Lower back pain or discomfort during or after rucking is common among military and tactical athletes. The combination of excessive load, time under load, fatigue, posture, and a history of back pain are the main reasons why your back hurts during long rucks. In addition, not having enough trunk endurance and strength in your hips and glutes can make it worse.
Furthermore, poor trunk endurance combined with weak hips and glutes makes the situation worse. Your poor lower back is forced to stabilize and brace the heavy load since your trunk, hips, and glutes are too weak.
This guide is a quick field manual in how you can reduce and prevent lower back pain from rucking.
If you are experiencing pain traveling down the leg, numbness, or tingling, see a physical therapist or medical professional.
Step 1: Reduce Load
The first step is to reduce at least one of these variables: pack weight, distance, pace, or ruck frequency. You can still train if symptoms are mild and settle quickly, but you should actively avoid sessions that make pain spike or linger into the next day. Instead of a 45 lb pack, try using a lighter load such as 25 or 35 lbs.
Step 2: Build Trunk Endurance
A ruck is not just a strength test. It is an endurance test for your trunk. Your core has to keep your ribs, pelvis, and spine stable for thousands of steps while the pack is pulling on you. When trunk endurance fades, you are more likely to lean, arch, rotate, or collapse forward, which can make your lower back do more of the bracing work.
Some exercises for building trunk endurance include:
Step 3: Strengthen Hips and Glutes
Your hips and glutes help drive each step, control your pelvis, and absorb force while you are moving under load. If they are weak or fatigue early, your lower back often picks up the slack. Building stronger hips and glutes helps spread the work across the whole lower body instead of making your low back do all the stabilizing.
Some exercises for strengthening your hips and glutes include:
Return to Rucking Gradually
Do not jump straight back to the same load and distance just because your back feels better. Return by changing one variable at a time: pack weight, distance, pace, hills, or weekly ruck frequency.
Progress when symptoms stay mild during the ruck and are not worse the next day. If lower back pain climbs during the session or lingers afterward, back off and hold the current level longer before adding more load.
If you want a personalized prehab program to help build trunk endurance, hip strength, and rucking durability, you can get one on Adapted.
