Running is one of the easiest and most accessible ways to get involved in sports. Regular jogging increases the body's endurance, has a positive effect on appearance and is an excellent prevention of many diseases. At the same time, such loads are not always indicated for diseases of the musculoskeletal system, and in some cases they are completely prohibited so as not to provoke complications. Is it possible to run with osteochondrosis, and how will such an impact affect the condition of the spine?
Running with osteochondrosis
Features of the disease
Osteochondrosis is characterized by damage to the spinal discs, in which gradual destruction of the cartilage structure occurs. This disease is chronic, develops slowly, and does not manifest itself for a very long time. At an early stage, the nutritional blood supply to the tissues is reduced, and the discs receive less nutrients than required. This leads to compaction of the cartilage tissue, a decrease in its elasticity, the discs become thinner and lose their shock-absorbing properties. The vertebrae, which weakened muscles hold much worse, put pressure on the discs and injure them, provoking the formation of protrusions and hernias.
If you want to learn in more detail what spinal protrusions are, as well as consider their types, diagnosis and effective treatment methods, you can read an article about it on our portal.
Osteochondrosis is characterized by degenerative changes in the intervertebral discs, which leads to pinched nerve roots
In this state, any load can accelerate the destruction of cartilage, and during running the spine experiences a very strong impact. The impact of your feet on the ground when running causes certain vibrations throughout the body, and the vertebrae react most to them. True, some of the vibrations are absorbed by the joints of the ankle, knees and pelvis, and if you run correctly, the negative impact can be reduced.
Important! It is worth remembering that the more severely damaged the discs are, the more vulnerable the spine is, so the intensity of physical activity should be determined by the attending physician based on the results of the examination.
Why does my back hurt when running? – Newsletter
Unfortunately, pain is a common companion for runners. At first, out of habit, the muscles hurt, then the joints get used to the loads... But the “correct” training pain should go away after 48 hours - the average period for recovery of muscles and joints after loads. If it doesn’t leave you for much longer and, even worse, accompanies every workout, you need to urgently start looking for the reasons and eliminating them. Today we’ll talk about why does your back hurt during or after running? Thanks for the question - Mikhail K..
If you have pain in the lumbar region...
The causes of discomfort in the back can be divided into three groups - traumatic (osteochondrosis, hernias, protrusions...), caused by improper running technique and resulting from the weakness of certain muscles. Injuries are always, ALWAYS, the lot of doctors, not coaches, therefore, only if you are absolutely sure that your back is more or less healthy, then you can start looking for the cause in your running technique and work on eliminating it. Although, of course, everything is interconnected!
What mistakes in running technique lead to lower back discomfort?
Excessive bending at the waist or excessive forward leaning of the body.
While running, your back should be straight, you should lean forward not with your upper body, like many beginning runners, but with your whole body. The “fall” forward should come from the “lower abdomen” and not from the shoulders.
To confirm or rule out this error, do your own video analysis of your run. Stop the recording at any point and mentally draw a vertical line or apply a ruler to the screen, and see if the pelvis, shoulders and head are on this line? If not, then you are leaning forward, and this is causing lower back pain.
Another common mistake is throwing your straight leg forward and landing on your heel.
When you meet the support with an almost straight leg, the shock wave is transmitted through all three large joints of the legs (ankle, knee and hip) to the upper body, including the lower back. This load can only be reduced by landing softer first on the forefoot and then on the heel. This reduces the impact load not only on the leg joints, but also on the spine. – During a two-phase metatarsal-heel landing, approximately 45% of the impact energy will be absorbed by the soft tissues of the foot and lower leg!
Muscle weakness:
- The gluteal muscles (medius and minimus) are most often “switched off” from work in runners. Their weakness leads to excessive forward tilt of the pelvis. And if at the same time the overlying part of the spine deviates back, then the lumbar deflection increases, which can also cause discomfort in the lower back.
- Uneven development of the anterior and posterior muscles of the corset (in most runners, the abdominal muscles are weaker than the back muscles). It also prevents you from keeping your back straight, and during exercise leads to arching in the lower back and, as a result, back pain.
If the pain is concentrated in the thoracic region...
Most often this is the result of scoliosis. Outwardly, it may be barely noticeable and not manifest itself in any way in everyday life, but during running, when vertical vibrations and a serious shock load appear, scoleosis manifests itself (manifests itself) in the form of pain in the thoracic region. Only an osteopath can diagnose scoliosis, so if you are concerned about discomfort in this part of your back, be sure to consult a doctor!
What to do?
To make a correct diagnosis, you first need to consult a doctor - a neurologist, osteopath, or chiropractor. Having received a doctor’s conclusion about the absence of serious pathologies, you can move on to working on errors in your running technique. If the examination reveals pathologies, be sure to take a break from training and complete the full course of treatment prescribed by your doctor. After this, you can begin to correct errors in your running technique.
Changing your running pattern will allow you to reduce pain or even get rid of your misfortune! Strengthening the muscles of the pelvis and the front part of the body should also be part of the work to correct running technique. Start small - fix the position of your body while jogging, do “Planks” and exercises to develop the pelvic muscles. Gradually introduce special running exercises (SBU) into your training plan. Focus on the quality, rather than the quantity or vigor, of the SBU, as this category of exercise puts a lot of stress on your joints and back.
How to check the balance of the front and back muscles of the corset (core)?
The usual Plank exercise will help you! Get into a plank position and ask someone to take a photo of you after 30 seconds or later if you have been standing in this position for more than a minute and a half. Look at your photo - is there a arch in the lower back?! If so, your front core muscles are definitely less developed than your back core muscles. The Plank exercise will also help solve this problem. But before performing it, lie on your back and press your lower back very tightly to the floor, so that you cannot stick your palm between you and the surface! Remember this position and straighten your back in the plank position. The picture below shows the correct plank pose, which allows you to strengthen both the front and back muscles of the core! The back should be straight, without bending in the lumbar region!
Productive training!
Your Leonid Shvetsov
Contraindications for jogging
The basis of treatment for osteochondrosis is physical activity - gymnastics, swimming, individual yoga exercises, therapeutic walking. Doctors usually do not include running in this list, since its benefits for the body as a whole are often outweighed by the harmful effects on the spine itself. But still, there is no complete ban on such activities for osteochondrosis, if there are no contraindications.
The basis of the treatment of osteochondrosis is physical therapy
Contraindications for running include:
- advanced stage of osteochondrosis with extensive lesions of the spine;
- the presence of intervertebral hernias;
- acute pain syndrome;
- pinched nerve endings;
- vertebral displacement;
- period of exacerbation of chronic diseases;
- serious pathologies of the respiratory system and cardiovascular system;
- recovery period after spinal surgery.
If you have severe pain in the spine, you should not run
Advice. Even with mild symptoms, you cannot decide on your own to start jogging, because the absence of severe pain does not guarantee that the discs are able to withstand such loads. So, you first need to undergo an examination in a clinic (usually for osteochondrosis, an x-ray or MRI is prescribed), after which the doctor will select the most optimal treatment method and determine whether you can run.
Running cardio loads
Running with osteochondrosis is not the type of physical activity that can enhance blood circulation and metabolism in the damaged disc and the tissues adjacent to it. Moreover, it is long-term vertical physical vibrations on the spine that are one of the causes of the formation of osteochondrosis.
With osteochondrosis, any type of running is contraindicated
Few people realize the presence of stage I osteochondrosis. At stages III and IV, hardly anyone is physically able to run in general and for medicinal purposes in particular. Is it possible to run with stage II osteochondrosis?
No you can not. Jumping rope and engaging in team sports, which include jogging, sudden changes in direction of movement, jumping and skipping, are strictly prohibited. The price for concussions of the spinal column is a significant acceleration of the progression of the pathology.
For your information. To be fair, it is necessary to clarify. If a disc herniation has not yet formed, then, if necessary, you can still run a few tens of meters, but not at a jog or at an average pace, but very quickly. But it should be remembered that after such a spurt you cannot stop abruptly.
How to run correctly with osteochondrosis
Running can be different, and in order for it to benefit the body, you need to know how to move correctly. First of all, the patient needs to follow several important rules when jogging, otherwise complications cannot be avoided.
Basic Rules
The rules are quite simple and compliance with them will not require much effort.
Table. Rules for running with osteochondrosis
| Illustration | Description |
| Gradual increase in load | If the patient led an inactive lifestyle, which was the cause of osteochondrosis, you should start not with running, but with race walking. Every day, the duration of walking and walking speed should be slightly increased: a gradual increase in load will strengthen the muscles that support the spine and reduce the risk of microtrauma in the discs while running. |
| Use of simulators | The ideal conditions for running are in the gym on a simulator. In this case, preference should be given to a treadmill, where the movement of the belt is provided by electricity. On a mechanical simulator, it is necessary to make additional efforts to accelerate the treadmill, which significantly increases the load on the vertebrae and can provoke increased pain. On an electric treadmill, all forces are directed only to body movements, so the load is easier to control, and fatigue after training is less. |
| Choosing a place to run | If it is not possible to exercise in the gym, you should carefully choose a place for jogging. This concerns the structure of the soil: the harder the ground, the stronger the shocks when running are felt by the spine, and the higher the risk of injuring the discs. It is best to run on a moderately soft, springy surface - the surface of stadiums has these properties; the soil in parks and other green areas is also suitable. But it is not recommended to run on paving slabs, asphalt or concrete paths, or rocky surfaces if you have spinal diseases. |
| Proper clothes and shoes | It is very important to choose the right shoes: they should have a soft sole with a spring base, which also helps reduce vibrations from impacts on the surface. In addition, shoes should be comfortable and light, otherwise your feet will get tired quickly. The same applies to clothes for jogging: you need to choose something that is as comfortable as possible, that does not restrict movement, and that is appropriate for the weather. Overheating the body, like hypothermia, will definitely not bring benefits to the spine, but it can easily cause various complications. |
| To relax the muscles and unload the spine, it is recommended to go to the pool immediately after a run. Swimming is very useful for osteochondrosis and other pathologies of the motor system, and after physical activity it is the best way to restore strength. |
You should not run immediately after eating, in the heat, or when you feel unwell. Running should be fun, but if you do everything forcefully, it will be difficult to achieve a positive effect. The recommended running speed for osteochondrosis is about 20 km per hour. Of course, you should start at a lower speed until your body gets used to it, but in the future you should stick to the specified parameter and try to exceed it. This is quite enough to strengthen the body, because the main thing here is not speed, but regularity of loads. When running, you need to constantly listen to your feelings, and adjust both the speed and duration of your runs in accordance with them.
What workouts are therapeutic?
Acceptable options for cardio exercises for osteochondrosis, which will replace running
Forms of exercise therapy indicated for any stage of osteochondrosis changes in the spine include:
- morning hygienic exercises;
- special sets of gymnastic exercises, including static tension of the interested muscle groups and their post-isometric relaxation, traction on a gymnastic bench fixed at an angle, symmetrical hanging on the horizontal bar;
- a selection of yoga asanas and Pilates exercises;
- strength gymnastics with dumbbells (a selection of exercises and instructions for their implementation must be individually compiled by a physical therapy doctor);
- swimming, water aerobics;
- dosed walking, health path;
- evening cool-down.
Advice. If you need to get cardio exercise, then for diseases of the spinal column it is very useful to practice Nordic walking with poles. Running should be replaced by working on a rowing or recumbent bike (pictured above).
The exercises from the video in this article will help tidy up the back of young, physically fit people leading a healthy lifestyle who, for one reason or another, have “earned” protrusion of the intervertebral disc, localized from the lower cervical vertebrae to the sacrum.
Changes in pathology
There are no blood vessels in cartilage tissue; the necessary nutrients come from soft tissues. In addition, cartilage tissue is not restored. As a result of many years of stress, deformation of the intervertebral discs occurs, and at the same time blood flow deteriorates.
Two main causes of pathological changes:
- Excessive physical activity;
- Complete absence of sports.
The most dangerous position for the spine is sitting. In this case, the intervertebral discs experience too much stress, and congestion develops in the circulatory system. Muscles lose tone, strength and endurance, but it is muscle tissue that supports the vertebrae and prevents injury to the discs.
Sport is an excellent prevention of osteochondrosis, but is it possible to run with symptoms of the disease?