View Full Version : back pain when climbing
I seem to get a terrible pain in my lower back when climbing while seated. I be sure to use a gear down and mostly spin up the hills but the pain is still there. It is not there when I stand and climb, but I understand that it is more efficient to climb seated. I don't get this pain on the flats while pushing a bigger gear, only on my hill climb days and the pain lasts for a couple of days. Could I be using my back too much and not my legs when climbing seated? Could my overall reach on the bike be too short and I need to be streched out more? Thanks.
UmneyDurak
08-15-07, 07:24 AM
I seem to get a terrible pain in my lower back when climbing while seated. I be sure to use a gear down and mostly spin up the hills but the pain is still there. It is not there when I stand and climb, but I understand that it is more efficient to climb seated. I don't get this pain on the flats while pushing a bigger gear, only on my hill climb days and the pain lasts for a couple of days. Could I be using my back too much and not my legs when climbing seated? Could my overall reach on the bike be too short and I need to be streched out more? Thanks.
Well your position is different when you are climbing then when you are riding on flats. You can take note of the differences and maybe try to change it? Also try working on your core muscles. I found "Around the world" to be an excellent regiment.
Are you tensing up when you are climbing?
Longfemur
08-15-07, 07:27 AM
I once had the very same problem. I know everyone's different, but in my case, it was when I was experimenting with my saddle lower and farther back. Farther back makes the bend in your back more acute. So, I don't know what your specific problem is, but you might try your saddle a little more forward and correspondingly higher. Worth a try, anyway.
Are you tensing up when you are climbing?
Thanks everyone. I haven't thouht about this, but I would probably say that I am tensing up becuase I am bearing down in the saddle (i.e. planting my butt more into the saddle) as I push myself up the hill. Is there something I can focus on to help this tensing?
About the saddle height, It took me a while to find the correct saddle height and fore/aft position. I have been dealing with pain in my knees, both inside and outside of my knees, and have finally found the correct saddle height which gives me no pain in them. I hate to loose that position because it was very frustrating to find it. With a lower saddle I would always get knee pain on the outside of them.
I was wondering if I run a bit longer stem and stretch out a bit if that may help. I wonder if I am pinching something back there.
Crash716
08-15-07, 03:59 PM
mine was all because of a lack of core strength....after a couple months of riding and working on just core strengthening most of the back pain has gone away.
Longfemur
08-15-07, 04:45 PM
I was wondering if I run a bit longer stem and stretch out a bit if that may help. I wonder if I am pinching something back there.
It might. You never know until you try. It's just as bad to be too bunched up as it is to be too stretched out. You might also just look at your back itself. If it's too arched, you could try tilting your pelvis forward a little. Personally, I've always found that it's easier on the back to climb a little more bent over, as long as the angle isn't too acute, rather than more upright.
DannoXYZ
08-15-07, 11:18 PM
I seem to get a terrible pain in my lower back when climbing while seated. I be sure to use a gear down and mostly spin up the hills but the pain is still there. It is not there when I stand and climb, but I understand that it is more efficient to climb seated. I don't get this pain on the flats while pushing a bigger gear, only on my hill climb days and the pain lasts for a couple of days. Could I be using my back too much and not my legs when climbing seated? Could my overall reach on the bike be too short and I need to be streched out more? Thanks.Do you notice yourself sliding back on the seat? Try sitting in the same position.
Also just because you gear down and spin, doesn't mean that your pedaling-motion hasn't changed. A lot of people change to a more up-down mashing motion when climbing. Try focusing on round strokes with the mud-scraping motion at the bottom.
Finally DO NOT grip and pull on the handlebars. I make fists with my two hands and put them on top with the fingernails resting on the bars.
Do you notice yourself sliding back on the seat? Try sitting in the same position.
Also just because you gear down and spin, doesn't mean that your pedaling-motion hasn't changed. A lot of people change to a more up-down mashing motion when climbing. Try focusing on round strokes with the mud-scraping motion at the bottom.
Finally DO NOT grip and pull on the handlebars. I make fists with my two hands and put them on top with the fingernails resting on the bars.
I do find myself sliding back in the saddle a bit. I am actually rolling my pelvic area backward onto the saddle to be more on my sit bones when climbing. I also am using more of a mashing down, down only pedal stroke. And, if that wasn't enough of your no-no's (:)) I am pulling myself on the handlebars with every down pedal stroke. Dang, I'm doing it all wrong . . .
Thanks for the tips and advice.
Also going to work on that core strength.
mine was also because of a lack of core strength, the continuous power of my legs was not being compensated by my lower back
after doing some careful dead lifts and roman chair extensions things improved a lot
also helped a lot with riding out of the saddle
after doing some careful dead lifts and roman chair extensions things improved a lot
also helped a lot with riding out of the saddle
What exercises are these? Will regular sit-ups help to build the core?
no, situps dont really work the back muscles
roman chairs look like this
http://www.back-exercises.com/Roman-Chair.html
you go down and raise up and hold, you would probably have to go to a gym to find a roman chair
a dead lift is
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadlift
squats are also good for the core but I dont do them because of my bad knees
I would suggest you go to a gym and let a qualified instructor show you how
because back exercises done wrong can permanently damage you back
mine was all because of a lack of core strength....after a couple months of riding and working on just core strengthening most of the back pain has gone away.
+1 Billion :eek:
I had the exact issue - lower back pain when climbing, but only after some effort. In other words, my back was fine until I got toward the end of the climb, and then the pain set in. After about a month of core body exercises, the pain just went away. Now I have to keep up the core body stuff or I fear the pain will come back.
Good luck with your issue!
... Brad
timmhaan
08-17-07, 01:56 PM
After about a month of core body exercises, the pain just went away.
me too. i didn't do that much either...just a few sets of back raises and crunches 3-4 times a week. then, like magic, my back was totally fine. took about a month or two.
amazing stuff, that core body exercise.
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