Episode
17: Low Back Pain in Runners: When Hormones, Sleep, and Core Stability Collide
- Podcast
- Interdisciplinary Case Miles
- Published
- Apr 17, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1112
- Processing state
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Summary
Is your low back pain coming from running or is it something else entirely? In this episode of Interdisciplinary Case Miles, Dr. Sara Raiser, sports medicine physician and running medicine speicalist, Dr. Kate Mihevc Edwards, orthopedic physical therapist and running PT, and sports dietitian Kelsey Pontius walk through a runner case involving low back pain during the perimenopause transition. The case involves a 41-year-old female physician and half-marathon runner who initially seeks help for nutrition during perimenopause. During the consultation, she casually mentions intermittent low back pain, poor sleep, and high work stress, factors that can all influence recovery and musculoskeletal health.The conversation expands into a deeper discussion of how hormonal changes, sleep quality, fueling habits, biomechanics, and pelvic floor health can all play a role in back pain for runners. We explain how shifting hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone influence collagen health, tendon recovery, muscle repair, sleep quality, and energy levels. For active women, these changes can show up as slower recovery, stubborn body changes, and nagging aches that weren’t there before.In this episode, we discuss: Why low back pain in runners is often multifactorial The impact of perimenopause and hormonal changes on recovery and connective tissue How sleep and fueling patterns influence injury risk and healing Why runners with back pain should evaluate core stability, breathing, and pelvic floor function How hip mobility and running mechanics can affect the lower back When back pain requires medical evaluation—and when runners can safely stay active Strategies to keep running while managing back discomfort If you're a runner dealing with low back pain, sleep disruption, ho…