I'm not sure if this is running or work related, but I'm getting muscular pains in my lower back and I don't know if it's caused by taking up running or due to work.

When I run I seem to land reasonably heavily on my feet, could this cause back pains?

It could be a combination of both - where abouts in your back are you getting the pains - in your lower back or higher up? Are you getting any shooting pains or pin & needles or numbness in the backs of legs or buttocks?

There are some good exercises for loosening your back here:
http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/news/a...N=1116&v=4&sp=

Otherwise you might get some benefit from consulting an osteo or a chiropractor - I know I do.

It's the lower back from the back of the ribcage down. The pain is like a dull ache down either side.

I'm not having any of the other pains you suggest, it's only the lower back. A work colleague of mine who did sports science at uni suggested that it may be down to poor running shoes, something else I may have to look into.

Thanks for the stretching links, but I can't read them as I'm not a runners world subscriber!

Good that means you are unlikely to have sciatica. Sometimes the last two vertebrae in your lower back can get locked up with the impact of running - this is why your shoes are really important. Did you buy your shoes from a proper running shop? If you have a desk job as well you will also need to look at your work station and make sure it is set up correctly as well.

If you PM your email address I can forward those back exercises to you as a PDF.

Sadly the shoes I have are just a random pair of Nike trainers
I'm going to get some proper ones when I have the money, hopefully sometime within the next 2 or 3 weeks.

There's a proper sports shop down the road from me, so I'm going to give them a bash and see what they suggest.

By proper sports shop I hope you mean a running shop that does gait analysis - make sure they do gait analysis. A lot of running shoe companies are currently updating their lines so you may be able to pick up something in a sale.

You have mail

Thanks for the mail. Much appreciated!

I'll check with the shop and see if they do gait analysis first.

Thanks

There are loads of specialised running shops in London

Could be poor core stability.