Lower Back Pain When Running: Causes, Fixes and Prevention

If you're dealing with lower back pain when running, you're not alone. It's one of the most common complaints I hear from runners at every level, from first-timers doing their first 5K to seasoned marathoners logging 70-mile weeks. And the good news? In most cases, it's very fixable.

I've worked with hundreds of runners over the years who thought their back pain meant they'd have to stop running. They didn't. With the right understanding of what's causing it and a targeted plan to address it, most runners are back training comfortably within a few weeks.

This guide covers everything: what's actually happening in your lower back when it hurts, the most common causes specific to runners, what you can do right now to get relief, and how to build a back that stays strong mile after mile.

Quick answer: Lower back pain when running is usually caused by muscle weakness or tightness, poor running form, overuse, or a combination of all three. Start by reducing your mileage, addressing any tight hip flexors and weak glutes, and gradually reintroducing structured strength work. Most runners see significant improvement within 2-4 weeks.

What Is Lower Back Pain in Runners?

Your lower back, or lumbar spine, sits right at the centre of everything you do when you run. It connects your upper body to your lower body. It transfers force from the ground up through your hips and into your torso with every single stride.

The lumbar region includes five vertebrae (L1 to L5), the discs between them, and a complex web of muscles, ligaments, and nerves. When any part of that system gets overloaded or irritated, you feel it.

Running is a repetitive, high-impact activity. Your foot hits the ground somewhere between 800 and 1,000 times per mile. Multiply that by a 10-mile run and you start to understand why small issues in your movement patterns add up quickly.

Here's the thing: running itself doesn't cause lower back pain in most cases. Research actually suggests that regular runners tend to have less lower back pain than sedentary people over the course of their lives. It's usually a specific combination of factors, things like weakness, tightness, or poor form, that tips the balance into pain.

Lower Back Pain When Running: The Most Common Causes

Before you can fix the problem, you need to understand what's driving it. Here are the causes I see most often in my coaching work.

1. Weak Glutes and Poor Pelvic Control

This is the big one. In my experience, weak glutes are behind the majority of running-related lower back pain cases I see.

Your gluteal muscles (glute max, glute med, and glute min) are supposed to control your pelvis and hip position as you run. When they're not doing their job, your lower back muscles pick up the slack. They work overtime trying to stabilise you with every stride, and eventually they protest.

A tell-tale sign is what we call a hip drop in your running gait. Watch yourself run on a treadmill from behind. If your pelvis dips noticeably to one side each time your foot lifts off, your glutes aren't controlling that movement. Your lower back is.

I had a runner come to me last year, a 42-year-old who'd been battling back pain for months. She'd tried everything: stretching, rest, even a new mattress. Within three weeks of adding targeted glute work to her training, her back pain was gone. It's that powerful.

2. Tight Hip Flexors

Sit at a desk all day? Drive a lot? Your hip flexors are almost certainly shortened and tight. And tight hip flexors pull your pelvis into an anterior tilt, which increases the curve in your lower back. That position places extra compression on the lumbar spine with every stride you take.

It's one of the most common patterns I see in runners who also have desk jobs. They run in the same posture they sit in, and their lower backs pay the price.

3. Overstriding

Landing your foot too far in front of your body, what we call overstriding, creates a braking force with each footstrike. That force travels up your leg and into your lower back. Over thousands of strides, it's a significant cumulative load on your lumbar spine.

Increasing your running cadence by just 5-10% can reduce this load considerably. I'll cover exactly how to do that shortly.

4. Too Much, Too Soon

Overuse is behind a huge proportion of running injuries, and lower back pain is no exception. Your muscles, discs, and joints need time to adapt to the demands of running. Push your mileage up too fast and something gives.

A good rule of thumb is the 10% rule: don't increase your weekly mileage by more than 10% from one week to the next. It feels conservative. It works.

5. Weak Core Muscles

When I say core, I don't mean six-pack abs. I mean the deep stabilising muscles that wrap around your spine and pelvis: your transverse abdominis, multifidus, and pelvic floor. These muscles provide the stable base your limbs need to move efficiently.

When they're weak, your spine moves more than it should with each stride. That excess movement creates irritation. Over a long run, that irritation becomes pain.

6. Tight Hamstrings

Tight hamstrings pull on your sitting bones and can rotate your pelvis backwards (posterior tilt), which flattens the natural curve of your lower back. That altered position changes the load distribution through your lumbar discs and joints. Not ideal when you're running 40 miles a week.

7. Running Form Issues

Beyond overstriding, other form issues can load the lower back. Excessive forward lean, a collapsed trunk, poor arm swing, and a head position that's too far forward can all shift load onto your lumbar spine. Your head position alone can significantly affect your running posture, so it's worth checking.

8. Facet Joint Irritation

Your facet joints sit at the back of each vertebra and guide spinal movement. They can become irritated by excessive lumbar extension, which often happens when your hip flexors are tight and your glutes are weak. The pain tends to feel like a deep, central ache in the lower back that's worse when you lean backwards.

9. Sacroiliac Joint Pain

The sacroiliac (SI) joint connects your sacrum to your pelvis. It handles a lot of rotational force when you run. If it becomes irritated or hypermobile, you'll often feel a sharp or aching pain on one side of your lower back, just above the buttock. It can be tricky to distinguish from other causes, which is why a physiotherapist assessment is valuable if you're not sure.

10. Disc Issues

Disc-related pain is less common in runners than the causes above, but it does happen. A bulging or herniated disc can cause local back pain, and if it presses on a nerve root, you may also feel pain, tingling, or numbness running down one leg. That's a sign to get assessed by a physio or sports medicine doctor rather than trying to self-treat.

11. Sciatica

Sciatica is pain that travels along the sciatic nerve, typically from the lower back down through the buttock and into the leg. It can be caused by disc issues or by the piriformis muscle irritating the nerve as it passes through the hip. If you have leg symptoms alongside your back pain, check out our guide to back pain and sciatica exercises for runners.

12. Fatigue-Related Breakdown

This one doesn't get enough attention. Even if your form is decent at the start of a run, it can deteriorate significantly as you fatigue. Your glutes switch off, your trunk loses stability, and your lower back starts compensating. If your pain tends to come on in the second half of longer runs, this is likely what's happening.

Do This Right Now: Immediate Relief Steps

If your back is hurting today, here's what I'd recommend before we get into the longer-term fixes.

Step 1: Reduce Your Load

Cut your running volume by 30-50% for the next 5-7 days. You don't need to stop completely in most cases, but you do need to give the irritated tissues a chance to settle. Swap some runs for walking, cycling, or swimming.

Step 2: Apply Heat

For muscular lower back pain, heat works better than ice in most cases. A warm bath, heat pack, or hot water bottle applied to the lower back for 15-20 minutes can ease muscle spasm and improve local circulation. Do this 2-3 times a day.

Step 3: Gentle Movement

Lying still for hours makes most lower back pain worse, not better. Gentle movement keeps blood flowing and prevents the muscles from stiffening up further. A short, easy walk every couple of hours is ideal.

Step 4: Try These Two Stretches

These are my go-to immediate relief stretches for runners with lower back pain.

Knee-to-chest stretch: Lie on your back. Pull both knees gently towards your chest and hold for 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times. This decompresses the lumbar spine and eases muscle tension.

Cat-cow: On all fours, slowly arch your back up (cat) then let it sag down (cow). Move slowly and breathe. Do 10 repetitions. This restores gentle movement to the lumbar joints and helps reduce stiffness.

For a full routine, have a look at our dedicated lower back stretches for runners.

Step 5: Check Your Running Shoes

Worn-out shoes lose their cushioning and can increase the impact forces travelling up to your lower back. If your shoes have more than 400-500 miles on them, it's time for a new pair.

How to Fix Lower Back Pain When Running: The Full Plan

Once the acute pain starts to settle, usually within 3-7 days, it's time to address the root causes. This is where most people go wrong. They rest, feel better, go straight back to running the same way they were before, and the pain comes back within a few weeks.

Don't make that mistake. Use this window to build a back that can handle the demands of running.

Fix Your Running Form

Two form changes make the biggest difference for lower back pain.

Increase your cadence. A higher step rate naturally shortens your stride, reduces overstriding, and decreases the impact load on your lower back. Aim for around 170-180 steps per minute. If you're not sure where you currently are, count your steps for 30 seconds and double it. Use a metronome app or a running playlist at the right BPM to help you hit your target. Our guide to using a metronome to improve running technique is a great place to start.

Run taller. Think about lifting the crown of your head towards the sky. This cue naturally improves your posture, reduces forward lean, and takes load off your lumbar spine. Don't force it, just think tall. It's a simple cue but it works.

Strengthen Your Glutes

This is non-negotiable. Learning how to engage your glutes when running is one of the most important things you can do for lower back health. But first you need to build the strength in the gym.

Here are the exercises I prescribe most often for runners with lower back pain caused by glute weakness.

Glute Bridge

Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Drive your hips up until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees. Squeeze your glutes hard at the top. Hold for 2 seconds, then lower slowly. Do 3 sets of 15 repetitions. Once this feels easy, progress to single-leg glute bridges.

Clamshells

Lie on your side with knees bent and hips stacked. Keeping your feet together, rotate your top knee up towards the ceiling like a clamshell opening. Hold for 1-2 seconds at the top. Do 3 sets of 15 per side. Add a resistance band around your thighs to progress.

Side-Lying Hip Abduction

Lie on your side with your body in a straight line. Lift your top leg to about 45 degrees, keeping your toes pointing forward (not to the ceiling). Lower slowly. This targets glute medius directly, the key muscle for controlling hip drop when you run. Do 3 sets of 15 per side.

Single-Leg Deadlift

Stand on one leg. Hinge forward at the hip, keeping your back flat, as your free leg extends behind you. Return to standing. This builds glute strength through hip extension and trains the balance and coordination you need on the run. Do 3 sets of 10 per side.

Strengthen Your Core

Remember, this isn't about crunches. The exercises below build the deep stability your spine needs during running.

Dead Bug

Lie on your back with arms pointing to the ceiling and knees bent at 90 degrees (like a dead bug). Slowly lower your right arm and left leg towards the floor simultaneously, keeping your lower back pressed flat. Return and repeat on the other side. This is one of the best exercises for building lumbar stability without loading the spine. Do 3 sets of 10 per side.

Plank

A classic for good reason. Hold a forearm plank with your body in a straight line. Focus on squeezing your glutes and bracing your core. Start with 3 sets of 20-30 seconds and build from there. Don't let your hips sag or pike up.

Bird Dog

On all fours, simultaneously extend your right arm and left leg until both are parallel to the floor. Hold for 3 seconds. Return and repeat on the other side. This builds the anti-rotation stability that's so important for running. Do 3 sets of 10 per side.

Release Tight Hip Flexors

Stretch your hip flexors daily, not just after runs. The kneeling hip flexor stretch is my favourite.

Kneel on your right knee with your left foot forward. Tuck your pelvis under slightly (this is the key bit that most people miss) and shift your weight forward until you feel a stretch in the front of your right hip. Hold for 45-60 seconds. Do 3 repetitions per side, twice a day.

If you sit at a desk all day, set a timer to get up and move every 45 minutes. Even a 2-minute walk breaks the cycle of hip flexor shortening.

Address Hamstring Tightness

A supine hamstring stretch works well. Lie on your back and loop a resistance band or towel around your foot. Straighten your leg as much as you can and hold for 30-45 seconds. Do 3 repetitions per side. Don't bounce; hold the stretch steadily.

Improve Thoracic Mobility

This is a gap that most articles on this topic miss entirely. If your thoracic spine (the mid and upper back) is stiff, your lower back has to compensate by moving more. That extra lumbar movement adds up over thousands of running strides.

A simple foam roller thoracic extension is excellent here. Sit on the floor with a foam roller behind you at mid-back level. Lean back over the roller, support your head with your hands, and extend gently. Move the roller up and down your mid-back. Do this for 2-3 minutes. Check out our guide to foam roller techniques for upper back pain for more ideas.

Also have a look at our back mobility exercises for runners for a more complete mobility routine.

Rebuild Your Mileage Carefully

Once your pain has settled to a manageable level (2/10 or less), you can start rebuilding your running. Follow these principles:

• Start with shorter, easier runs than you were doing before
• Keep effort low, conversational pace only
• Increase duration before intensity
• Add no more than 10% mileage per week
• If pain spikes above 3/10 during a run, stop and walk
• Strength work should continue alongside your return to running, not stop when running resumes

Most runners with muscular lower back pain can return to comfortable training within 2-4 weeks if they follow this approach consistently.

Lower Back Pain When Running: A Timeline for Recovery

These timelines assume a straightforward muscular or postural cause. Disc or nerve-related issues may take longer. If you're not seeing improvement by week 3, get assessed by a physiotherapist.

Can I Run with Lower Back Pain?

This is the question I get asked most often. The honest answer is: it depends.

In general, you can continue running with mild lower back pain (2/10 or less) as long as:

• The pain doesn't get worse during the run
• You're not compensating significantly in your gait
• There are no nerve symptoms (tingling, numbness, or weakness in your legs)
• Pain returns to baseline within an hour of finishing

If your pain is 4/10 or above, or if you notice any of the red flag symptoms below, stop running and seek professional advice.

For a more detailed breakdown of how to manage training around back pain, read our guide to running with lower back pain.

When to See a Physiotherapist or Doctor

Most running-related lower back pain responds well to the self-management strategies above. But some situations need professional assessment. See a physiotherapist or sports medicine doctor if:

• Pain is severe (6/10 or above) and not improving after 5-7 days
• You have pain, tingling, or numbness running down one or both legs
• You have weakness in your legs or feet
• Pain wakes you from sleep
• You've had a fall or direct trauma to your back
• Pain is not improving after 3-4 weeks of consistent self-management
• You have bladder or bowel changes alongside back pain (this is a medical emergency, go to A&E immediately)

A good physio won't just tell you to rest. They'll identify exactly what's causing your pain, give you a targeted rehab plan, and help you get back to running as quickly as safely possible.

Preventing Lower Back Pain from Running: Long-Term Strategies

Getting rid of back pain is one thing. Keeping it away is another. Here's how I help runners stay pain-free long term.

Make Strength Training a Year-Round Habit

Two sessions of strength training per week is enough to make a real difference. Focus on the glutes, core, and hip stabilisers. Don't drop the strength work when you're feeling good. That's exactly when most runners stop, and it's why the pain comes back.

Our guide to common running injuries including lower back pain covers how to build this kind of resilience across your whole body.

Warm Up Properly Before Every Run

A proper dynamic warm-up activates your glutes, loosens your hip flexors, and prepares your spine for the demands of running. Spend 5-10 minutes on leg swings, hip circles, glute bridges, and walking lunges before you head out. Check out our running warm-up structure for a full routine.

Vary Your Running Surfaces

Running exclusively on hard tarmac increases the cumulative impact load on your spine. Mix in some trail running, grass, or gravel where you can. Your back will thank you.

Watch Your Training Load

Track your weekly mileage and be honest about your recovery. If you had a hard race last weekend, don't stack a big training week on top of it. Your body, including your lower back, needs time to adapt and recover.

Address Your Sitting Posture

If you sit for long periods during the day, your hip flexors shorten and your glutes switch off. Both of these set you up for lower back pain when you run. Set reminders to stand up and move every 45 minutes. Consider a standing desk for part of your working day.

Don't Neglect Sleep and Recovery

Your intervertebral discs rehydrate overnight during sleep. Poor sleep means less recovery for your spine. Aim for 7-9 hours per night, especially during heavy training blocks.

Check Your Running Form Regularly

Form issues that cause lower back pain often creep back in over time, especially as fatigue builds. A periodic running technique assessment can catch problems early before they become painful. Even filming yourself on a treadmill every few months gives you useful information.

The Role of Running Form in Lower Back Pain

I want to spend a little more time on this because it's genuinely underappreciated. Your running gait has a direct impact on how much load your lower back absorbs with every stride.

The key form elements to focus on:

• Cadence: Higher step rate reduces stride length, decreases impact, and reduces lumbar loading. Aim for 170-180 steps per minute.
• Forward lean: A slight lean from the ankles (not the waist) is ideal. Hinging forward from your hips increases lumbar flexion load.
• Arm swing: Your arms should swing forward and back, not across your body. Cross-body arm swing creates rotation through the trunk that can overload the lower back. Our guide to efficient arm swing technique covers this well.
• Foot strike: Overstriding with a heavy heel strike creates a braking force that travels straight up to your lower back. Landing closer to under your centre of mass reduces this significantly.
• Hip extension: Strong, full hip extension at push-off means your glutes are doing their job. Limited hip extension shifts the work to your lower back. Hip extension is one of the most important factors in running technique.

If you want a comprehensive look at how your form might be contributing to your back pain, a running gait analysis is well worth considering.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my lower back hurt after running but not during?

This is very common and usually points to muscle fatigue and inflammation that builds during the run and peaks in the hours after. Your muscles work hard to stabilise your spine while you run, but the soreness and stiffness often shows up once you cool down and stop moving. Strengthening your glutes and core typically resolves this pattern within 3-4 weeks.

Can tight hip flexors cause lower back pain when running?

Yes, absolutely. Tight hip flexors pull your pelvis into an anterior tilt, increasing the curve in your lower back. This compresses the lumbar facet joints and places extra load on the muscles of the lower back with every stride. Stretching your hip flexors daily and strengthening your glutes to counteract the tilt makes a significant difference.

Is it okay to run through lower back pain?

Mild pain of 2/10 or less that doesn't worsen during the run is generally manageable. But pain above 4/10, pain that increases as you run, or any leg symptoms like tingling or numbness are signs to stop running and seek professional advice. Running through significant pain usually makes the underlying problem worse.

How long does lower back pain from running take to heal?

For muscular causes, most runners see significant improvement within 2-4 weeks with the right approach. Facet joint irritation may take 4-6 weeks. Disc-related issues can take longer and often benefit from physiotherapy guidance. The key is addressing the root cause, not just resting and hoping it goes away.

Does running cause long-term lower back problems?

The evidence actually suggests the opposite. Studies consistently show that recreational runners have lower rates of lower back pain than non-runners over their lifetime. Running strengthens the muscles that support the spine and keeps the intervertebral discs healthy through movement and loading. The key is training sensibly and addressing any weaknesses before they become injuries.

The Bottom Line

Lower back pain when running is frustrating, but it's almost never a reason to give up running altogether. In the vast majority of cases, it comes down to a fixable combination of weak glutes, tight hip flexors, poor running form, or too much mileage too soon.

Start with the immediate relief steps. Then commit to the strength work. Address your form. Rebuild your mileage carefully. Most runners who follow this approach are back running comfortably within 4-6 weeks, and they come back stronger and more resilient than before.

If you're not sure where to start, or if your pain isn't responding to self-management, please do see a physiotherapist. Getting the right diagnosis early saves a lot of time and frustration in the long run.

And remember: the goal isn't just to get rid of your lower back pain when running. It's to build a body that can handle the training you love, for years to come.