Mar. 13, 2025

Lower Back Pain When Walking: Causes & What to Do

Robert Stevens, MD

Physician

Lower Back Pain When Walking: Causes & What to Do

Most of us do a lot of walking every day—whether it’s at home, the office, or the supermarket. We may develop lower back pain while walking and are unsure how to fix it or how we could have prevented it in the first place. Below, we’ll explain the causes of lower back pain from walking, share some ways to prevent it, and look at some ways to treat it. In addition, we’ll let you know when to be concerned and some questions to ask your doctor.

Is it normal to experience lower back pain when walking?

It’s sometimes normal to experience low back pain when walking. However, this depends on several factors, including:

Distance walked
Age
Medical conditions
Physical activity and fitness
Amount of time spent walking
If you were sitting before walking and for how long

Occasional and mild lower back pain usually isn’t anything to worry about. However, chronic and persistent pain that worsens with time might be a sign of a medical concern.

Causes of lower back pain when walking

There are many potential causes of lower back pain when walking. Most relate to your health, posture, or weight. Some medical conditions can also contribute to your odds of experiencing back pain.

Muscle fatigue

When you walk, the muscles can become tired. A person’s walking pattern is called their “gait,” and it’s different for everyone. When we walk continuously with the same gait, we cause wear and tear on the same muscles, tendons, and ligaments, leading to fatigue.

Poor walking posture or gait

When we walk with poor posture, it leads to unnecessary strain, causing lower back pain. Here are some ways to practice good walking posture:

Keep the trunk straight
Have your feet apart, facing forward, and in line with your shoulders
Have your head upright and balanced on top of the spine
Shoulders should be back, with your neck in line with your shoulders
Arms swinging naturally with palms facing inward
Knees slightly bent
Natural stride length

If you ignore any of these factors, you are more likely to experience lower back pain when walking.

Muscle strain

When the muscles stretch too far, they become strained. Strains can result from activities like heavy lifting, bending over, playing sports, etc. If a pre-existing muscle strain is present, it can become easily aggravated by walking and lead to pain.

Spinal stenosis

Narrowing of the spine can place pressure on the nerves of the spinal cord. For people with this pre-existing condition, walking may cause lower back pain.

Arthritis

Numerous types of arthritis can cause lower back pain when walking, including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, gout, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, and infectious arthritis.

Weight

Having excess body weight can put more pressure on the lower back and cause pain, especially when standing or walking.

How to get at-home relief from lower back pain when walking

If you experience lower back pain when walking, there are several methods for at-home relief, such as rest, ice, heat, stretching, rolling, and using over-the-counter medications.

Stop walking and sit down

If you experience back pain while walking and have access to a safe place to rest, immediately stop walking and sit down. It’s not usually sufficient to just stop walking and stand in one place. When you sit down, this removes much of the pressure on the muscles, joints, and bones of the lower back.

Ice or heat

If you have access to an ice or heat pack, immediately apply it to the affected area.

For quick icing, a soft reusable cold pack is a great option. If you don’t have one, you may opt to use sealed frozen foods, such as bags of peas. Many people have a firm ice pack for use in their cooler, which will also work.

As a last option, you may have access to a first aid kit. These should contain a one-time-use ice pack.

For heat, you can use a moist heat pad or a microwave-safe moist towel. If you’re lucky enough to have the option, you can opt for a dip in a Jacuzzi or swim spa.

Stretching

Sometimes, lower back pain from walking may resolve with some quick stretching.

One stretch to try involves standing straight with your legs shoulder-width apart. You can then gently lean forward with your arms extended towards the floor. Be sure not to bounce. You should feel a good stretch in your lower back. If done correctly, you will also feel a stretch in the hamstring muscles that run from the lower back to the knees in the back of the legs.

If you’re near a clean surface or have an exercise mat available, you can lie on your back and perform a few stretches for your hamstrings. Try lying on your back and raising your straight leg toward your chest one at a time.

Rolling

If there’s a tennis ball around, you can roll against the wall or floor with the tennis ball on the painful area. You can also place two of them in an old sock and use it to roll along the spine.

Some people have other tools like foam rollers available in their homes. There are different grooved devices for this purpose, which you can purchase online or in a store that sells fitness equipment.

Over-the-counter medications

Taking an aspirin or Tylenol can sometimes eliminate the low back pain that is associated with walking.

How to prevent lower back pain when walking

Preventing lower back pain when walking can be as simple as minding your posture, keeping your muscles loose, and taking frequent breaks.

Proper gait and walking posture

As mentioned above, poor walking posture can lead to lower back pain. Therefore, a good walking posture can help you avoid developing back pain in the first place.

Keep your muscles loose

Avoiding tight muscles is very important for avoiding lower back pain. However, it’s not just about the back muscles. Take care to keep muscles in the hips and legs loose. The fewer tight muscles in the body, the less likely you are to develop lower back pain when walking. If you know you’re going to be walking for a while, it’s a good idea to stretch beforehand.

Take frequent breaks

If you’re walking a long distance or an extended period of time, try to take breaks and sit down before the pain starts. Since muscle fatigue is a common cause of lower back pain when walking, it’s a good idea to take a break before it occurs.

When to see a doctor about lower back pain when walking

Sometimes, back pain points to a more serious issue that you can’t treat on your own. In these cases, it’s important to see your doctor or go to the emergency room (ER).

You should see a doctor if:

You always develop lower back pain when walking for only a few minutes. This could indicate an underlying bone abnormality.
You experience symptoms other than pain, including numbness or tingling in the hips, buttocks, or legs.
There is severe pain or spasms from walking.

You should go to the emergency room if:

You experience a shooting pain down the back of your legs.
You have weakness in your lower extremities.
You experience any loss of bowel or bladder control.

Questions to ask your doctor about lower back pain when walking

Are there any abnormalities in my physical exam that could be causing this issue?
Should we get some imaging studies like X-rays or an MRI?
Are there any abnormalities in my lab work that may contribute to this issue?
Do you think physical therapy would help with my symptoms?

Frequently asked questions: lower back pain when walking

The following are some commonly asked questions regarding lower back pain when walking.

What if your lower back pain is accompanied by leg weakness or pain?

If your lower back pain comes along with leg pain or weakness, it may be a sign of something more serious. In this case, you should speak with your primary care provider. Leg weakness is more concerning than leg pain, but having them together points to a larger issue. It usually indicates a blocked nerve.

What if you only experience lower back pain after walking a short distance?

If you only experience lower back pain after walking a short distance but not over longer distances, it most likely means your muscles are tight and need to warm up. When we exercise or use our muscles, the blood vessels inside open up, allowing more blood to flow into the muscles. This allows for better use of the muscles and less tightness, meaning less pain.

What should you keep in mind if you experience lower back pain while walking and you’re overweight?

Being overweight puts you at greater risk of experiencing lower back pain while walking due to an abnormal gait and extra pressure on the lower back. If you are overweight and walk a lot, try to maintain a good walking posture and keep your core engaged.

Final thoughts

We often walk a lot more than we realize, whether at home, at work, or when we’re out and about in our daily routine. It’s not unexpected to develop lower back pain when we spend a lot of time on our feet. However, with the right treatment and prevention, we can keep it from affecting our lives in any negative way.

General Medicine follows a strict editorial process, including using real experts to write our articles, vetted primary sources, fact-checking, a secondary medical review, and updates as necessary. This article was medically reviewed and fact checked by Dr. Pallabi Sanyal-Dey, MD.

Sources

Alzahrani, Hosam, et al. “The Association between Physical Activity and Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.” Scientific Reports, vol. 9, no. 1, June 2019, p. 8244. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-44664-8.

MedlinePlus. “Back Pain.” National Library of Medicine, 21 Oct. 2016, https://medlineplus.gov/backpain.html.