Are Deadlifts Dangerous?!
I love deadlifts, both teaching them to my patients and doing them myself. However, a large proportion of people think that I’m crazy when I suggest that deadlifts should be included into their exercise program.
This is mirrored by the wider population, the word ‘deadlift’ seems to evoke feelings of trepidation and fear. There seems to be a common misconception that deadlifts are dangerous and should be avoided.
I often hear some of following concerns/questions:
- I have a bad back, so I don’t do deadlifts.
- I’m worried about getting lower back pain after deadlifts.
- Deadlifts are bad for your back.
- I’ve heard deadlifts will cause a disc herniation (commonly referred to as a slipped disc).
- Are deadlifts safe?
This post will look to cover whether deadlifts are safe or whether deadlifts are bad for you and your back.
What is a Deadlift?
A deadlift is a type of hip hinge exercise where a weight, typically a barbell is lifted from the floor up to the level of the hips.
Deadlift Variations
There different types of deadlift that can be performed:
- Conventional Deadlift
- Romanian Deadlift
- Sumo Deadlift
- Trap Bar/ Hex Bar Deadlift
Each variation changes the emphasis of the load to different muscles used within the lift.
What do you mean by dangerous?
Danger can hold a different meaning to each individual. What are your fears about why a deadlift is dangerous?
Are you worried that you might experience pain after deadlifting? Or are you worried about damaging your back and needing surgery?
These can be two different things. Whilst tissue damage usually results in experiencing some pain (not in all instances), experiencing pain does not necessarily mean that any damage has occurred.
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness
An example is delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). After a challenging workout, it is normal to experience DOMS 24-48 hours later (some people are disappointed if they don’t get DOMS after a workout).
Many would describe DOMS as painful, but they would not be concerned that they had caused any damage. They would happily continue their next workout without out a worry and the DOMS would settle within a day or two.
It is a common misconception that if you are experiencing pain that it must be due to damaged tissues that need fixing.
Often there is no damage to the tissues at all, they have just been stressed or loaded too much, too quickly causing them to become angry and sensitive.
By backing off the aggravating movement for a while the sensitivity settles with no lasting damage. This allows you to gradually reintroduce the aggravating movement again in a pain free state.
I have written an entire post on this concept of Load Tolerance, which utilises infographics to help you visualise this in a clearer way.
Can you get low back pain after deadlifts?
Yes, you may experience pain after a deadlift. I have done this myself in the past. At that point in my life I did not understand the concept of load tolerance (explained above).
After starting deadlifts, I became overconfident and very quickly loaded up the bar with more weight than I could tolerate.
I experienced a sharp pain in my back during the middle of a set of deadlifts. This developed into a constant ache which deteriorated over a few days and then persisted for a few weeks.
Does it mean that deadlifts had damaged my back?
No, deadlifts did not damage my back. There were soft tissues (muscles/ligaments etc) which had been loaded more they could tolerate resulting in an acute sensitivity.
Think of acute sensitivity like a fire alarm. The fire alarm sounds the same every time it goes off, but the reason can be different each time. The fire alarm could have gone off for any of the following reasons.
- Weekly test
- Faulty detector
- Smoke from the toaster
- Dust
- Steam
A fire alarm sounding does not always mean there is a fire. Acute sensitivity does not always mean there is damage.
Credit to Greg Lehman for the fire alarm analogy.
I eased of the deadlifts for a couple of weeks and concentrated on other exercises instead. This allowed the sensitive tissues in my back to settle.
Once settled, I was then able to reintroduce the deadlift movement pattern back into my routine. I did this initially with very little weight and over a couple of months gradually increased the weight again back to where I had been before the pain started.
From there I have been able to continue to gradually increase the weight and I have never felt stronger than I currently do.
How to reduce the risk of low back pain after deadlifts?
The biggest way to reduce the chance of experiencing low back pain after deadlifts is to take the approach I eventually used above. Start with a low weight, get confident with the movement and then gradually increase the weight used over time.
Don’t expect to reach your target weight within 2-3 sessions. Think about delayed gratification and a longer-term plan. Note that it took me over 2 months to get back to lifting the weight I had previously been lifting.
The other way to reduce the risk of injury is to think about your technique. It is generally considered that performing a heavy deadlift with a straight back or neutral spine will reduce the risk of injury.
Is bending bad?
It is true that bending your back during a deadlift will stress some of the soft tissues in the back more than if you performed one with a neutral spine. However, this does not mean the bending is necessarily bad.
The problem tends to occur if you are used to lifting with a neutral spine and you suddenly lift with a flexed back (whether intentionally or unintentionally due to fatigue).
It’s the bending that your body wasn’t prepared for that is ‘bad’ and can result in pain and in some instances lead to an injury.
Introducing the Jefferson Curl
Just to highlight that lifting with a bent spine isn’t necessarily bad, I will introduce you to the Jefferson curl.
As you can see in the video above, the Jefferson Curl is very similar to a Romanian deadlift. Rather than keep a straight back during the movement, he is actively trying to flex/bend the back throughout the movement.
The key to this, just like we discussed for the deadlift above, is that it is a gradual process to build the weight up. Note that he says not to start with the bar but to start with a light dumbbell and then increase slowly over time.
What are the benefits of deadlifts?
So far, I have only discussed why deadlifts may not be as dangerous as it commonly thought. I have not mentioned the benefits that deadlifts provide.
Like with any exercise that is performed to failure (the point where you couldn’t perform another repetition if you tried), the outcome is increased muscle strength and size.
For more information on the relevance of reaching failure at a specific number of reps and sets, read my post – What are Reps and Sets? How Many Should I Do?.
Think of all the activities you might perform during the day that involve picking something up from the floor.
- Heavy plant pots
- Suitcase
- Shopping bags
- Grandchild
- Heavy Box
- Moving furniture
Remember that if your body is not prepared for these movements, you may experience pain as a result.
By practicing these movements in a structured manner within the gym, you will have prepared your body to be able to cope with far more stress than any of the movements above ask of you.
Deadlifts, along with the other 7 Functional Movements, will help you to create a strong, robust, resilient body and give you the confidence to keep active without fear of injury.
Do Injuries Occur During Deadlifts?
Yes, just like any other weight lifting movement, injuries do happen. This isn’t isolated to lifting weights, it is the same for any other sport or activity we do. It is no different to driving a car or crossing the road.
You have to assess and manage the risks associated with the task in hand and then weigh up those risks against the benefits.
Then you need to take all steps possible to reduce the risks from occurring.
You also need to consider the risks associated with not doing the task and from denying yourself of the benefit that you would have got from doing that task.
So are Deadlift Dangerous?
Whilst there are some risks, in my opinion, the benefits of deadlifts far outweigh the downside. Deadlifts will make you robust, resilient and more confident to move.
The approach of gradually introducing weight and concentrating on technique will help to reduce the risks.
The cost of leaving deadlifts out of your workout program means missing out on one of the main functional movements within strength training. At some point in your day to day activities you’re going to do a movement at that will replicate a deadlift movement.
Remember the movement that you’re not prepared for is the one that is most likely to give you an injury.
If you avoid all exercises through fear of causing damage, your muscles will be exposed to the effects of Sarcopenia and will start to decondition with age. This, at some point in the future, is more likely to leave you at risk of an injury.
Find Someone to Help
If I have convinced you that you should be doing deadlifts, but you still lack confidence, please seek out the help of a personal trainer or strength and conditioning coach.
If you have an injury that makes you nervous about starting, then a physiotherapist (or other related therapist) with an interest in strength and conditioning can help you.
Please see a doctor for advice if you have a medical condition that may be affected by strenuous exercise.
If you are based near Birmingham (UK) then I would be happy to help you get started. Click Here to visit my physiotherapy clinic website where you will be able to book an appointment to see me.
Ready to Get Started?
I hope this post has alleviated some of your fears and given you the confidence that deadlifts are safe if approached in the right manner. They are a fantastic addition to any strength training program.
Related Articles
Treating low back pain using deadlifts – The Barbell Physio
“Deadlifts are one of the worst things you can do for your spine” – Tony Gentilcore
11 Responses
I started lifting at 47 and at that time l had very bad neck and back issues. I am now 52 and have competed in both strongwoman and powerlifting. No more back or neck issues and l feel so much more confident and independent.
It is so great to hear that you found that strength training helped to settle your neck and back. Too many people are scared to try starting in case it makes things worse. Thank you for sharing your experience.
I get told a lot that lifting will hurt my back, knees ect. I just shrug it off now! What l do know is that l am in menopause and during this time l have increased my muscle mass and not lost any bone density. I have also continued to get stronger.
You did not cover, who should not be doing deadlifts, if there are any
Hi Marc. Off the top of my head I can’t think of a reason why anyone couldn’t do some variation of a hip hinge exercise with the goal of being to do a deadlift.
The deadlift is a type of hip hinge exercise which can be regressed or adapted around pain/physical limitations. If you need help adapting the exercise and finding a good starting point to progress from, I highly recommend finding a physiotherapist/rehab professional who can help you.
If you have any specific concerns that you want to ask advice on, please don’t hesitate to send me a message through the ‘Contact’ page.
I don’t lift that heavy, but I often incorporate dead lifts into my strength training workouts.
Deadlifts are one of my favorite exercise to do. I do think it is important to have a trained prof teach them correctly to someone who is just starting out to avoid the potential for injury that you mentioned. I believe they have tons of benefits to overall fitness and functional movement
Deadlifts are one of my favorites! I don’t think I’ve ever had any DOMS or pain after, at least not as of yet.
Great post. I think the key takeaway here is to learn and perfect form, and use controlled movement as you gradually increase weight. Like so many things in life, people hear one persons “horror story” and take it to heart. But deadlifts are an awesome exercise!
I’m 71 and still dead lift 205 kgs and rising
Hi David. Thanks for sharing that. That’s amazing!!