Is the Deadlift Bad for Your Back?
Introduction: Rethinking the Deadlift
If you’ve ever struggled with lower back pain, you may have been told to avoid deadlifts altogether. This advice, while well-meaning, can unintentionally limit your recovery. At Ascension Physical Therapy & Performance, we take a different approach—one that views movement as part of the solution, not the problem.
What Is a Deadlift, Really?
When most people think of a deadlift, they picture a barbell on the gym floor. But that’s just one version. At its core, a deadlift is simply the act of picking something up off the ground. That “something” could be a barbell, a kettlebell, a laundry basket, or even a squirmy toddler.
Reframing the deadlift this way matters. Because it’s not just an exercise—it’s a daily human movement. And when back pain makes people avoid that movement entirely, we see a ripple effect far beyond the gym.
The Problem with Avoidance Strategies
Avoidance can be necessary in the early stages of pain. Giving tissues time to heal and avoiding aggravating positions is part of recovery (read here to learn more about modifying your training plan vs. stopping training when dealing with pain). But when avoidance becomes the default strategy—long after the tissue has healed—it creates a cycle we call decrementalism.
Decrementalism is the gradual erosion of ability. It starts subtly: skipping one activity here, hesitating to bend there. But over time, it compounds. You move less, and as you move less, your body and brain begin to lose capacity, confidence, and trust.
This strategy also feeds a powerful brain process called generalization. When your nervous system perceives a certain movement (like bending over) as dangerous, it can start to label other, similar movements as dangerous too—even if they’re safe. That fear spreads, and suddenly more and more of your life feels out of reach.
Pain Is Not Just a Tissue Problem
To understand how this happens, it helps to know how pain works. Pain is not a perfect indicator of injury—it’s a protective signal from your brain. It’s your body’s way of saying, “Something might not be safe here.”
The key word is might. Pain is a prediction, not proof. Your brain gathers information from past experiences, beliefs, your environment, and your physical state to decide whether to sound the alarm. Sometimes that alarm is accurate. But often, especially after an injury has healed, it becomes a false alarm that still shapes behavior.
This is why pain can persist long after tissue damage is gone—and why avoiding movement can reinforce the alarm rather than quiet it.
The Deadlift as a Tool for Recovery
When used thoughtfully, the deadlift becomes a powerful tool for recovery—not a risk. We don’t mean heavy barbells on day one. We mean any version of the movement that safely reintroduces:
Strength: Building capacity in your posterior chain
Mobility: Restoring your ability to move through functional ranges
Endurance: Preparing your body for repeatable daily tasks
Confidence: Retraining your brain to see movement as safe again
This process is known as graded exposure—systematically reintroducing movements that were once feared or painful. It works not just on your body, but on your nervous system.
To see a video on different versions/modifications of the deadlift, click here
Building Back Affordances
In movement science, affordances are the actions your body feels capable of doing. As pain and fear increase, affordances shrink. You stop lifting, bending, reaching, playing, carrying. Life starts to feel smaller.
But by gradually restoring movement, through the necessary and intentional application of stress, you expand those affordances. You regain the ability to move without fear. And with that, you reclaim parts of your life that pain tried to take away.
How We Help
At our White Bear Lake clinic, we don’t prescribe cookie-cutter programs. It’s personalized physical therapy and chiropractic care. We meet you where you are—with your pain, your goals, and your story—and build a plan that makes sense for you. Whether that means starting with a kettlebell, a banded movement, or simply learning how to hinge again, we guide the process with clarity and care.
Conclusion: Reclaiming Movement, Reclaiming Life
The deadlift isn’t bad for your back. But misunderstanding it—or fearing it—can limit your healing.
When seen as a fundamental movement, not a gym lift, the deadlift becomes a way to restore strength, confidence, and hope. There’s always a starting point. There’s always a path forward. Let’s help you find yours.
