Why Your Lower Back Hurts After Squats
As a strength coach and a physical therapist, low back pain after squats is one of the most common complaints I hear. In fact, when rehabbing a patient back to their active lifestyle after a back injury, squats are one of the last things we tackle.
Here’s the thing: squats themselves are not the problem. Squats are one of the most functional movements out there and your body was designed to handle load. But when something isn’t doing its job during the squat, the lower back ends up taking up the slack.
The most common problems I see with back squats are:
Poor core activation
Incorrect posture or trunk positioning
No or poor bracing strategy
Let’s break down the most common reasons your lower back hurts after squats and what you can do to prevent it.
1. Poor Core Activation
Core does not just mean just strong abs… When people hear core, they usually think six-pack muscles and endless crunches. But core stability is really about your ability to control your spine under load.
In fact, I have had plenty of patients with visible abs that are not able to fully engage or stabilize their core.
Your core includes:
Deep abdominal muscles (like the transverse abdominis)
Obliques
Diaphragm
Pelvic floor
Spinal stabilizers (multifidus muscles)
During a squat, your core’s job is to resist movement, not create it. If your core can’t maintain proper tension as you descend and ascend, your spine may shift into excessive movement and your lower back muscles step in to stabilize instead.
That overwork often shows up as:
Tightness or soreness in the low back
A “pinchy” feeling after sets
Back fatigue before legs feel challenged
In other words: your back is working overtime because your core isn’t doing enough at the right time.
The solution to this is not only training the entire core, but training it in all planes. For this reason, I often include spinal flexion, extension, side bending and rotation into my patients’ rehab, but also into my clients’ weekly programming.
Exercises like the Jefferson curl, Sorenson hold, Cable Rainbow, and Cable Rotation in Lunge are my favorite exercises to challenge the core in all planes. And don’t forget, the spinal erectors are a part of the core, so you NEED to be deadlifting when you have back pain.
Jefferson Curl:
Sorenson Hold:
Cable Rainbows:
Cable Rotation in Lunge:
2. Incorrect Posture: Rib Cage + Pelvis Matter More Than You Think
Many people start squats already out of position. If you think of what your neutral spine looks like standing up, you should be able to maintain your trunk posture through the movement. Meaning the positioning from the shoulders to the hips remains stable.
Common setup issues I see:
Rib cage flared up
Excessive arch in the lower back or initiating movement with the hips rotating independently
Pelvis dumped forward before the squat even begins
From there, as you squat deeper, your spine often moves more instead of staying stable.
A neutral, stacked posture doesn’t mean rigid—it means:
Rib cage over pelvis - if you picture your pelvis as a bowl and the ribs as an upside down bowl, they should stay stacked on one another
Spine able to stay controlled as hips and knees move
If you’re starting from an over-arched position, your lower back is already compressed before the bar ever moves. I don’t want to create fear of movement, so I would be remiss not to mention that we should expect some movement outside the “ideal”, but that’s another reason why training movement outside of the “perfect” form should be prioritized.
My favorite exercise to practice proper trunk positioning is the 3 point PVC deadlift, which can be used to understand trunk positioning for the squat. You would then take this exercise and hinge forward just a bit and pair it with a squatting pattern.
3 Point PVC Deadlift
3. Lack of Bracing (This Is a Big One)
One of the biggest mistakes I see, even in experienced lifters, is confusing breathing with bracing.
Bracing means creating 360° tension around your trunk before and during the squat. Think:
Rib cage stacked over pelvis
Inhale into your belly and sides
Lightly contract your abs as if preparing to be bumped
Do not brace or bear downward
If you don’t brace:
The spine becomes unstable under load
The pelvis may tip forward at the bottom of the squat
The lower back takes on shear forces it wasn’t meant to handle
This is especially important as the load gets heavier, but you should be practicing with lighter loads. Think about holding the brace until you are traveling upward from the bottom of the squat and then breathe out.
One exercise I recommend is the Transverse Abdominis Activation and Bracing for Lifting in Standing. You can practice with your hands around your trunk or with a belt to cue you.
Learning how (and when) to use a belt is important too. I typically guide patients and clients to learn bracing first, then use a belt only with loads above 75% of their 1 rep max. The belt should not be used as a crutch when you have pain or for lighter loads. I recommend building the muscles and bracing for lifting and using a belt as an added bonus.
Transverse Abdominis Activation
Bracing for Lifting in Standing
What Actually Helps
Some general strategies that I recommend make a big difference:
Learn to brace early and use exercises like the transverse abdominis activation to help
Use lower loads and slower reps (Tempo Squats) to build strength throughout the movement
Train anti-extension and anti-rotation core work, but also train into these planes and include flexion, extension, side bending, and rotation into your routine or warm up
Film your squats to assess posture and bar path and ask a professional for help if you aren’t sure what to look for
Most importantly: respect that squatting is a full-body skill, not just a leg exercise.
Final Thoughts
Squats shouldn’t wreck your lower back. Mild muscle soreness can happen, but consistent pain is a warning sign for you to make changes.
When your core, posture, and bracing are dialed in, your lower back gets to do what it’s meant to do: support, not compensate.
If squats leave your back feeling worse instead of stronger, it’s time to zoom out and address the foundation not abandon the movement.
If your lower back hurts after squats and you need help, we are here to get you back to lifting.
If you’re looking for personalized, one-on-one sessions to address your back pain concerns, we provide performance physical therapy services to active adults and athletes in the Jacksonville Beach area.
If you’re looking for providers who will listen to you and help you get to the root cause of your back pain, we’ve got you. We will never tell you to “just rest” or “stop lifting”. Our individualized process helps you get back to the things you love without pain, injections or surgery.
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