Question
Hello
About 14 days ago my spine started to act a little weird. I think it might be because i benchpressed really heavy and therefore arched to much in my back. I didnt feel any immediately pain though.
I feel great pain i the lower spine when I try to do a pullup. But if I just hang from the bar with all my bodyweight in the air then nothing is wrong.. so its just when i pull myself up that it hurts.

When i bend over to the front my arch feels less flexible and it hurts a little in the same spot on the spine as when doing pullups.

When I touch the spot on the spine with a finger it hurts. But it's only a small spot on the lower spine.  

If I stand, sit or lay I hardly dont't have any pains. I can run and basically do sports hardly without any pain at all.

I'm a little worried that it could be serious? I usually can do 25 pullups so my back should be strong. I'm only 25 years old.

Thank you...

Answer
Dear Esben,

The most likely cause of the pain is a strain in the lower fibers of the trapezius musculature or the medial fibers of the latissimus musculature.  The fact that you felt the first indication of pain while bench pressing actually supports this.  When people start to strain in their lifts, they often start to recruit stabilization muscles to help with the lift.  

I see athletes and weekend warriors performing bench presses incorrectly all the time, and they often hurt their backs in the process.  As soon as they weight gets heavy, they dig their heels into the ground and push with the legs and lower back to increase the power to get the bar off their chest...horrible form...and that is how you get hurt.

I would recommend that you give it a rest for a week and not train at all to allow the inflammation to reduce.  Then when you start back into the gym, everything needs to be targeted with strict adherence to good form and not straining with the lifts...no cheating!  Slow methodic movements are key, and they have been proven to activate more muscle fibers anyway.  Additionally, you need to lay off the pull-ups for a month.  As a huge proponent of free weights and resistance training I understand this will not be easy for you to do, but you need to give it a bit of time to heal.

Good luck Esben.

Respectfully,
Dr. J. Shawn Leatherman
www.suncoasthealthcare.net