My friend’s been losing weight after being close to 250 at 5’9 and was pretty weak to boot. But he has been to get in shape and now he’s down to under 200. I recently got using he starting strength routine. Despite his weaknesses, if there’s one thing he’s built to do it’s squat. He struggles a bit getting low enough, but he’s been improving his depth.
Well, the weights been increasing easily for him and his depth continued to get better, however last week he got hemorrhoids from squatting. This is not the first time this has happened. A few years ago he was trying to lift weights and I had him squatting and the same thing happened.
His doctor gave him the answer of don’t squat anymore. So he then asked me if there was anything he could do in place of it. I said not really, but I don’t want him tearing his ass open every time he squats.
This has never happened to me, so I have absolutely no information to give him. Has anyone had a similar experience and/or a remedy for it? I just have no idea. It sucks for him, because his upper body is weak but his legs are a powerhouse. It’d be a shame if he couldn’t squat because of frigging hemorrhoids. Worst case scenario I have him do lunges or leg press or something.
He needs to see a new doctor. One that understands the unique needs of athletes.
I have had hemorrhoids on and off throughout my lifting career, and I have always squatted heavy. I don’t know if the squatting is to blame or not. Over the counter numbing cream helps a great deal. I think my body eventually adjusted to the strain and I stopped getting hemorrhoids. Perhaps your friend just needs to tough it out, and eventually he’ll adapt.
[quote]skizac wrote:
He needs to see a new doctor. One that understands the unique needs of athletes.
I have had hemorrhoids on and off throughout my lifting career, and I have always squatted heavy. I don’t know if the squatting is to blame or not. Over the counter numbing cream helps a great deal. I think my body eventually adjusted to the strain and I stopped getting hemorrhoids. Perhaps your friend just needs to tough it out, and eventually he’ll adapt.[/quote]
I developed a hemorrhoid almost two years ago, and the heavy squatting was the only thing we (my doctor and I) could attribute it to. It comes and goes, and it was only once painful for a short period of two weeks (when I first had it checked by my doctor). It doesn’t cause me any discomfort, and it seems to come and go depending on my training. It does bleed a few times each week (usually around my training days), but it’s nothing to be concerned about.
Since my doctor said it was not a serious hemmorrhoid, he didn’t recommend any treatment for it (other than using creams if needed - and I’ve never needed it) unless it became very bad and constantly painful.
I have also had the experience of those bad boys, however, I think you should also consider your diet (fiber), the amount of water you drink, and you bathroom habits (do you push or go when your body is ready?). Perhaps the squatting is aggravating a problem that was already there.
Also, make an effort not to ‘push’ in that manner…keep your abdomen tight. Definitely get some cream to reduce friction.
Hmm… I was investigating this topic, and I came to see this thread. I would just like to say that my squatting too seems to aggregate the hemorrhoids. It can be painful right after a toilet visit, and there can be some bleeding too, but it is not something that is constant. It seems to come especially when I do multiple very heavy sets.
like previously said, he’ll adapt. I’ve gotten a couple, at a few different times. Honestly I place it with not so much squatting wrong, but pushing wrong.
I lift heavy all the time and I had a hemmorrhoid once. The doc said it was from a combination of lifting heavy, increased walking, and sitting on hard surfaces. I was in school at the time, walking from my fraternity house to work, then to class, then to work again, (and if you don’t live in the southeast, than you don’t know but walking here is a chore unto itself when during our 8 months of summer the average is a temp of 90+ and humidity to match)then training heavy three days a week. I got some prescription antibiotics (invasive, the kind you just need a hug after, but they worked), and I laid off anything over 50 percent for about a week and a half and came back slowly over another two weeks or so. It was gone after that.
Have him see another doctor, get some meds, lay off any real straining so the blood vessel can heal, and also have him change his diet to "easily passible items. The doc also told me that constipation and bad diet were contributing to the strain, causing the blood vessels to burst.
The only difference was mine wasn’t painful, just alot of blood, so it was maybe a big one but not quite infected yet as many are.
Words to live by on this subject…“Hey Peter, watch your cornhole, buddy.”
