I've no lower back pain/stiffness/discomfort - ever...is there something that I can do to determine if I do have a disc problem?
I strength-train 2-3 times a week and I generally start with deadlifts because of my hands. The weight I can deadlift is limited by my grip problem, so this is always first before lifting other things.
There was a period of a couple of weeks - right before this happened - when my schedule was really tight and I started right into lifting after next to no warm-up. I only did that a couple of times and have stopped that dangerous behavior - and of course deadlifting targets the hammies among other things.