What causes back pain when you walk for a long time? You are usually fine, but...
Even people who walk regularly can develop back pain when they walk for a long time. When I walked for close to two hours, my lower back and buttocks started to hurt, and I found myself looking for a chair while shopping. The pain was especially strong on the right side.
If you are usually fine, why does the pain appear only when you walk for a long time? In this article,
- the reasons pain appears only after long periods of walking
- ways you can deal with the cause yourself
I will explain both.
In fact, this can be a warning sign that may later lead to chronic low back pain, headaches, or hip pain.
1: Pain is a warning that you are nearing the limit of what your body can tolerate.
Why does the pain appear only when you walk for a long time? It is because your body has lost its balance and is sounding an alarm that you are reaching its limit. The reason you do not usually feel pain is that for now, you are still within a tolerable range.
Poor posture, lack of muscle strength, and too little movement can all distort the body and throw off its balance. As that happens, the joints stop moving the way they should. At the same time, humans are animals, and moving is essential for survival. We need to move to get food and escape danger. So even when there is a problem in the muscles or joints, the body does not simply stop moving right away. A clever body will keep trying to move, even if it has to use muscles the wrong way. That is both a strength and a weakness.
When you keep using your body the wrong way, strain builds up in various places. Certain muscles are overused, so they stay tense and stiff all the time. The joints stop moving properly, and their alignment begins to shift. To compensate for this loss of balance, some people even start hunching their back without realizing it.
Once your movement becomes awkward like this,
- you may be fine over a short distance, but feel pain when you walk for a long time.
- you may be fine walking empty-handed, but feel pain when you carry bags.
This is what tends to happen.
Some people are fine even on long mountain hikes, yet get back pain after only a short walk around the supermarket. One reason is that muscles that are already stiff become even stiffer in the cold and start to hurt. But when you are using your body in an unreasonable way, even a small extra stress can push you past the limit.
2: What causes the body to lose its balance?
What kinds of things throw the body out of balance? Here are some common causes.
1: Your feet are not functioning properly.
Some people walk in a way that collapses the arch of the foot. The technical term for this is overpronation, which means the ankle rolls too far inward. Causes include stiff ankle joints, weak buttock muscles, and problems with the function of the shoes. Toeing in, which has become more common in recent years not only in women but also in men, is also one possible cause of overpronation. Because the foot acts like a brake with every step, the knees are affected, and over time this can lead to pain in the lower back and back.
For more information on overpronation, please see the article on the relationship between foot tilt and stiff neck or low back pain.
2: Weak buttock muscles
The buttock muscles, known as the gluteal muscles, are essential for hip stability. When the gluteal muscles are weak, they cannot keep the leg bones in the correct position. As a result, the thighs turn inward and you end up walking without proper support from the arches of the feet.
The gluteal muscles also affect the forward and backward tilt of the pelvis. If they are weak, the pelvis tips backward, placing extra stress on the muscles of the lower back and back. There is a basic rule that muscles you do not use will weaken, and those of us who spend a lot of time sitting have almost certainly forgotten how to properly use our gluteal muscles. As a result, very few people have truly strong gluteal muscles.
Upper: gluteus medius Lower: gluteus maximus
3: Tight buttock muscles
It is not only weakness that throws the body off balance. Tight gluteal muscles do as well. When the gluteal muscles are tight, it becomes harder to fully extend the hip joint. As a result, the body tries to walk by shifting the center of gravity behind the hip joints.
Poor sitting posture and long hours of desk work make the gluteal muscles stiff. Unless these tight muscles are actively loosened, they tend to stay stiff.
4: Tight thigh muscles
If the muscles at the front of the thigh (the rectus femoris) are tight, the pelvis tilts forward. This causes the thighs and shins to rotate inward, which interferes with proper leg function. On the other hand, an excessive arch in the lower back also tightens the iliopsoas, the muscle group that connects the lower back and thigh. The iliopsoas works when you bend the hip joint or step the leg forward. When this area becomes tight, it increases the strain on the muscles of the lower back and back.
The rectus femoris is the thigh muscle most prone to becoming tight among the four quadriceps muscles. There are several theories about why, but one reason is that in daily life, the rectus femoris is rarely placed in a fully stretched position. Incidentally, one position that stretches the rectus femoris is lying on your back while sitting in seiza. Hardly anyone does that...
5: Poor movement of the sacroiliac joints
The sacroiliac joints are located in the pelvis. They connect the sacrum and the ilium. Almost all of the vertical shock produced when walking or jumping is absorbed by the sacroiliac joints. So if the sacroiliac joints stop functioning properly, the shock that used to be absorbed there is passed on to the surrounding muscles and ligaments, and that stress appears as back pain.
3 Solutions
It may be difficult to tell which type applies to you, so I will introduce the following solutions starting with the easiest and least time-consuming ones.
1: Improve movement in the sacroiliac joints
This exercise helps release the sacroiliac joints.
- Lie down propped up on both elbows.
- Bend your right leg. If possible, place your left leg on top of the right leg to keep the right leg from moving.
- Tilt your upper body to the left. If possible, bring your left shoulder to the floor.
- Tilt your upper body to the right. If possible, bring your right shoulder to the floor.
- Repeat this 20 to 30 times.
- Then switch sides, bend the left leg in the same way, and repeat 20 to 30 times.
- Do this once a day, 3 to 7 days a week.
- If your shoulders hurt, move the position of your elbows forward or backward to find the most comfortable spot.
2: Soften the buttock muscles (gluteus maximus and gluteus medius)
Use a ball or a towel to loosen the gluteal muscles.
- Prepare a rubber ball about 5 cm in diameter, such as a Super Ball, or if you do not have one, roll up a towel tightly.
- Lie on your side and place the ball where shown in the illustration.
- Stay in that position for about 90 seconds.
- Repeat on the other side.
- As you get used to it, try gently rocking your body to increase the pressure from the ball.
- Once or twice a day.
- Change the position where the ball presses into the buttock to target both the tight spots and the areas that feel good.
3: Soften the thigh and abdominal muscles (rectus femoris and iliopsoas)
This stretch loosens the rectus femoris and iliopsoas at the same time.
- Step your feet far apart front to back.
- Bend the front knee to about 90 degrees.
- While keeping your upper body perpendicular to the floor, direct your body weight straight downward.
- Keeping your weight directed straight down, lean your upper body forward.
- If possible, bend the knee of the back leg.
- Hold for 90 seconds while feeling the stretch through the hip joint.
- Repeat on the other side.
- Leaning the upper body forward also tilts the pelvis forward. This helps stretch the thigh and abdominal muscles effectively.
- Once or twice a day.
- From the beginning, you may place your back foot on a platform and keep the back knee bent.
4: Strengthen the buttock muscles (gluteus maximus)
This deadlift strengthens the whole body in a well-balanced way, not just the buttocks.
- Brace your abdomen to increase intra-abdominal pressure.
While maintaining that pressure, step on the Thera-Band with both feet.
Grip the band and draw your shoulder blades toward the center of your back. - Take 3 seconds to raise your body.
First extend the hip joints, then continue extending the hips as you straighten the knees.
Be careful not to let the knees collapse inward, or you may injure yourself or train the wrong area. - Once you are standing upright, hold that position for 2 seconds.
- Take 3 seconds to return to the starting position.
Bend from the hip joints, not the knees.
- Keep your back straight at all times and do not let it move. Focus mainly on extending the hip joints.
- Use a resistance level that makes 10 repetitions your limit. Adjust the length of the band or double it if needed.
- Do 3 sets of 10 repetitions, every other day (Monday, Thursday, Sunday, Wednesday, etc.).
5: Restore normal foot function.
If the problem lies in your shoes or socks, simply replacing them may help. But if the function of the foot itself has broken down, restoring it is one of the more difficult things to treat. This is because the feet work together with the knees and hips, so the whole body must be addressed. For that reason, corrective insoles are considered an effective option by podiatrists in Europe and the United States, where research is more advanced∗1.
If you are considering insoles, be sure to choose corrective orthopedic insoles. They are generally available in a price range of about 6,000 to 20,000 yen.
4: Summary
- Low back pain that appears only when you walk for a long time happens because your body is being used in a way that has lost its balance.
- What causes that imbalance is that the different parts of the body are no longer functioning properly.
- The main reasons for this loss of function are lack of muscle strength and insufficient release of soft tissues.
- This can improve through muscle release, strength training, and corrective insoles.
- If left unaddressed, it may eventually lead not only to everyday low back pain but also to problems such as headaches.
In my own case, loosening the muscles of the buttocks and back made the low back pain I felt during long walks disappear. Try the exercises one by one and narrow down which factor is causing your pain. Once you know the cause, you can fully enjoy weekend dates and family trips again. And please do not forget to see a medical professional as well, because pain can sometimes be caused by an internal medical condition.
References
∗1 Menz HB et al.
Foot posture, foot function and low back pain: the Framingham Foot Study.
Rheumatology (Oxford). 2013 Dec;52(12):2275-82.
