By Cat Rivera:

Back pain is indeed no joke!  I, for the majority of my life lived with memories of my own mother laid out flat on her back, unable to enjoy the holidays or even after work standing due to a back injury she acquired when we were hit directly in the middle of our Dodge Ram on the way to school when I was in the third grade.  I remember her grimacing in pain with the smallest of movements and paralyzed in fear that any form of exercise or free mobility would result in her not being able to move her legs.

During a Rugby game in my senior year at Oswego state I suffered a very bad back injury in a scrum down and at that moment I realized the debilitating pain that my mother must have been undergoing all those years. I also, for the first time was introduced to the fear of pain.  How suddenly all of my movements were being recorded by my twinges and stabbing pains to the point where breathing hurt.  From that moment on, my slipped L3 disc and I had a hate, fing hate relationship.

Countless chiropractors, missed workdays, weight gain and countless fear induced, half assed training sessions later, I met the deadlift. It was just in time too, running, sleeping and sitting all threw my back out, carrying the weight of my own breasts hurt by the midmorning. My hips were becoming misaligned the and one leg was slightly longer than the other due to compression of the disc on one side. It was routine training session that changed the movement of my life.

I remember the stern talking too and the playful yet direct banter concerning bending my arms mid lift that I received from Combat Trainer after our first few sessions of DL’s.  The fear of hurting my back was hurting my back. As the weeks went on and my weight increased as did my confidence and form while lifting I realized one day that my back no longer hurt me I could stand and twist and tighten my abs without twinges of pain.

I had to know the science behind my newly found freedom to take my body back from pain. After much research, here are my findings.  The Deadlift is one of the most important exercises you can ever do because it works all your muscles under heavy weight.  It is an essential component of any, strength and conditioning routine.  The DL rears its beneficial head in Olympic lifting, strong man competitions, MMA training and as an overall sign of general strength.

Experiencing  backpain during a DL it is a sign that you are doing it wrong.  First, you must see the DL as more of a pushing motion instead of a pulling one.  You are pushing through your heels, pushing your hips forward and squeezing your glutes as hard as possible.  Be sure to not round your lower back because that will stress your spine. Straight back! Chest up and upper body natural. Pull in a big chest breath and keep everything tight.  Hold the bar close to your body, arms straight and there ya go.

Mastering the proper DL technique will give you a stronger back, teach you the proper way to lift things from the floor and can illuminate back pain for good.

Tags: back injury, combat athletes, combat sports, Conditioning, deadlift, fighter, fighters, injury prevention, MMA, mma strength and conditioning training, mma training, Olympic lifting, Oswego state, rugby, Strength, strength and conditioning, Strength Training, training