How do people run with a camelback without hurting their lower back?

Triathlon Forum
1

how do people run with a camelback without hurting their lower back?

I ran 11 miles today… felt ok during it… back afterwards, some sharp pain in my lower back from wearing it.
I don’t get pain in my lower back from running otherwise.
I see people running with them all the time. Don’t know how they do it.

2

Took me 4 versions to find one that fit me right, ended up with an out of production Kelty pack that I have replaced the bladder in several times.

3

The only way that the Camelback would cause you pain in your lower back is if it is changing your mechanics. Considering you don’t get any pain running without it I would guess that it is causing you to tilt your pelvis anteriorly to offset the weight in it. How much weight are you carrying in the thing? The next time you run with it try to take note of any mechanical changes that it causes to your pelvis and lower back and try to correct it. Particularly strengthen your core and you shouldn’t have that problem.

4

Make sure you have the hose connector of the bladder facing in.

I had pain in my lower back after wearing them, worked out there was a nice red spot exactly where it was jutting into my back.

5

It was a 32oz size camelback. Tied the straps around my chest so it wasn’t bouncing around as much. I did keep a lean forward in the run/jog going up the mountain. Coming down it, obviously a little different. Concerned about the bouncing around it did with respect to the weight on the lower back. Hopefully it is just mechanics and or core strength lacking… thx

6

I’ve numerous versions of ‘camelbacks’ over the last 20+ years and the most comfortable one yet is from this company:

https://www.nathansports.com/hydration/race-vests

I have no affiliation with them other than using their products. I picked one up at REI on sale for $50 and use it for MTB’ing and trai/long road runs.

7

I’ve numerous versions of ‘camelbacks’ over the last 20+ years and the most comfortable one yet is from this company:

https://www.nathansports.com/hydration/race-vests

I have no affiliation with them other than using their products. I picked one up at REI on sale for $50 and use it for MTB’ing and trai/long road runs.

Ya, I’ll have to make a run by REI and see if they carry any… thx

8

+1 on Nathan. They make great stuff.

Salomon also makes one, and it looks like it fits snugly against the body and doesn’t flop around too much.

9

Although Camelbak was one of the first into the Hydration Vest market I would safely say they are a fair bit behind in terms of quality and comfort in todays market.

Check into brands like

-Salomon
-Ultimate Direction
-Nathan

All make excellent hydration packs in terms of comfort and versatility. The aforementioned packs are designed for the Ultra-Running community in mind. Seeing as how distance reach over a 100miles I find it hard to believe a hydration pack of any sort would result in pains unless you have the pack extremely weight down or some other reason.

I personally run in the Salomon S-Lab Advanced Skin 5 set. It definitely is pricey compared to most packs but its by far and away the most comfortable pack i’ve ever worn. It truly fits like a second skin to your body. Jacket/Vest like with absolutely zero bounce. I routinely use this for long runs in the mountains over rugged terrain upwards of 50k and have never experienced any sort of back pain because of it.

Best of luck,
Jeff

10

I am going to ask you if the pain is really in your lower back or actually in your glutes? Many people actually mistake what they think is pain in their lower back for the actual glute muscles which runs higher than the average person thinks which is actually higher than where your butt/waistline level is in pants/shorts (myself included until I researched it more).

I learned about this because I thought my lower back seized up when I moved wrong getting up from a very low seated positing on a stepstool. It happened after I increased my workout volume suddenly (was already biking on the trainer and added running into the mix again since I finally recovered enough to do so from an ankle injury). The pain actually was my glutes were so tight they put constant pulling pressure all the way up to the lower back muscles connecting areas. Sure enough when I was getting my lower back worked on there was no relief until the tight spots in my mid-lower glutes were worked on and I got shooting pain all the way up to my upper glutes and lower back (pinpointing the source of all soreness).

But, have you ever notice when sprinting you tend to lean more forward and use your glutes more? I know I do and maybe this extra leaning from the Camelbak is cause you the soreness/discomfort since it has seemed to change your running mechanics ever so slightly.

But, I am speculating with what I know and think I know and maybe you should seek a professional evaluation.