What you can do about lower back pain as a runner

Having back pain as a runner can be seriously debilitating. Further, if the problem isn’t dealt with in time, running can aggravate it. Researchers from the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Centre examined what may cause chronic back pain in runners, and the exercises to help prevent it. Studies suggest that runners with weak deep core muscles are at a higher risk of developing lower back pain, which is the case with most people.

To examine the role of the superficial and deep core muscles, researchers used motion detection technology and force-measuring floor plates to estimate muscle movements during activity. “We measured the dimensions of runners’ bodies and how they moved to create a computer model that’s specific to that person. That allows us to examine how every bone moves and how much pressure is put on each joint,” said Ajit Chaudhari, lead author of the study.

“We can, then, use that simulation to virtually ‘turn off’ certain muscles and observe how the rest of the body compensates,”.

What they found is that weak deep core muscles force more superficial muscles, for instance, the abs, to work harder, and get fatigued easily. When those superficial muscles are doing the work the deep core should be doing, there are often painful consequences. “When your deep core is weak, your body is able to compensate in a way that allows you to essentially run the same way,” says Chaudhari. “But that increases the load on your spine in a way that may cause lower back pain.”

Experts say that it’s common for even wellconditioned athletes to neglect their deep core, and there is a lot of misinformation online and in fitness magazines about core strength. Traditional ab exercises with a wide range of motion, such as sit-ups or back extensions, will not give you the strong core needed to be a better runner. Instead, Chaudhari says that exercises such as planks, which focus on stabilising the core, especially on unstable surfaces, are what’s really going to make you a better runner.

“Working on a six-pack and trying to become a better runner is definitely not the same thing. If you look at great runners, they don’t typically have a six-pack, but their muscles are very fit,” Chaudhari says. “Static exercises that force you to fire your core and hold your body in place are what’s actually going to help you avoid back pain as a runner,” he explains. These findings have been published in the Journal of Biomechanics.