My Experience with Radiating Low Back Pain after a Deadlifting Injury

"I never allowed my injury to evolve into a bigger problem, and I always trusted my body’s ability to regain strength and flexibility over time.”

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The Injury

On Saturday morning, January 28, 2023, I was deadlifting when I felt a sharp, compressive sensation in my lower back. This pain was immediately followed by weakness in my spine and sharp pains with movement. Later that day, as I tried to stand, the pain was so severe that I buckled to my knees. As the hours passed, tingling sensations radiated through various parts of both legs.

​In the days following the incident, I struggled with everyday activities—rolling over in bed, sitting, and bending forward or backward.  Movements such as hinging at the hips were particularly excruciating, often causing my knees to buckle. Adding to the discomfort was a lingering ache in my tailbone when bending forward. I experienced reduced strength, muscle activation, and coordination, especially in movements requiring lumbar support, like leaning over treatment tables. My right foot would even go numb, reminding me of my limitations.

My Diagnosis

Even as a Doctor of Physical Therapy, I couldn’t pinpoint the exact structure involved. I had pain in all directions of spinal motion. Extension-based movements would feel good, but often increased numbness in my feet. Flexion-based movements hurt but did not make symptoms worse. No direction would centralize the pain.  

​Based on the injury’s mechanism, I suspected facet joint overload in my lower lumbar spine. However, facet joint compression typically doesn’t result in radiating pain beyond the knees. More likely, localized inflammation of the nerve roots may have contributed to the nerve pain I experienced. This highlights how acute injuries can present a broad range of symptoms that don’t clearly match the pathoanatomical model.

The Mindset

Despite all of this, I refused to let the pain dictate my outlook. I accepted my injury but remained confident that my body would heal. I observed my emotions but never allowed them to overwhelm me. I trusted the body’s natural healing process and knew I’d regain my strength and mobility through graded exposure. Each day I performed core strength exercises and spinal mobility to my end-range of motion. This routine included cat/cows, seated hip hinges, side to side mobility, basic deep core engagement, bodyweight squats as tolerated plus a combination of other easy hip and spine exercises.  I would perform these exercises 4-5x each day to continually challenge my nervous system in these painful ranges of motion.

​With a mindset rooted in resilience, I observed daily improvements. Morning stiffness and pain would subside as my body warmed up throughout the day. Light movement and consistent effort allowed me to gradually increase my range of motion, and each day I could push myself just a little bit further.

The Progress

While I’d love to say it was a linear recovery, it wasn’t—it was like riding a rollercoaster of good moments and bad moments. Movement often alleviated my symptoms, but fatigue from the day would cause my back to stiffen again. Understanding that healing involves both progress and setbacks allowed me to remain patient and focus on overall improvement, rather than obsessing over daily pain levels.

​Six days after the injury, I returned to the gym, avoiding rapid, uncontrolled movements. I used machines to support my movements and control the loading through my spine. By the seventh day, I was back to using dumbbells and gradually reintroducing more dynamic spinal movements. That evening, I even tossed my kids in the air and caught them without any strain. Within 3-4 weeks, I had no fear or apprehension of movement or spinal loading.

Conclusion

The concepts of graded exposure, active rest, and plenty of sleep were instrumental in my rapid recovery. As a movement professional, I understand the importance of finding patterns in symptoms—like assembling pieces of a puzzle. The pieces are all there, but putting them together is where the challenge lies.

-Jim Heafner PT, DPT, OCS