Lower back pain when running

I've started getting chronic lower back pain when doing cardio, specifically running. This morning I could only manage 20 mins, before I had to stop and after walking was painful and so I had to stop periodically on my way home to ease the pain. I've spoken to a close friend of mine who runs marathons, and he gets the same thing, to the point where a few days after running it's very painful for him to walk around etc. We've been informed that it might be due to tight hamstrings, but I don't know if it's just that or not 
 
Any advice or guidance would be appreciated, as running is my main form of cardio and I actually quite enjoy it so don't want to give it up :-) 
 
Thanks Antelope 

 
Best advice......go see your doctor and get a professional opinion.

Cheers mate - I'll be doing that as well, but wanted to get any opinions off here also from others who might suffer from the same thing and have any tips 

hi antelope
low back pain can be caused by a large number of issues. In biomechanical terms something may not be stacked up quite right. The difficult bit is finding the root cause as your lower back area is most likely not where the problem starts but merely where the problem is presenting itself. This is often a reason for  misdiagnosis of low back pain.
Anyway the good news of that more often than not the techniques you would need to address the root cause/s can be really easy and simple to do.
The bad news is finding a good qualified professional who can help with this type of problem by assessing full functionality of your neuro-musculoskeletal system, particularly if you are across seas in Dubai.
Is that where you are based at the moment - as per your avatar?

As Rach said, it can be multiple things. I'm currently seeing a chairopractor for reoccuring back pains at the moment. They're not overly expensive and have their own x-ray machine so can narrow problems right down.
 
My back issues are down to my hip being out of line slightly which has a knock on effect with the spine being slightly out of line.

Rachfit


hi antelope
low back pain can be caused by a large number of issues. In biomechanical terms something may not be stacked up quite right. The difficult bit is finding the root cause as your lower back area is most likely not where the problem starts but merely where the problem is presenting itself. This is often a reason for  misdiagnosis of low back pain.
Anyway the good news of that more often than not the techniques you would need to address the root cause/s can be really easy and simple to do.
The bad news is finding a good qualified professional who can help with this type of problem by assessing full functionality of your neuro-musculoskeletal system, particularly if you are across seas in Dubai.
Is that where you are based at the moment - as per your avatar?

 
Thanks for the detailed reply Rachel, it's appreciated. I am based out of Dubai currently and I'm sure there are plenty of qualified professionals out here that could help to assist and resolve my problem, so I will do some research and book an appointment. 
 
It's strange as I've been running on/off for years and whilst I've experienced some lower back pain after running, it's never been as bad as it was this morning. I'm wondering if my weights routine on Saturday morning which included dead lifting has played a part to magnify the problem this time round, in that my muscles were still recovering from the DL's and therefore the run was just too much. In any event, I think it would be useful to see a professional and get to the root cause and try to get it resolved 
 
Thanks again for the detailed reply 
Antelope 

Do what the above say and see a specialist.
 
Speculation, but it may be due to pelvic tilt due to tight hip flexors and/or psoas.

While you have been running with mild low back pain the root cause could well have been manifesting itself into something more while you are unaware.
Although having had mild low back pain for some time your body was actually trying to tell you something wasnt right mate.
 
Get checked over and if they dont look at ALL of you then they havent done enough. So you want someone to check your pelvic function, nerve mobility, if you have any sub clinical muscle spasm and how mobile your joints are. They need to do this for all the joints in your body right down to your feet to be totally thorough in examining you and any potential causes of your low back pain.
 
I do know someone in Dubai but its a big place hahahahaha if you PM your email I could pass it on? or I can see where he is based?

Hey Rachel - 
 
Attempted to send you a PM yesterday, but not sure if it went through or not. Let me know. 
 
Definitely something wrong with the lower back, even a short sprinting session this morning consisting of 5 sprints left me in the same pain / discomfort as the run :-( 
 
Thanks 

have emailed you back mate - did you PM after that?

Strange I don't have an email or PM. Perhaps PM me your email and I'll email you and take it from there :-)

cool will do
 

This is interesting because through years of playing football and rugby , and even moreso when I cycle, I have had the same recurring thing.
 
It's a really instense, dull muscular ache in the lower back / kidney area. I have just ploughed on regardless and eventually it subsides, although sometimes-  especially when cycling - I just have to drive through it.
 
I find it's much worse if I have a break from something, so, sticking with the cycling example, because I don't cycle in the winter very much, when I start back in the spring I'll have awful lower back pain back pain which will be for the whole ride for the first 2-3 rides (at 80-100 miles each time out it's really annoying), but will reduce in intensity and duration the more I ride.
 
I get the same when running, hillwalking, skiing etc.

OK a very common biomechanical dysfunction is a rotated pelvis caused by a protective muscle spasm which stops the pelivs moving the way it should. This often causes one leg to appear longer than the other and can obviously result in common complaints like knee pain, shin pain or foot pain due to the asymmetry during gait.
 
Another problem of having this rotated pelvis is that one side of it can become 'stuck' sitting higher than the other side. This then means the spine comes out of the pelvis at an angle. So we are not going to stand leaning to one side as the brain will automatically bring the head into the central line of gravity for balance.
Imagine what effect this has on the spine = it will curve to compensate = known as scoliosis. This CAN sometimes be a structural deformity (which we cant do anything about) but more often than not it is a functional problem at the pelvis as described above.
 
If the spine curves then on the concave side the joints will be closer together, meaning the soft tissues in that area are squashed so to speak. This can certainly result in what we call 'non specific low grade back pain'.
This is not a 'medical' issue but a biomechanical one and so it is ulikely that a professional qualified to treat injuries will be able to diagnose anything - there is nothing to diagnose!!! It is a job for someone who can assess and advise you on how to correct this type of dysfunction.
 
The only way to know for sure is to find someone skilled in this area.

So ignoring it might not be the best way forward then?
 
Shame, I find the best thing to do with pain is ignore it ...

I tend to just jam soft tissue tools into stuff that hurts, but I think that's more my masochistic than therapeutic side
 

Bollard/AK_88 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got a rumble roller for christmas Rach, whole new world of pain and bruise-art over my calves, quads, adductors and ITB's, beautiful!

hahahahaha photo please I might want one!