Long story short I noticed maybe two weeks ago that I was beginning to experience a dull pain on the left side of my lower back. I can’t remember an exact moment when I could have injured myself, but it did begin a day or two after heavy squats.
I notice the pain the most when standing and bending over forward towards the ground to a 90 degree angle. It’s not a sharp pain and far from unbearable, but it is persistent. It feels more like I’m pulling on something tight somewhere in the region of my left lower back.
I haven’t done deadlifts or squats for about two weeks in fear of making it worse but it really hasn’t fixed itself on rest alone. I’ve tried some piriformis stretches as well as using a tennis ball, but I’m not entirely sure that 1.) They really did anything or 2.) I didn’t do them enough/consistently.
I plan on seeing a physical therapist when I return from vacation at the end of this week, but I was curious to see what anyone might come up with on here.
I’ve had the same pain. When i used to deadlift heavier it was worse and more persistant. I have 2 herniated discs in my lumbar spine, which might be the same thing you have, but only an mri will prove that.
Stretching will help, and so will wearing inserts in your shoes. Watch the way you stand i.e. distribute your weight evenly on both feet when standing around. If you place more weight oon one foot when you stan, it will shift your hips and cause a pain in the sacral-iliac region of the lower back.
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My suggestion was going to be your SI-Joint too. Had you been treating your piriformis with myofascial techniques prior to this? If your piriformis has remained tight due to lack of treatment or stretching for a good while before this, it’s not surprising that it’s lead to your current pain, as it’s likely to have just kept getting tighter; as far as I know, the piriformis has it’s origin (or insertion) on the SI-Joint, so if it just kept tugging at it, something was eventually gonna give.
What does lumbar hyperextension do for you? I know in my case (I have my own SI-Joint problems) it causes a sharp pain right down in the Joint- if you’re in a similar situation, then SI-joint dysfunction is probably the right answer. Quick question- have you ever been evaluated for a leg-length discrepancy or scoliosis?