve · From the floor, once the trap bar or rack pull at your old working weight passes the rule. Heavy singles come last

Easier: Dumbbell Romanian deadlift · Harder: Deficit deadlift

Farmer's carry demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoFarmer's carryBeginner · A dumbbell + A kettlebell

3 walks of 20 to 30 m

Harder: Suitcase carry

Move on when: Full sessions pass the pain rule for 2 weeks. Keep two strength sessions a week, including a hinge, after the pain has gone: 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

What to change in the lift (written steps)

No trial has tested these changes in lifters with back pain. They come from lab studies, a clinical commentary and the site's deadlift guide. The load steps are our suggestion, using the 2 to 10% steps the American College of Sports Medicine gives healthy adults.

1. For the first days, no heavy deadlifts, good mornings or maximum attempts; keep walking and train what doesn't hurt (our suggestion).
2. When you go back, start at about half your usual working weight, for sets of 5 to 8 with 3 or more reps to spare, and add about 5 to 10% a week while your back passes the pain rule (our suggestion).
3. Shorten the pull: lift from blocks or pins (a rack pull) or use the high handles of a trap bar, and take Romanian deadlifts only as far as your hamstrings allow.
4. Try a trap bar or kettlebell first, and sumo if a wide stance suits your hips: both shift some load away from the lower back in lab studies.
5. Set a long, braced back before each rep, accept small changes in its shape, and put the bar down if it changes a lot. Filming a set helps (our suggestion).
6. Stop 2 or 3 reps short of failure, with no grinding singles until you're back to normal (our suggestion).
7. In the squat, go only as deep as your lower back stays put, with a slightly wider stance and a more upright trunk, such as a goblet or front squat.

Sources 33, 30, 6, 34, 14

Medicines, injections and hands-on treatment

NICE suggests considering an anti-inflammatory tablet at the lowest dose for the shortest time, and doesn't recommend paracetamol on its own or routine opioids; the NHS suggests asking a pharmacist or GP which painkiller suits you. NICE doesn't recommend spinal injections for low back pain, and suggests manual therapy, such as manipulation or massage, only as part of a package with exercise. Surgery belongs to the disc and sciatica guides.

Sources 8, 1

Positions to swap, and why

Habit or position	Why it matters	Instead
Heavy deadlifts and good mornings in the first week	In the first week the pain is at its most irritable (editorial), and staying active matters more than any particular exercise (the back spasm guide).	Walk, move in the direction that eases it, then the kettlebell deadlift.Try: Kettlebell deadlift
Going straight back to your old working weight	A bigger deadlift and training more often went with being injured in Swedish powerlifters, and some injury reports name heavy loads and fatigue.	About half your old weight, adding about 5 to 10% a week (our suggestion).Try: Trap bar (hex bar) deadlift
Bed rest and long spells sitting	Advice to rest in bed does worse than advice to stay active, and sitting for more than 5 hours a day predicted back pain coming back.	Short walks, little and often.Try: Treadmill walking
Heavy good mornings while it's sore	A heavy, tired hinge in which the back changes shape a lot is where the site's deadlift guide places the risk, though rounding hasn't been linked with back pain.	Romanian deadlifts with dumbbells, to mid-shin.Try: Dumbbell Romanian deadlift
Romanian deadlifts that send pain down the leg	Leg symptoms are the exception to the pain rule.	Shrink the range, and follow the sciatica guide.Try: Hip-hinge practice
A belt for every set while it's sore	NICE says not to offer belts or corsets for low back pain, and lumbar supports didn't prevent back pain.	Learn to brace without one, and keep a belt for heavy sets later.Try: Bird dog
Deep squats past the point your back stays put	Past your hips' available bend, the pelvis tucks under and the lower back bends.	Squat to a box at the depth where your back stays put.Try: Barbell box squat

Routines to follow

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

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

Lower back stretch routine

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

12 minBeginner7 movesA wall

Hamstring workout: Romanian deadlifts, curls and Nordics

A 35-minute gym hamstring workout: Romanian deadlifts for the hip, seated leg curls for the knee, single-leg Romanian deadlifts, then Nordic curls when ready.

35 minIntermediate7 movesA dumbbell, Strength machine

More moves for this area

Questions people ask

Is it normal for my lower back to hurt after deadlifts?

A dull ache in the back muscles a day or two after a hard or new session is muscle soreness: it starts 12 to 24 hours later, peaks at 1 to 3 days and goes within a week. Sudden sharp pain during a rep, pain that catches on one side, or pain down a leg is different. For those, follow the first-days advice and check the warning signs.

What should I do in the first few days after hurting my back deadlifting?

Keep moving: walk little and often, use heat for stiffness or spasm, and ask a pharmacist whether an anti-inflammatory such as ibuprofen suits you. Don't stay in bed, because advice to stay active does better than bed rest. Our suggestion is to leave heavy pulling for about a week and train what doesn't hurt.

When should I worry?

Call 999 or go to A&E for loss of feeling or numbness around your 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. Ask for an urgent GP appointment or call NHS 111 the same day if you feel hot, cold, shivery or generally unwell, or the pain is severe and started suddenly or is getting worse quickly.

Did I slip a disc?

Probably not. A common cause of back pain is a pulled muscle, and often the cause isn't obvious. Disc pain usually comes with pain down a leg, below the knee, that is worse than the back pain, and even then disc bulges are common in people with no pain.

How long does a pulled back from deadlifting take to heal?

Most new back pain eases a lot within 6 weeks: across 33 groups of people, average pain fell from 52 to 23 out of 100 in that time. Elite weightlifters missed a day or less of training for most injuries. See a GP if it isn't improving after a few weeks.

Should I deadlift with lower back pain?

Lightly and gradually, often yes. In a trial, deadlift training eased recurring back pain about as much as gentler exercise, and it suited people whose pain was milder and whose back muscles had more endurance. That's why the plan starts with the kettlebell deadlift.

When can I go back to heavy deadlifts?

When a trap bar or a pull from blocks at your old working weight passes the pain rule. Start at about half your old weight and add about 5 to 10% a week; that's our suggestion, and no trial has tested it. Heavy singles come last.

Is it bad to deadlift with a rounded back?

Rounding while lifting hasn't been linked with back pain in pooled studies, though they were low quality, and the lower back rounds a little under a loaded bar even in trained lifters. Our suggestion is to set a long, braced back and put the bar down if it changes shape a lot. No trial has tested whether heavy, tired reps with a lot of rounding carry more risk.

Should I wear a lifting belt?

It can help heavy sets go up, but it isn't a back treatment: UK guidelines say belts and corsets shouldn't be offered for low back pain, and lumbar supports didn't prevent back pain. The site's deadlift guide suggests learning to brace without one first.

Heat or ice?

The NHS suggests ice for pain and swelling and heat for stiffness or muscle spasm, each wrapped in a tea towel. Our suggestion: use whichever feels better.

Can deadlifts help lower back pain?

For some people, yes. Back-of-body strength training did better than general exercise for disability in long-lasting back pain in a small meta-analysis, and possibly for pain, but in a small pilot, adding deadlifts to core training helped no more than core training alone. Deadlifts are one option, not the best one: the best exercise is the one you keep doing.

Why does my lower back hurt after squats?

The same approach applies. Squat only as deep as your lower back stays put, with a slightly wider stance and a more upright trunk, because going past your hips' range tucks the pelvis under and bends the back. A goblet or front squat helps you stay upright.

Lower back pain after deadlifts: what usually happened, the warning signs and the way back

When to get help first

Get urgent medical help if

See a doctor or physiotherapist if

Where does it hurt?

Understand it

What usually happenedEmerging evidence

Why it happens

Soreness is not injuryEmerging evidence

When a scan helps, and what it can't tell youStrong evidence

How it usually goesEmerging evidence

What helps, and how strong the evidence is

Stay active rather than restingStrong evidence

A rounded back hasn't been shown to cause back painEmerging evidence

Deadlift training can be part of the treatmentMixed evidence

A belt isn't a back treatmentStrong evidence

Trap bar and sumo deadlifts change where the load goesEmerging evidence

How much pain is OK while you exercise?

The back pain ruleEmerging evidence

The exercise plan: 3 stages

The first days: keep moving

Reload the hinge

Back to the bar

What to change for now

What to change in the lift (written steps)

Medicines, injections and hands-on treatment

Positions to swap, and why

Routines to follow

Learn to deadlift: hinge to bar workout

McGill big 3 core routine

Lower back stretch routine

Hamstring workout: Romanian deadlifts, curls and Nordics

More moves for this area

Questions people ask

Related exercise guides

Other pain guides

Sources