The deadlift is one of the most feared exercises by many fitness enthusiasts, due to its reputation to wreak havoc on the lower back. Fear of the deadlift is perhaps justified but false, due to the fact that many people perform the exercise improperly, and as a result end up with lower back injuries.
Analysis of the Deadlift Video above:
The first section in the above video is an excellent demonstration of how the deadlift can create injury. The client initiates the movement by extending his knees which disrupts proper timing of the lift. In the second section, the technique is modified and the lift no longer becomes dangerous.
When starting the movement, the knee and hip must move/extend relative to each other. If the knee extends ahead of the hip, the degree of torso lean will increase, predisposing the lower back to injury. If the hip and knee cannot extend at an equal rate, form needs to be looked at and may need modification. In the case video above, the client could not improve his timing until we changed his technique.
In some cases, improper deadlifting technique can be a result of a motor learning problem. In this case, giving proper cues and instruction may alleviate the timing problem and technique modification may not be needed.
However, it is important to note that slight technique changes in all exercises are necessary to break through plateaus and to stress the same muscles in different ways. The human body is an adaptive mechanism and if you don’t give it a different type of stimulus, it will not have to adapt and get stronger.
Many low back injuries created by improper deadlifting technique form can be prevented by hiring a quality personal trainer or fitness professional.
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