Was curious if anyone had a similar experience and what approach they took to remediate it.
I am a 50 year-old runner. I do our local marathon (CIM) each year. My lower back is fine for all my training runs (4 runs per week, 1 hour in duration, plus a weekly long run) and even fine for 2 hour runs, but anything 2:30 or longer (I try to go up to 3:30 hour runs) and my back is trashed the next day. On my post-long run recovery day, getting up from sitting or laying down sends a jolt of pain through my lower back. I don’t think its a weak core; I lift during my off-season and swim 12-15k yards during my marathon training.
I will see my PCP about it , but was just curious if anyone else had something similar.
I expect it’s just overuse of all the little stabilising muscles around the spine.
I don’t have an example from running as I don’t run massively long distances, but if I go on a very long hike my back starts hurting like hell at some point (but not when doing average walks) and when I used to work in retail and had to stand up for long periods of time I always had back ache. It’s just those muscles getting tired.
I am 36 and have been having back problems for as long as I can remember due to having slight scoliosis. Some days something gets “tweaked” and I feel rather limited. But, long runs 100% tend to anger it. But, most days it’s nothing more than some tightness in my lower back. I have gone to a Chiro on/off before but I found that it only really helped if I kept going all the time…which financially just isn’t feasible. So for the most part, it’s just something I deal with via various techniques/tools.
What shoes are you running in? The shoes that worked for me when I was training for Olympics (or even 70.3s) are not the same shoes that worked for me once I started IM training. Just because you don’t get pain after your 1hour runs doesn’t mean that the shoes aren’t hurting you. The day-in-day-out miles add up. The pounding from 4 days of running during the week might actually be what is setting you up for pain on your long runs (and not the long runs themselves). Maybe try a shoe with more cushion. Hokas have really worked for me personally. I HATED the super padded bouncy ones like the Bondi. But, I have had a lot of success with the Mach line. Also, maybe it’s not what shoes you are wearing but how old the shoes are themselves. I wear down my left shoe a lot faster than the right. And, the second the tread starts to go and I feel the shoe losing its “snap”…I HAVE to switch over to new shoes. If I don’t, I wind up getting pain. Other people may be able to get more wear out of their shoes than I do. But, every body is different.
As for general mitigation techniques, KT tape on my lower back really helps if I have any extra tightness before my run. Two strips going horizontal across my back is sometimes enough just to help my back feel supported. I also like wearing high waisted shorts that add some slight compression to my lower back (also helps to keep the KT tape in place).
I have also found that e-stim works pretty well for me. I have a unit I got off amazon for maybe around 100 that had been a game-changer on the not-so-good days.