I'm trying to add in dead lifts to my back day but I've been getting some SI joint pain when doing them. It's been an on and off problem for 15 years but never used to affect my dead lift. I used to pull mid 300s but now even 135 bothers me. I've been working my whole hip and low back area and it feels good except at the bottom of the dead lift I feel unstable like I can't get my core tight enough and at the top I'll feel a click in the SI area. Too much clicking or poping there always equals pain later. I feel this a little when squatting also but only if I come up too fast. Any suggestions? I'm thinking about switching to a trap bar and going really light for a while maybe just the bar. The last thing I need is another SI sprain. The last bad one I had took 4 weeks to recover from.

I've had good luck with a chiro for a herniated disc. I've also used two lax balls taped together to get some relief. Lay on them just above your si and push your legs towards your feet. Mine will pop and feel better  
But see a doctor or chiro and at least get some X-rays done. There may be something more wrong than just si pain

I did use a chiro/PT in the past for this. I'm not a big fan of chiropractors because I was injured by one, but this guy was really good at getting my tail bone popped back in to help with the SI joint. He also had me doing a lot of strength training that I still do. I can do most everything pain free except dead lifts but the dead lift is such a basic movement I really want to start doing them again. I noticed the trap bar didn't bother me as much so I'll probably just try them with light weight and slowly increase. I'm going to start using my inversion table again also. It always seemed to help. If none of that works I'll make an appt to see that chiro again. He's a power lifter with a better knowledge of body mechanics than anyone I've ever met. He found an upper back posture problem from weak muscles I didn't even know I had. When he pointed it out it I couldn't believe I didn't notice

start by lowering the weight until you have perfect form then working back up.

maybe post a video, someone may be able to pick out any form issues you may have (that you didnt notice you have).

Good idea. I'll get a video posted soon as my back feels 100%.



 

I think the stretching might be working. I haven't tried dead lifting again but I was able to squat 40 lbs more than I normally do with no lower back pain. I'd usually feel a small amount of pain when I hit the top of the rep as the weight settled back down. The faster I'd come up the worse the pain. This has really limited how much I squat. My legs can push the weight easy but it doesn't matter much if my back can't support the weight.

What's your hip/ham/ankle flexibility like? Do you get the dreaded "butt wink" doing a full squat?

I've got mild scoliosis not enough that they ever did anything for it but I can see a slight curve. I think this caused me to have one hip tighter than the other. My right hip only has 50% of the range of motion of the left. I don't have any flexibility problems squatting. My form is pretty good I had the chiro check for me when I was doing PT a couple years ago



 

I have a lot of discomfort/pain in my SI. I need to see a sports doc more than likely. Anyways, I had a lot less pain when I was doing elevated pulls, and I was a lot stronger. Since religiously doing deads off the floor my strength has dropped considerably. I used to do rack pulls/elevated deads almost exclusively which translated into a bigger deadlift, now I pull conventional off the floor and have been progressively getting weaker or stalling, even with 5/3/1, deloads, resets, etc. It might be worth it to drop the deadlifts for a while. My back was bothering me so I stopped for about 6 months, my max was a lowly 365, down from 495. I pulled a couple weeks ago and *drumroll* 365 went up easily. Squat, SLDLs, Olympic lifts, etc translate well to deadlifts IMO. YMMV.

Thanks I hadn't thought about trying rack pulls. I tried dead lifting with the trap bar today and no pain. It actually made my back feel better. I was lifting really light weight though.



 

Figured I post an update. My back feels great so far. I've been working my posterior chain and abs a lot more. I was neglecting them and I think this was  most of the problem. I'm still lifting light for deadlifts and slowly increasing the weight each week, but I'm above where I was when the injury happened and I feel stable lifting it. I'm doing core exercises 3 or 4 days a week now.





This is the workout





Day 1


Bench 3x10


Bent Rows 3x10


Dips 3x20


Seated Cable rows 3x10


Tricep push down 2x10


Reverse flys 2x10





Day 2


Front Squats 3x10


Glute Ham Raises 3x8


Cable Pull Through 3x10


Barbell Glute Bridge 3x10


Weighted side bends 2x10


Hanging leg raises with feet over head 2x8





Day 3


Deadlift 5x8


Overhead Press 3x10


Pull up 25 total


Overhead Press 3x10


Pull up 25 total


Weighted back extensions 3x10


Overhead shrugs 2x15





Core on off days


Glute Bridge 2 sets


Back extensions 2 sets


Planks on ball moving arms in circle 2 sets


hanging leg raise feet over head 2 sets


weighted side bends 2 sets


push ups with plus 2 sets