The Myth That Will Not Die

I am a chiropractor who spends a significant portion of my week treating back pain. And I am here to tell you: the deadlift is not the problem.

The narrative that deadlifts are inherently dangerous, that they are a spine-wrecking exercise that chiropractors, physical therapists, and orthopedic surgeons should be warning people away from, is not supported by the evidence. It is a story that persists because it sounds plausible, because it aligns with a general public fear of “lifting with your back,” and because a small number of high-profile injuries in the gym get attributed to the exercise rather than to the conditions under which it was performed.

Let me be direct: yes, deadlifts are safe. When performed with adequate technique, appropriate load, sufficient warm-up, and reasonable progression, they are one of the most effective exercises available for building posterior chain strength, improving hip mechanics, and protecting the spine long-term.

What the Research Actually Shows

The injury rate data on deadlifting in trained populations is consistently low. A 2017 review of powerlifting injuries found lower injury rates per training hour in powerlifters than in recreational sports like soccer, basketball, and even distance running. The most common injury sites in powerlifting are not the lumbar spine, they are the shoulder, knee, and lower extremity.

On the rehabilitation side, the evidence is even more compelling. Progressive hip hinge loading, which is exactly what a deadlift is, has strong support as a component of rehabilitation for chronic low back pain, disc pathology, and hip and knee conditions. The deadlift pattern teaches the hips to take load that the spine is not equipped to handle alone. It builds the erector, glute, and hamstring function that protects the lumbar spine under daily loading demands.

In other words: deadlifts, done well, are part of the solution for back pain, not the cause.

Why Deadlifts Are Not the Enemy

Here is what I see in practice. A patient comes in with lumbar disc pain. They mention they deadlift. The previous provider told them to stop. They have been avoiding the gym for six months. They are weaker, their pain has not resolved, and they are starting to lose confidence in what their body can do.

The problem in that scenario is not the deadlift. The problem is the absence of progressive loading during a recovery period that would have benefited from it. A weaker posterior chain means more spinal load. More spinal load on an unrehabilitated disc means a longer recovery. Taking the deadlift away from patients who need posterior chain strength is like taking walking away from someone who has knee pain. The movement is not the villain. The dose and the context are what matter.

What Actually Makes Deadlifts Dangerous

There are things that make deadlifts dangerous, and none of them are the movement itself. Excessive load relative to current capacity, the ego-lift that exceeds what the supporting musculature can actually stabilize, is the most common culprit. Lumbar flexion under load is another: the rounded lower back at the bottom of the pull places the disc under compressive and shear force simultaneously. Insufficient warm-up matters too, because cold tissues under heavy loads do not respond well. Rapid load increases, jumping 40 pounds per week without allowing the connective tissue time to adapt, create the conditions for overuse injury. And deadlifting through an acute injury, pushing through active radiculopathy or a fresh herniation that has not been assessed, is a genuine risk.

Fix those things and the deadlift is not dangerous. It is one of the best things you can put in a training program.

How We Use Deadlifts at COSJ

At Central Ohio Spine and Joint, we build the deadlift pattern back into patient programs as soon as it is clinically appropriate, which is often sooner than patients expect. We start with the hip hinge pattern at bodyweight or with a light kettlebell. We cue neutral spine throughout. We progress load conservatively and use the 24-hour response as our feedback loop.

We use the Tonal for precise load management in the early phases of progressive loading. By the time a patient leaves our care, most of them are deadlifting again. Many of them are lifting more than they were before the injury, not because we pushed them, but because we built the foundation correctly and let the progression be guided by how the tissue responded.

The Bottom Line

Deadlifts are safe. The exercise is not the problem. The conditions under which they are performed are what determine the risk.

If you have been told to avoid deadlifts because of back pain, a disc herniation, or a prior injury, and you want a second opinion from someone who looks at the evidence rather than the fear, come in. We will assess what is actually happening in your spine, tell you what the tissue can handle, and build a plan that gets you back to lifting with confidence.

 

In your corner,
Dr. Blake Richard, DC
Central Ohio Spine and Joint | Westerville, OH
cospineandjoint.com/schedule-appointment