I love to do squats but have recently had lower back surgery. I tried to get back into barbell squats but my low back screams now. Here’s my question. Can I just substitute hip-belt squats? Also my back has affected my deadlift. Should I get a Trap Bar and do deads with it?
Hip belt squats are a great way to get the legs back into the routine after back issues.
You’re going to need to recondition the back with some high rep exercises such as unweighted good mornings, reverse hypers and the like. When it stops complaining about those, then you can start adding weight.
I am not a doctor or physical therapist, this is just a strategy that worked for me after my back issue.
I can’t speak for hip-squats as I haven’t done them, although they seem like a great idea. I have used a trap bar and they are quite easy on the back. It forces you to a natural lower back position and there is very little stress. However you are still carrying the load on your back so depending on the injury you may or may not want to do them. Single legged exercises like split squats, step ups and lunges should be better for your back. Then as Skidmark said, rehab your back and start reincorporating the conventional lifts.
Stu
[quote]buccanoles wrote:
I love to do squats but have recently had lower back surgery. I tried to get back into barbell squats but my low back screams now. Here’s my question. Can I just substitute hip-belt squats? Also my back has affected my deadlift. Should I get a Trap Bar and do deads with it?[/quote]
This is very little info to go by! A couple of questions: How long had you been lifting prior to surgery? What kind of low back surgery? How long ago? Did you do PT post-op and if so, what did they suggest for future exercise?
Can you define “screaming?” (Spasm? Sharp pain? Dull ache? During exercise or after? Etc.) What else do you do on leg day besides squat or DL?
I’ve done HBS and PGDL off and on since '98, but I hesitate to make suggestions without knowing a bit more about what’s going on.
Thanks
Cappy