Why Your Back Hurts After The Deadlift

Learn the reasons, causes, and fixes to lower back pain after the deadlift 

One of the most common questions in fitness is "Why does my lower back always hurt after deadlifts?". To begin with, this is not normal, nor is it desirable. Your back should not be hurting every time you deadlift.

The problem is that there are various ways your back could be injured, as well as various ways you could hurt your back. This makes it difficult to give exact answers. However, this article can definitely point you in the right direction. We'll go over what's causing lower back pain, why it occurs, and what you can do to help fix it.

The Most Common Reasons Your Back Hurts After Deadlifts

When people discuss this, they automatically delve into the cause. We'll address that below, but we want to look at what is actually causing this pain and answer, "Why does my back hurt after deadlift?"

Muscle Strain in the Spinal Erectors

The spinal erectors are finger-like muscles that run up along your spine and branch out in multiple directions. Their primary job is to keep your back in a neutral position during a deadlift.

If you round, twist, or overload the bar, these muscles can get overstretched and strained.

• What's happening: The muscle fibers tear microscopically—sometimes normally (like DOMS), but sometimes excessively, causing spasm and pain.
• What it feels like: A localized, sharp, or tight feeling in the lower back that worsens when you bend forward or extend.
• Fix: Rest for a few days, apply heat, and gradually return to normal activity with lighter loads. To prevent it, strengthen erectors through controlled RDLs, back extensions, and tempo pulls.

Lumbar Disc Stress or Herniation

Your intervertebral discs act like shock absorbers. When you round your spine under heavy load, the disc material can bulge or even herniate, pressing on nerves (McGill, 1986).

This is one of the more serious deadlift-related injuries.

• What's happening: Flexion under load pushes the nucleus of the disc backward, potentially irritating the sciatic nerve.
• What it feels like: Pain that radiates down the leg (sciatica), numbness, or tingling. Sometimes accompanied by a "pop" during the lift.
• Fix: Stop pulling heavy and get evaluated. Mild bulges may heal with rest and physical therapy, but persistent nerve symptoms require medical attention. Prevention comes from a strict neutral spine, lighter progressions, and strong bracing.

General Muscle Fatigue (DOMS)

Not all back discomfort after deadlifts signals an injury. Sometimes, it's just muscle soreness. Deadlifts heavily recruit the erectors, glutes, and hamstrings, so if they're not accustomed to the volume or load, they'll be sore afterward.

• What's happening: Microscopic damage to muscle fibers from new or heavy stress, followed by inflammation during recovery.
• What it feels like: A dull, symmetrical soreness that peaks 24–48 hours after training and fades in 2–3 days.
• Fix: Accept it as a normal adaptation. Prioritize sleep, protein intake, and active recovery. Over time, your muscles adapt and soreness decreases.

Causes Of Deadlift Back Pain

Now that we understand the mechanisms of back pain better, let's examine what causes it. This is when we can address issues such as form or programming.

Poor Bracing and Core Instability

Your core is your belt. If you fail to brace, your spine gets exposed to shear forces it was not designed to handle. This doesn't usually cause a single catastrophic injury but leads to chronic "back pain after deadlifts."

• What is happening: Without proper intra-abdominal pressure, the vertebrae and discs absorb more stress, and stabilizing muscles fatigue prematurely.
• What it usually results in: A dull, generalized ache across the lower back after pulling—even at submaximal loads.
• Fix: Learn diaphragmatic bracing (360° expansion), practice it on every rep, and strengthen anti-extension/rotation core exercises like planks, Pallof presses, and ab rollouts (Vera-Garcia, 2007)

Improper Set-Up

Where you start determines how you finish. If the bar is too far in front, your hips shoot up, or your shoulders aren't in the right place, your back ends up overloaded. This is basic physics.

Consider lifting a 10kg kettlebell straight up in front of your body; it's pretty easy. Now imagine connecting it to the end of a broom, holding the other end, and trying to lift it; it's a lot harder.

• What's happening: Faulty mechanics increase spinal shear instead of loading the hips and legs.
• What it usually results in: Sharp tightness at the start of the pull, or lingering soreness afterward.
• Fix: Bar over mid-foot, shins close, chest tall, and lats engaged to "lock" the bar in. Lift the bar so it stays right on your shin. 

Not Engaging The Glutes

The deadlift is a hip-dominant lift. That means your glutes should be the primary movers. If you don't drive through the glutes, your lower back ends up doing the work your hips should be doing.

Your back should be engaged isometrically throughout the movement. However, it shouldn't be the main muscle working.

• What's happening: Underactive glutes shift the load onto the erectors and discs, and overwork your back.
• What it usually results in: Persistent low back tightness, even at moderate weights.
• Fix: Squeeze glutes throughout the exercise and drive your hips forward. Practice hip thrusts and glute bridges and relearn how to fire your glutes.

Overloading Too Soon

Sometimes the problem isn't complex; it's simply lifting too much weight. The deadlift is unique among other exercises as it's a complex movement that allows other muscles to "complete it" with poor form.

Adding plates too quickly forces breakdowns in hinge mechanics, bracing, and spinal positioning. The back ends up bearing what the hips and glutes should be doing. You might be able to "lock out," but you just busted your back.

• What's happening: Technical collapse under load, shifting stress to erectors and discs.
• What it usually results in: A mix of strain and soreness that escalates into sharp pain when grinding heavy reps.
• Fix: Be sure to use progressive overload and use it conservatively. Since you know you have issues, add just 2.5–5% per week at most. Prioritize clean form and stay away from failure as you build foundational strength (Kraemer & Ratamess, 2004).

How To Prevent Back Pain From Deadlifts

If you find your back hurts after deadlifts, there are steps you can take to strengthen your back and overall biomechanics.

Get Stronger

This may seem a bit simplistic, but it's true. Strong things are harder to break, and a stronger back will be able to handle more stress without injury.

However, if deadlifts are causing you an issue, consider using alternative exercises. Many people will point to things like RDLs and back extensions. Those are excellent choices, but they won't build maximal raw strength that will protect your back.

Some of our favorite exercises to get this done are;

• Block Pulls or Rack Pulls - Block pulls and rack pulls are partial-range deadlifts that allow for greater loads while placing the body in a favored position with a more upright torso.
• Frame Carries or Farmer Carry- Carries are awesome exercises that place a load on the spine and demand high levels of core bracing.
• Front Carries- Front carries are great core exercises that specifically train your posterior chain.

Walk More!

It sounds simple, but walking is a great tool for helping deal with back pain and possibly even mitigating it. New research from Haddad et. al (2025) published in JAMA found that;

This can occur through several mechanisms, including;

• Promotes diffusion of nutrients into the discs
• Improves core endurance
• Mechanical loading 
• Increases the delivery of oxygen and nutrients

Walking is a cheap tool that delivers a plethora of benefits, so there's really no reason you shouldn't be walking more.

Learn Proper Mechanics

Depending on where you are in your deadlift journey, you may need to step back and learn proper mechanics. 

Top Tips For A Better Deadlift:

1. Keep the bar over mid-foot and close to your shins/legs all the way up. The bar should drag your shorts up.
2. Use your lats to keep the bar close to your body. 
3. Before you pull, brace your core and pull the slack out of the bar.
4. Think about driving your feet into the ground and pushing the floor away rather than pulling the bar up.

Also, use various exercises that help work on various aspects of the lift:

1. Banded Deadlifts for Lat Engagement- Perform deadlifts with a band attached to the barbell and sturdy object in front of you. This will want to pull the barbell away from you, teaching you how to use your lats to keep the bar next to your leg.

2. Wall Butt Taps- Stand a couple of feet away from a wall, facing away. Perform a hip hinge by pushing your hips back to tap the wall with your butt.

3. Glute Bridge/Single Leg Glute Bridge- These help to isolate the glutes for greater engagement.

Filming your lifts or working with a coach can help you spot breakdowns before they become pain.

Use Appropriate Loads

Regardless of what you choose to do, you must always use appropriate loads. This doesn't mean don't go heavy, it just means don't go heavier than you can handle. 

Further, when you first start learning, focus on controlled speeds with fewer reps and greater sets. For example

• Use 75-80% 1RM
• Perform five sets of 3-4 reps
• Perform reps with 3-4s concentric and 3-4s eccentric

This might mean you need to step back and "start over". Drop the load and relearn the movement; it will pay off in the long run.

Find An Alternative To The Deadlift

If your pain is consistent and you don't have the resources to speak to an expert, you might just want to use a different exercise. Unless you need to deadlift, there's no reason you must include it.

Check out this article where we go into more detail about the deadlift and provide 11 variations!

Reference 

1. Escamilla, R. F., Francisco, A. C., Kayes, A. V., Speer, K. P., & Moorman, C. T., 3rd (2002). An electromyographic analysis of sumo and conventional style deadlifts. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 34(4), 682–688. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005768-200204000-00019 
2. Haddadj, R., Nordstoga, A. L., Nilsen, T. I. L., et al. (2025). Volume and intensity of walking and risk of chronic low back pain. JAMA Network Open, 8(6), e2515592. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.15592 
3. Kraemer WJ, Ratamess NA. Fundamentals of resistance training: progression and exercise prescription. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2004;36(4):674–88. doi:10.1249/01.mss.0000121945.36635.61  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15064596/ 
4. McGill SM. Low Back Disorders: Evidence-Based Prevention and Rehabilitation. 3rd ed. Human Kinetics; 2015.
5. McGill, S. M., & Norman, R. W. (1986). Partitioning of the L4-L5 dynamic moment into disc, ligamentous, and muscular components during lifting. Spine, 11(7), 666–678. https://doi.org/10.1097/00007632-198609000-00004 
6. Vera-Garcia, F. J., Elvira, J. L., Brown, S. H., & McGill, S. M. (2007). Effects of abdominal stabilization maneuvers on the control of spine motion and stability against sudden trunk perturbations. Journal of electromyography and kinesiology : official journal of the International Society of Electrophysiological Kinesiology, 17(5), 556–567. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jelekin.2006.07.004