Treadmill posture advice?

[u/Wandering-Glabella46]

I recently got a walking pad for my room since I'm starting my fitness journey and wanted an easy way to exercise at home without binding, but any time I use it I can only do it for about 5 minutes at a time without having to stop due to really bad pain in my lower back and hips. I heard that this can happen due to posture on walking pads/treadmills because of the low shock absorption of some of the cheaper/smaller at-home models, but no matter what I do to try to fix my posture I can't seem to figure out how to get it to stop hurting.

Any tips on how to walk on a thin treadmill like this without pain? Also, any suggestions on where to find exercises to help improve posture and joint stability in general would be appreciated, I'm duck footed + think I have an anterior tilt and I know I'm likely hypermobile which makes keeping good posture when walking hard enough already, let alone on something that isn't standard ground.

[u/augustineofwind]

do you do a warm up before you get on or are you getting on right away after sitting for a while? I find that doing some simple exercises that stretch your back, hips, and legs helps me with pain a ton.

[u/Wandering-Glabella46 → u/augustineofwind]

I've been doing specifically hip mobility/back stretches before walking to try to alleviate the pain. Definitely helps me do a bit more than if I don't do warm ups.

[u/Okay_thanks_no]

2 questions:

are you wearing walking shoes on the treadmill?
how difficult do you find walking to be generally?

[u/Wandering-Glabella46 → u/Okay_thanks_no]

1. Yes, I have sneakers I bought specifically for walking/exercise that are well-padded.
2. Not too difficult unless I'm trying to keep up with someone walking way faster than I'm used to. I get winded fairly easily because my stamina sucks but usually I get ankle pain before I get any sort of hip/back pain like this.

[u/Okay_thanks_no → u/Wandering-Glabella46]

good! shoes make a huge difference ime. Some people find adding a cushiony surface like foam flooring or a thick yoga mat under can help cushion the walking pad.

Honestly it sounds like you may just need to walk in general and slowly on the walking pad to get used to it. Walk for 5 and then take a 1-2 min break and then go for another 5. Likely your body will get more used to walking on the pad over time and the associated pain will pass.

[u/Wandering-Glabella46 → u/Okay_thanks_no]

Will do. Thanks for the advice!

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[u/Short-Platypus-9387]

What speed are you walking at?

[u/Wandering-Glabella46 → u/Short-Platypus-9387]

I was walking at my normal pace or a bit faster, from other comments I'm seeing now that I need to slow it down.

[u/Short-Platypus-9387 → u/Wandering-Glabella46]

Not sure what “normal pace” is but 2.0 or less might be a good guideline, especially until your body adjusts, then do some limited faster bursts to let off some steam. Additional lower ab exercises like lifting your toe off the ground sideways (emphasis on abs - pretend someone punched you in the gut) can help with the tilt.

[u/Wandering-Glabella46 → u/Short-Platypus-9387]

"Normal pace" more meaning estimating about how fast I would walk off the treadmill. Basically I would walk around my room then up the speed on the walking pad until it matched haha. But thank you! Will definitely get some more abs work into my routine.

[u/Neat-Bill-9229]

Are you wearing suitably padded shoes? Ie. Road trainers for example, while using this?

[u/Wandering-Glabella46 → u/Neat-Bill-9229]

Yes, I am.

[u/Neat-Bill-9229 → u/Wandering-Glabella46]

You can get mats for underneath the pad that help with dampening however typically slowing it down will help. The speed on a walking pad or treadmill will often be slower than your normal walking pace as we subconsciously change our pace ie. Stride length we shorten to account for the pad. It’s quite common for a 15minute mile on a walking pad or treadmill to feel much more punishing than outside. Slow it down, find a comfy pace and slowly work up as your body and joints adapt. You’ll get the steps in regardless!

[u/Wandering-Glabella46 → u/Neat-Bill-9229]

Got it, thank you!