back pain :(

[luke's fleche]

hi all

recently i have had terrible back pain when doing any thing over 15 mile

i realy need to sort this out as it is agany after about 35 mile

the pain ocours at the very bottom of my back

any ideas on what to do ?

cheers luke

 

[luke's fleche]

sorry about the spelling mistakes

 

[MacB]

You need to give us some more info Luke, how much do you normally cycle, any changes you've made to bike, any injuries and any changes to amount you cycle. If there's nothing to indicate a potential problem within that then you really need to see a back specialist.

 

[slowmotion]

There is no point in waiting. Just get down to the GP. I've been there , I really have.

 

[Alf]

You probably need a referral to a physio. Trouble is, some physios know about cycling and backs and others don't. I started getting low back pain after 20 miles or so about 15 years ago. Now it's down to 10 miles despite a lot of attention from physios. I hope yours is more easily resolved. Sometimes it's down to your position on the bike. I switched to riding recumbents because of my back. I get no problem at all cycling laidback. I would keep my recumbents now anyway, even if my back ache disappeared.

Best of luck
Alf

 

[raindog]

I've suffered from lower back pain on the bike for about four years. Sometimes I can do 80ks and barely feel a thing, other times I have to stop every 20ks or so for a few seconds, stretch my muscles by hollowing my back and pressing my hands against the painfull bit, and I can ride on again, no problem.
Have you tried cat stretches? They seem to help me.
This kind of thing
http://www.lower-back-pain-answers.com/lower-back-stretches.html

 

[Jonathan M]

GP first Luke.

I did used to get lower back pain only on my MTB but experimented with dropping the saddle about 5mm. It worked, I think I was over extending my legs etc and rocking my hips to compensate. (This advice doesn't replace going and being seen by GP, you only have 1 back, look after it)

 

[arallsopp]

You probably need a referral to a physio. I switched to riding recumbents because of my back.

+1. I love my 'bents, but they're an expensive substitute for a healthy spine. Get it looked at, pronto.

 

[redjedi]

As has been said above, get it looked at first.

I found the solution to my back pain was the fitting on the bike. Get a good bike fiting done and it may sort it out for you.
A tiny adjustment of the saddle position or shorter stem can make all the difference. In my case moving the saddle forward by less than 1 cm completely relived all my back pain.

 

[normgow]

First step is to see a doctor , preferably a back specialist. If you are lucky he will diagnose weak muscles in back and abdomen which can be remedied by regular specific exercises to strengthen them.

 

[jpembroke]

Definitely go see your GP. Not worth waiting.

Also worth getting someone to take a look at your bike setup. You may have a bike that's too big or long for you; it may be something simple like setting your saddle lower and/or getting a shorter/steeper stem.

 

[jimboalee]

Check your saddle height.

Too high and your hips will be rocking. After an hour of this, the base of the back (lowest cervical vertebrae and Sacrum) will start to get painful.

If you have measured your Inside leg and set your seat height as a ratio of this from the B/B centre to top of saddle, consider your crank length.

Angle of the back shouldn't be an issue. Upright position with hands on hoods should put the cervical vertebrae at 45 degrees. On the drops - 35 degrees and on the drops with bent elbows - 15 degrees.

 

[d3v]

Personally I find good experienced chiro's to be far more useful that a pysio. Anything off the NHS/GP route is useless, IMO.