For the Runners - lower back pain

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kgagnon7779
kgagnon7779 Posts: 216
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi all -

I average about a 7 1/2 - 8 minute mile. I should say, I DID average that until I fractured my foot a month ago. I stopped running for the first two weeks after and then started again 2 weeks ago and at a much slower pace - about a 9 minute mile. Anyway, I have had lower back pain on and off for the past 2 years - I've managed it with sports massages, stretching and stuff, but it was always just kind of there - a dull, sometimes pretty obvious pain. Now, in the last 4 weeks since my injury and even while running slower, I have NO back pain - ZERO. Can I associate my faster pace with back pain? Seems weird to me that running a little slower would alleviate this....Has this happened to anyone? Wondering if I just need to give up on working toward running faster.

PS - I do need new shoes, not desperately, but I'm probably about 50 miles over. But, I don't want to buy them until I'm done with this stupid air cast.

Replies

  • myrbg
    myrbg Posts: 93
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    i'm really curious about this too! it's like you were reading my brain!!
  • pjgjnfl
    pjgjnfl Posts: 45 Member
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    I have disk issues in my lower back... Had to stop running completely. No I only bike and walk at 4 mph... I can do a light jog and back begins to hurt... But fast walk is okay. Have you had an mri? Do you know the cause?
  • Wimpey
    Wimpey Posts: 64 Member
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    Yes and no...

    Yes I suffer from back pain and have noticed that if I have done speed work, racing and or high maleage with intensity then it might aggravate it.

    But not been as bad since recently have maintained core work in the programme and have had a professional coach manaing my training plan... changes did not happen overnight though. So have been able to train more = go faster...

    I also have been managing though sport massage, stretching etc... as you have mentioned.
    Also have noticed that when injured elsewhere the back pain disappear, but it gets back if I get training hard.
    Normally it goes away as well in the off season, but when i move from the "Build" phase to more intense work it can get back, so I am being more carefull nowadays.

    May be the rest you had it gave it a bit of time to recover/get stronger, but possibly once you start running faster it might come back if you go too fast too soon?

    Best of luck!
  • TS65
    TS65 Posts: 1,024 Member
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    How many strides per minute are you? Many people lengthen their stride to increase pace, instead of increasing foot turnover. This can cause heel strike which will lead to pain/ injury (foot, knee, hip, back, etc.) Here's an article that my help:

    http://www.chirunning.com/chi-library/article/running-with-a-metronome/
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,701 Member
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    Increasing speed will increase the lbs/sq. inch of pressure when your foot lands. Think of it as pushing a thumbtack into a wall (walking) compared to striking it with a hammer into the wall (running). The striking creates more force and a higher impact.
  • nickfn
    nickfn Posts: 19
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    I run a 7m40s base pace and have never had any back problems. So I wouldn't immediately associate just a faster pace with back pain. However, do you change your stride as you get up into the 'faster' speeds? I would imagine your form can have a large impact (no pun intended) on how pressure is applied to your skeletal system (especially the spine).

    Also - do you do any strength training? Strengthening your lower back may help some with stabilization and support. For me, sometimes a back/core workouts affect my next-day runs more than a leg workout does. You may want to add some light deadlifts to your workout. But I guess this solution is more for back cramps/soreness than it is for actual pain.

    Hope it works out and let us know what you find!
  • CaptainAmerica1970
    CaptainAmerica1970 Posts: 435
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    YES!!!!!!! But first, Your fast!! anyway, there are several reasons I have found for me. I have since learned as a result and my back as yours some times hurts so I run at different speeds, buy new shoes, stretch, cross train, core strength, ab work. change the direction of you run because the road is crowed if you run the same direction on the same terrain one leg is being lengthened while the other shorter causing muscle groups to be trained irregularly.
  • kgagnon7779
    kgagnon7779 Posts: 216
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    First of all - THANK YOU! There is a wealth of information here that I can't wait to dissect, but for now, I have to do the kid drop off thing. Can't wait to check it all out in a bit- thanks for the help.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    I'm with the people who have said your stride probably changed while running slower. A shorter/choppier stride is supposed to be more efficient and may be why your pain went away.
  • kgagnon7779
    kgagnon7779 Posts: 216
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    I have disk issues in my lower back... Had to stop running completely. No I only bike and walk at 4 mph... I can do a light jog and back begins to hurt... But fast walk is okay. Have you had an mri? Do you know the cause?

    Bummer! I'm so sorry for you. I don't think mine is disk related. Though, I had serious sciatic issues with both of my pregnancies but that pain mostly went away after I had the kids. But, if I'm on my feet for a long time I can irritate it. But, that's more of a sharp pain compared to the lower back pain I feel day-to-day. I haven't had an MRI - the pain feels muscular, not so much mechanical. Does that make sense?
  • kgagnon7779
    kgagnon7779 Posts: 216
    Options
    Yes and no...

    Yes I suffer from back pain and have noticed that if I have done speed work, racing and or high maleage with intensity then it might aggravate it.

    But not been as bad since recently have maintained core work in the programme and have had a professional coach manaing my training plan... changes did not happen overnight though. So have been able to train more = go faster...

    I also have been managing though sport massage, stretching etc... as you have mentioned.
    Also have noticed that when injured elsewhere the back pain disappear, but it gets back if I get training hard.
    Normally it goes away as well in the off season, but when i move from the "Build" phase to more intense work it can get back, so I am being more carefull nowadays.

    May be the rest you had it gave it a bit of time to recover/get stronger, but possibly once you start running faster it might come back if you go too fast too soon?

    Best of luck!

    I'm sure you're right about the rest thing. Not only have I slowed down, but I've decreased my mileage too. I'm now just running about 25 miles a week, down from 35. I tried some hill sprints the other day - because I forgot to mention that I was actually doing hill sprints and flat road sprints very regularly before - flat road pace at about 6m mile. Anyway - I did hill sprints, again, slower and shorter but still, no pain. Do you use a foam roller? I LOVE THAT THING.
  • kgagnon7779
    kgagnon7779 Posts: 216
    Options
    How many strides per minute are you? Many people lengthen their stride to increase pace, instead of increasing foot turnover. This can cause heel strike which will lead to pain/ injury (foot, knee, hip, back, etc.) Here's an article that my help:

    http://www.chirunning.com/chi-library/article/running-with-a-metronome/
    I have no idea, but now I'm very interested to find out. I'm sure I'm lengthening my stride. I'll check out the article - thanks.
  • kgagnon7779
    kgagnon7779 Posts: 216
    Options
    I run a 7m40s base pace and have never had any back problems. So I wouldn't immediately associate just a faster pace with back pain. However, do you change your stride as you get up into the 'faster' speeds? I would imagine your form can have a large impact (no pun intended) on how pressure is applied to your skeletal system (especially the spine).

    Also - do you do any strength training? Strengthening your lower back may help some with stabilization and support. For me, sometimes a back/core workouts affect my next-day runs more than a leg workout does. You may want to add some light deadlifts to your workout. But I guess this solution is more for back cramps/soreness than it is for actual pain.

    Hope it works out and let us know what you find!

    I do a lot of strength training and have actually moved into more heavy weight lifting - this is interesting too: I just started squat pressing more weight than I ever have and I thought for sure my back issues would come back - nothing - at least, not yet. I do a lot of deadlifts and also do some sort of core exercise every day (though I'm not sure my core will ever be as strong as I need it to be). My gym's PT had an interesting theory about my back pain. I take a power sculpt class that is very lunge/squat heavy. He said that my quad muscles have become over-dominant and they are preventing my glutes from "firing", which is, in turn, putting more stress on my lower back. So, he told me I need to work on my hamstrings and my glutes and retrain them to work instead of letting my quads do all the work. This made a lot of sense to me at the time, but after working for a few months straight on getting them stronger, I was still not seeing much pain relief.

    So, it sounds like I need to work on my stride - I don't want to run slower! It took me 5 years to get to this pace! :ohwell:

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