lower back pain help

garminguy

everytime i go for a spin no matter how long or short it is , i always seem to get lowerback pain.
it was never as bad as it was during the ring of kerry last year when i had to slip it into the granny ring from kenmare to molls gap and got passed by a bucket load of people

any body got any sugestions for lower back strengthing exercises please?

RobFowl

Every case of back pain is different and getting advise on the internet is a bad idea.
Go and see a Physiotherapist, a Sports Doctor or a GP

Mosiki

Exercises for your core (inner abs, obliques, lower back), will help strengthen and relieve the pain - worked for me when i first started out.

Examples (not exhaustive by any means)

Mr. Skeffington

Agree with RobFowl best to seek professional medical advice first. It could be due to a number of things:

underlying injury
poor core strength
poor flexibility
incorrect bike fit

If its an underlying injury or medical condition you could make things worse by starting to do loads of core strengthning exercises. Also you need to make sure that the core strengthning programme is appropriate and that your technique is 100% when performing these exercises. So therefore advice from a Chartered Physiotheripist is best.

Do you stretch before and after your events? Have you had your bike set up professionally. Saddle height, handlebar height, stem length, saddle fore and aft position are common causes for low back pain when looking at the bike position aspect.

macadam

Pilates

IM0

raise your bars and see if it reduces theres your problem, you havent developed enough strength/flexibility to be how ever you are now. Then search out a biking physio if you can, theres bound to be one in a club near enough to you, ask around.

redmaxi

On this issue - I had surgery last year on my lower back and asked the neuro surgeon if all the cycling caused it. He just shook his head and said absolutely not. Further he said three months after surgery I could cycle round the world if I wanted.
The back strenghting excerises he gave me were just simple things like pulling in you stomach/abs for 10 secs/10 reps. I do a few simple stretches before and after a spin now and all's fine.
Although cycling didn't cause the problem it did agrivate it. You are well advised to seek medical attention on it.

I hope it improves for you.

Greenman

garminguy wrote: »

everytime i go for a spin no matter how long or short it is , i always seem to get lowerback pain.
it was never as bad as it was during the ring of kerry last year when i had to slip it into the granny ring from kenmare to molls gap and got passed by a bucket load of people

any body got any sugestions for lower back strengthing exercises please?

What bars are you using?

Also had lower back pain and moved from dropped bars to straight bars, since then I'm much improved.

My 2 cents worth.:)

garminguy

thanks for all the suggestions and advice.
gonna get measured properly in my lbs and see if my saddle and handle bars heights are wrong.
if that still does not solve the problem i will probably seek physio help, in the mean time i will probably start doing some extra core exercises

ir666

+1 on the Pilates !

Lumen

I've used swimming a number of times to rehabilitate my back and neck, most notably after a serious car crash. If only it wasn't so bloody boring...

However, given the wide range of possible underlying issues, it's best to do what RobFowl says and go through the even more boring (and expensive) medical elimination process first.

Beasty

4 back operations for me (all slipped discs), and I would e-iterate what RobFowl and Lumen say - if it's bothering you, get specialist advice, otherwise you risk making it worse

Cute Tour

redmaxi wrote: »

On this issue - I had surgery last year on my lower back and asked the neuro surgeon if all the cycling caused it. He just shook his head and said absolutely not. Further he said three months after surgery I could cycle round the world if I wanted.
The back strenghting excerises he gave me were just simple things like pulling in you stomach/abs for 10 secs/10 reps. I do a few simple stretches before and after a spin now and all's fine.
Although cycling didn't cause the problem it did agrivate it. You are well advised to seek medical attention on it.

I hope it improves for you.

How did you find the back surgery? I have to get a back operation soon and I am fairly worried about it, I got one before and it wasnt a success at all. I have tried everything to avoid surgery again, physio, walking, swimming, pilates, aquapucture but nothing will get rid of the pain. Did it take you long to recover?

Beasty

Cute Tour wrote: »

How did you find the back surgery? I have to get a back operation soon and I am fairly worried about it, I got one before and it wasnt a success at all. I have tried everything to avoid surgery again, physio, walking, swimming, pilates, aquapucture but nothing will get rid of the pain. Did it take you long to recover?

Cycling certainly never contributed to my back problems - I have a very long spine, and there is a family history of back problems. The original trigger point was lifting a heavy weight.

I was in hospital for 6 days after my first operation, and off work for about 6 weeks. The time improved with each subsequent one, and I was only in hospital for 4 days after the final one, and off work for less than 4 weeks. The last one was 8 years ago, and it was orthopaedic rather than neuro surgery. I think the technology has improved since then, with potentially shorter periods of recuperation

thebouldwhacker

Garminguy I gotta bone to pick with you!!!

I have been injury free all year, I read your thread the yesterday morning, went to Ballyhoura and at the furthest point on the trail from the car park BOOM a pain shot into my lower back. coincidence?????

It was so bad at one stage I had to sit on the crossbar and lean back as hard as I could to pressure the point of the saddle into my back to get relief. What should have been a 3 hour hammer fest turned into a 4:40hr drag back to the car..........

I really blame my saddle height, my own fault completely I set it high to high, but thats just my my own stupidity. I hope you sort out your pain coz it is one hell of a pain:mad:

Signal_ rabbit

Defo get advice, i suffered from chronic back pain for years, funnily cycling actually keeps me pain free along with stretches every morning and regular sports massages.

The quack said that cycling was very good as long as the bike is set up properly!!! That includes cleat alignment.

Now if the doctor says I have to cycle as often as I can then who am I to argue with the medical profession.............?

garminguy

yesterday decided out of curiosity to put my winter bike next to my giant and lo and behold there was a difference of about 2 inches in the handle bar height while the saddles were level.
hopefully this will solve my problem

anoble66

same as signal_rabbit. For over 10 years I had bad lower back pain, sciatica down the legs, sometimes hard to even walk without limping along. After going to a sports injury guy for over a year and with regular cycling, running etc I am completely pain free. Never have any pain after being on the road bike but the MTB can cause pain in the hip and abductors so I tend to avoid long spins on the mtb now. So bike setup can definatelty make a massive difference.

Signal_ rabbit wrote: »

Defo get advice, i suffered from chronic back pain for years, funnily cycling actually keeps me pain free along with stretches every morning and regular sports massages.

The quack said that cycling was very good as long as the bike is set up properly!!! That includes cleat alignment.

Now if the doctor says I have to cycle as often as I can then who am I to argue with the medical profession.............?

doozerie

When focusing on bike fit/position, amongst the wealth of information available (some of it contradictory), the following is worth a read: Gary Klein on bike fit. Even if you disagree with his views he raises some interesting questions about traditional bike fit that are worth giving some thought to.

Some other interesting sources of info:

* Sheldon Brown on bike sizing
* Keith Bontrager on "The Myth of KOPS"

redmaxi

Cute Tour wrote: »

How did you find the back surgery? I have to get a back operation soon and I am fairly worried about it, I got one before and it wasnt a success at all. I have tried everything to avoid surgery again, physio, walking, swimming, pilates, aquapucture but nothing will get rid of the pain. Did it take you long to recover?

My apologies for not replying earlier - I only saw your post now. I'm working away a lot now so don't get to check in so often.
I had a slipped or herniated disk. I tried everything also. I was eventually living on the floor so went for an MRI. The neuro-surge looked at my MRI and said I have three options - 1) Wait for up to a year.
2) Have an epidural
3) Surgery
I had already been suffering for months and months. He said the epidural would not work in my case and physio's and all the other money grabbers were actually making it worse. Well they have their place to be fair but some of 'em keep having you back knowing well they can't fix you. It is impossible for disk material to be put back in. That is voodoo, what happens is it gets dissolved in the spinal fluid. Manipulation just helps to break it down faster. As you probably know.
I had a disectomy on L4/5. I barely made it from the hospital door to the ward on checking in I was so bad. But I was out of bed the morning after the op walking short distances. The recovery period was the worst - no sitting at all for the first two weeks (standing or lying only, mostly lying I was told) and only sitting twice a day for 15 minutes max. for the next two weeks. Then gradually increse the sitting for the next few weeks. No cycling/lifting for three months after the op. I could drive short distances and walk as much as I wanted after six weeks.
Crucially I had no pain after the operation - that's the main thing. I would highly recommend it. But get your head ready for the first four to five weeks. It is very trying mentally. (If it's a discectomy you're getting ?)

I still get the odd twinge but that's to be expected. That was nine months ago now and I'm almost back where I was now in cycling terms. It's desperate watching your legs return to 'normal'. All the hard earned muscle goes. I could only barely average 19 kph for the first few weeks back cycling.
I know the surgery has improved a lot lately. Although a friend of mine had the same op twelve years ago and he is fine still. Sticking to the recovery regieme the surgeon told me is vital for a successful outcome.

All the best and a speedy recovery if go under the knife !

TheDocMan

Get in touch with a good physio as a 1st stop. If it`s serious they`ll refer you on. If not they`ll guide you at an appropiate pace with exercise (mainly pilates/ core stuff) and of course a bike fit check would be appropiate. Just one thing don`t waste time or money on a quick fix. Take things slowly and have some patience. Time itself will improve matters.

Lumen

...

Cycling Forum Charter wrote:

Medical Advice
-we appreciate the temptation to seek other peoples experiences for low level physical problems that present themselves. But no one here is in a position to physically assess and diagnose you. You risk greater harm than good.