Did Deadlifts Cause my 10 mm L4L5 Herniation and Sciatica?
When I (Andrew) herniated my disc in 2013, some PT's I was shadowing at the time asked if I was doing squats or deadlifts in the months leading up to the injury. I said that I never did them (l was honestly too focused on my upper body and abs at the time). They told me, "well, you shouldn't do those movements anyway because they are terrible for you." I agreed with them at the time.
It wasn't until about 1.5 years after my disc injury (still had severe sciatica) that I met a very patient CrossFit coach. He asked me to squat and hinge, and he laughed at my technique (putting his hands over his face in disbelief). He then taught me how to squat and hinge with a neutral spine without weight. He had me add a 10lb dumbbell and asked me to practice a few reps daily for a month.
By the end of the month, my confidence blasted through the roof, and I felt 2x better. I owe much of my initial movement knowledge to Coach Mike Coopman (not to be confused with another Mike). I worked with him 5x/week for 1.5 years until he unfortunately moved on from coaching. My pain and sciatica disappeared after working with him for 6 months (I had many ups and downs during that time, though!).
Over the years, I have expanded upon my knowledge through a variety of certifications, conversations with more experienced people in the industry, and helping over 22,000 people overcome their injuries (working with other people teaches you a lot).
It is by doing proper deadlifts that I have reduced my chances of injury and back pain. This is true for all of the people that we have taught to lift and strengthen well - their injuries become less frequent and less severe when they do happen.
Tissue Resiliency
“Use it or lose it.” This phrase is very applicable to the human body.
Not doing deadlifts (or more simply, hip hinges) makes our body weaker. However, why do deadlifts also cause injuries?
People blame deadlifts for injuries, however, it is the fact that people increase the weight too quickly in too short of a time that often causes injuries. When done properly over many months and years, the deadlift is a very powerful movement that will actually make you more resilient to injury.
Our body responds to the forces that we apply to it… if we give it the time to do so.
If you start your hip hinge journey with 10lbs for several weeks and then increase it to 20lbs for another several weeks, this amount of time allows our body time to build muscle, bone, and ligament tissue to support the load. If you increase too quickly in weight, your tissues didn’t have enough time to grow to accommodate for the increase in weight - this is when injuries occur.
So, take the journey slow and trust the lengthy process.
Despite my variety of past injuries and my genetics (Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome), I am now doing things with my body that I could have never imagined were possible. It took a tremendous amount of faith in the long-term recovery process, consistency, patience, and discipline.
If you are having pain now, don't do what I am doing in the video. You probably aren't ready for it. Instead, book a call with my co-founder, Cameron, and see if the Limitless or Hypermobility program is right for you.
It's never too late to get started on your own journey. Checkout our programs that have helped over 22,000 people worldwide overcome their persistent pain below.
Until next week,
-Andrew the shirtless dude!
