Back pain after or during running is a common problem. It can easily occur both among novice runners and advanced ones.
First you need to understand what causes back pain. As a rule, after running or during it at a long distance, the lower back and lower back ache.
Reasons for back pain while running
There are only six reasons for this:
- Past (or current) injuries
- Poor running technique
- Weak cortex muscles
- Fatigue
- Neurological causes
- Age-related disorders (such as osteochondrosis)
You can also add hypothermia as a separate point.
The main problem is that it is quite difficult to understand by yourself the true cause of back pain while running or already after training. That’s why everyone immediately recommends going to a specially trained person – a doctor. However, most amateur runners leave this option for an extreme case, in which not only running, but even getting out of bed is problematic.
How to prevent back pain
Fortunately, in the vast majority of cases, back pain goes away (if it was not related to a serious body disorder) when the athlete begins to meet the following requirements, which are of equal importance:
- Adjusting running technique and/or changing running shoes
- Including additional rest days in the training plan
- Slightly reducing the duration of monotonous loads
- Strengthening the cortex and gluteal muscles
- Stretching, muscle relaxation and joint mobility exercises (especially hip exercises)
As you understand, before all this, it is necessary to wait for the end of back pain, taking a couple or three days (and sometimes a week) of rest from any training, and then return to the process very gradually.
Let’s look at some of the points in more detail.
Running technique.
If the technique is not correct, when the entire body weight collapses on the heel when you land, the shock wave in a straight line reaches both the lower back muscles and the spinal column. The most innocuous consequence is overstretching of the lumbar spine.
But the consequences can also be more serious. True, they rarely come before knee, Achilles, and ankle problems. Improper running shoes only contribute to this.
Weak or non-harmonized muscles
Unevenly developed cortex muscles (aka corset, aka torso, aka core) entail a curvature (sag) in the lumbar region during prolonged running load.
Although these muscles have a direct influence on maintaining a straight body position while running, posture must be worked on separately if it is far from ideal (due to scoliosis, etc.). Poorly developed gluteal muscles lead to the same sagging of the lower back. But in this case, it happens because the pelvis is tilted slightly forward.
The standard exercise of any runner and triathlete to strengthen the muscles of the bark is the so-called bar, which is performed in conjunction with other exercises, including strength.
Note that the muscles of the lower back can be quite sturdy and well developed, but weak abdominal muscles can override this advantage. That is why it is a question of harmonious development of all the muscles of the cortex.
There are only six reasons:
Working on joint mobility and muscle elasticity helps to improve blood circulation in the areas of concern. Stretching exercises during the recovery days help to eliminate muscle tension. And in our case, this applies directly to the pear-shaped muscle, the existence of which for some reason few people know about.
The pear-shaped muscles of the buttocks
The pear-shaped muscle is located under the gluteal muscles and performs a very important role – stabilization of the pelvis during running or walking. To be precise, there are two of them, they are arranged in opposition and work alternately.
Unfortunately, in a sedentary lifestyle, they do not work at all, because there is nothing to stabilize them. When the “office person” suddenly decides to run, they often do not have time to synchronize, and adding their weak development (in terms of muscles), they overstretch quite quickly.
By not giving the muscles the proper time to recover, they can contribute to a pinched sciatic nerve, which can lead to pain in the lower parts of the body and, again, kicking up in the back.
Pain in the upper back and cervical region
Regarding the pain during a long run in the upper back, in the shoulder girdle, if it, as in the first version, is not associated with any disorders in the functions of the body, then we are talking about fatigue tension. Pain occurs between and under the shoulder blades and above.
As you run, your neck muscles begin to tire, and your head begins to tilt forward slightly. The more it tilts forward, the more tension is put on the back long neck muscles, such as the belt muscle, which causes the pain. Of course, improper posture can easily be added to this as well.
