Jogging will improve your cardiovascular endurance and help you drop a clothing size, but it also predisposes you to a host of lower back and hip problems. The protective cushions, lubricating tissues, stabilizing ligaments and tendons of muscles used during jogging may become irritated or injured, generating pain around your lower back and hips. If you have been experiencing pain after jogging for more than a month, you should check with a doctor or physical therapist to prevent permanent damage.
Bursitis
A bursa is a fluid-filled sac designed to provide cushion and reduce friction between muscles, bones and tendons around the hip joints. The bursas around your hip joints that generate pain around your hips are the ischial bursa and the iliopsoas bursa. The ischial bursa is located on the posterior side of your hips, near the attachment of your hamstrings -- the largest of your inner thigh muscles. Inflammation of this cushion stimulates pain when you extend or straighten your legs. Jogging up hills during many of your runs can irritate the ischial bursa. Pain along the side of your hips may be from an inflamed bursa located between your iliotibial band and your hip bone on the lateral aspect of your hips. Running along slanted streets, especially if you have knock-knees, irritates this bursa called the trochanteric bursa.
Piriformis Syndrome
The piriformis muscle is a small muscle that rotates your thigh outward and abducts or moves your leg away from your body. It is a very small muscle susceptible to becoming tight and stiff. The sciatic nerve that innervates the muscles of your lower body runs underneath this muscle in most people. In some, the nerve splits into two sections, with one section running through the piriformis muscle. When the piriformis muscle is tight or spasms, that will compress against the sciatic nerve, causing pain in your lower back, hips and possibly down your entire leg.
Weak and Tight Muscles
Jogging may initially appear to be a cardiovascular activity with much involvement from the muscles of your legs. However, the abdominal, lower back, neck, upper back and arm muscles must work throughout the duration of your run to keep your body in an upright position. Furthermore, not only does your body need to be upright, but also your trunk must be stable so your legs can move with ease. Your shoulders must be relaxed but kept open by your back muscles so you can breathe efficiently, and your neck muscles must work to keep your eyes aligned with the horizon in front of you. Neglecting to stretch for 10 to 15 minutes after every jog will cause your muscles to remain tight, limiting your range of motion and causing exhaustion and lower-back and hip pain.
Considerations
Reducing lower-back and hip pain from jogging does require better planning on your part. Incorporate a resistance training program one to two days per week to strengthen all the muscles of your body so they do not tire during your jogs. Stretch after every jogging and resistance training session to keep your muscles limber, especially for your lower back, hips, glutes and hip flexors -- the muscles at the front of your hip joints. Be sure to replace jogging shoes every three to four months, because they lose their cushioning and support. Varying the types of jogs you do -- such as long distances, sprint intervals and hill runs -- can help reduce overuse injuries to your hips and your lower back. Apply a cold pack to your lower back or affected hip for 10 to 15 minutes three times a day to reduce pain and swelling. If the pain does not go away after two days, check with your physical therapist who can determine the cause of injury and provide further care.
References
- "Examination of Musculoskeletal Injuries"; Sandra Shultz, Ph.D., Peggy Houglum, Ph.D., and David Perrin, Ph.D.; 2005
- "Therapeutic Exercise for Musculoskeletal Injuries"; Peggy Houglum, Ph.D.; 2005
