Blog 3: Everything Padel
Part 3: Lower Back Pain in Padel (And How Core Stability Fixes It)
Welcome back to Everything Padel. I'm Dr. Keirstyn, a chiropractor and endurance coach at Endurance Therapeutics in Oakville. In Part 1, we covered why padel is hard on your body. In Part 2, we looked at shoulder and elbow injuries. Today, we're talking about lower back pain, one of the most common complaints I see in padel players.
If you've played padel for any length of time, you've probably felt it. That deep ache in your lower back that shows up after a long match. The stiffness the next morning that takes half the day to loosen up. The sharp twinge when you rotate hard for a backhand.
Lower back pain in padel is not random. It's driven by repetitive rotation under load, poor core stability, and compensation patterns that force your lumbar spine to do work your hips and thoracic spine should be handling.
Why Padel Is Hard on Your Lower Back
Padel demands constant rotation. Every shot requires you to rotate through your hips and thoracic spine to generate power and position your body for the next ball. When your hips are tight and your mid back is stiff, your lower back compensates by rotating more than it should.
Your lumbar spine is designed for stability, not rotation. It has some rotational capacity, but it's limited. When you ask it to rotate repeatedly under load, the joints, discs, and muscles break down.
Here's what your lower back is dealing with in padel:
Repetitive Rotation Under Load: Every shot requires rotation through your torso. If your hips and thoracic spine are not moving well, your lower back takes on the excess rotation.
Poor Deceleration Mechanics: When you stop hard and change direction, your core needs to stabilize your spine. If your core is weak, your lower back absorbs the force.
Weak Glutes: Your glutes control hip extension and rotation. When they're weak, your lower back compensates by overworking to stabilize your pelvis.
Anterior Pelvic Tilt: If you have tight hip flexors and weak glutes, your pelvis tilts forward, increasing the curve in your lower back and putting excess load on the lumbar joints.
What Lower Back Pain Actually Is
Lower back pain in padel players usually shows up as one of three things:
Facet Joint Irritation: The small joints in your lower back become inflamed from repetitive rotation and extension under load.
Muscle Strain: The muscles along your lower back become overworked and develop trigger points and tension.
Disc Irritation: The discs between your vertebrae are compressed and irritated from repetitive loading in a compromised position.
All three are driven by the same underlying issues: poor movement mechanics, weak core stability, and compensation patterns that overload your lower back.
Why Rest Alone Doesn't Fix It
Lower back pain usually gets better with a few days off. The inflammation settles, the muscles relax, and the pain becomes tolerable. But when you go back to playing, the pain returns within weeks.
That's because rest reduces the symptoms but does not address the root cause. The tight hips, stiff thoracic spine, weak glutes, and poor core stability are still there. You go back to playing with the same movement patterns, and the same structure fails again.
How to Actually Fix Lower Back Pain in Padel
To heal lower back pain, we need to restore mobility where it's restricted, build strength where it's lacking, and teach your body to move efficiently under the demands of the sport.
1. Restore Hip Mobility
Your hips need to rotate freely so your lower back doesn't compensate. Incorporate hip flexor stretches, figure 4 stretches, and 90/90 hip rotations to restore hip mobility. Check out my YouTube channel for hip mobility exercises!
2. Improve Thoracic Spine Mobility
Your mid back needs to extend and rotate so your lower back doesn't take on excess motion. Incorporate thoracic extensions over a foam roller, open book stretches, and quadruped rotations to restore thoracic mobility.
3. Build Glute Strength
Your glutes control hip extension and rotation. When they're weak, your lower back compensates. Incorporate glute bridges, single leg deadlifts, clamshells, and lateral band walks to build glute strength.
4. Strengthen Your Core
Your core stabilizes your spine during rotation and deceleration. Incorporate planks, dead bugs, Pallof presses, and bird dogs to build core stability. Your core is not just your abs, it's the entire system that stabilizes your spine, including your deep abdominals, obliques, and lower back muscles.
5. Fix Your Movement Mechanics
Work with a coach to address poor rotation mechanics, inadequate hip engagement, and excessive lower back extension. Small changes in how you load and rotate can make a massive difference in how your lower back feels.
6. Manual Therapy
In the clinic, I use soft tissue therapy to release tension in your lower back, hip flexors, and glutes. I use joint mobilizations to restore proper movement to your lumbar spine, hips, and thoracic spine. And I use chiropractic adjustments to address restrictions that are limiting your movement.
What to Watch For
If your lower back pain is accompanied by numbness, tingling, or weakness in your legs, it's a sign that the issue may involve nerve compression. If your pain is worse in the morning and improves with movement, it's a sign of inflammatory lower back pain, which requires a different approach. These are red flags that require immediate attention.
Final Word
Lower back pain in padel is a sign that your hips, thoracic spine, glutes, and core need attention. By addressing the root cause, you can play without that deep ache that ruins your next day.
In Part 4, we'll look at knee and ankle injuries, the lower body structures that absorb the explosive lateral movement and quick direction changes that define padel.
Struggling with lower back pain that keeps coming back? Book an assessment with me, Dr. Keirstyn, at Endurance Therapeutics. Let's find the root cause and build a plan to get you back on the court pain free.
📍 Endurance Therapeutics | Oakville, Ontario
📞 905-288-7161