Road Cycling - Back Pain give me some advise...please...

I started riding a couple of weeks ago after taking a long winter break, well if you count Most of last year as winter...

Anyway I've going going about it more scientifically then I ever have before and keeping track of relative data and here is what I have discovered. At almost exactly 11.00 miles into every ride I start to get back pain.

After two weeks of riding I am already feeling stronger and have stepped up my average speed from 12 mph to 14.5 mph but at about 14 miles my back is usually trying to talk me into getting off the bike. Thinking back this is why I quit the first time

doing my homework tells me that one of the ways I could fix this problem is by changing my riding position so here is my question, should I go back or up? I have another stem which I could swap. I am currently using a 135mm stem with about +7 rise, I also have a 70 mm stem with negative rise but a longer column that can be set equally high.

Heres is a little more information I am about 6 foot, ride a 57 cm frame, my bars are about three inches below my seat and when I am riding I sometimes find myself with my fingertips on my bars to be a little less bent over.

I guess my body is telling me to raise them up, but I am at the max line, I guess I need to break down and buy a stem or at least try the shorter one.

whatdayathink...

I am 6.1 and have had chronic back pain for a number of years. It may be your bike setup or it may be time to take some preventative measures. I find that when I do crunches, ( I do em in bed before I rise in the morning) about 150 each day that I can ride without problems. Sometimes if I ride for longer distances and in the drops, I will get some pain. In this case I use one of those gel packs (cheap) you can get from any Walmart that I keep in the freezer, and put it in my shorts to hold it against my back on the affected area for about 30 minutes after a ride. I have good success with this method. When my back goes, it goes to the point where I am debilitated for days to several weeks. If I don't do the crunches religiously, I find that I will without fail run into the pain again. Good luck!

I agree with Whitemax. Do some ab, lower back work and yoga. Check out The Complete Book of Abs : Revised and Expanded Edition by Kurt Brungardt. It is a great resource. As for the yoga, try to find Priscilla's Lower Back Repair Kit video. You should be able to get it from the Library. I had bad back pain for many years and this really helped.

http://www.yogaone.com/cart/description.php?II=15

I have encountered the same problem only after 40 or 50 miles of riding, and a bit sooner if there is more climbing.. It feels like the pain accumulates and gets progressively worse, to the point I must get off the bike and sit down. After 5 minutes of sitting I feel good enough to start riding again.

Two weeks ago I changes a couple of things on my bike (bad idea, do one change at the time :) ):
1) I replaced the seat but because the new seat had different rails I had to raise the seat post which forced me to change the fore/aft position of the seat.
2) I lowered the (adjustable) stem so I get more of an arc in my back.

Not sure what did it, but the past 2 weekends I rode a 50+ ride and very little back pain. It could also be that my old seat was too soft and was hurting like heck after 40 miles.. the new seat is firmer and I can take it for a longer time.. (Soft seats are from the devil :D )

Raise the bar up to where the seat is only higher than the bar by around 1 inch. And if you do this check your fore and aft seating position, because this will change also. I've been through all this so believe me, also I 've notice that most of my friends has gone in this direction interestingly enough.

I had the same problem. I raised the bar from 3 inches to 1 inch and started doing sit-ups.

All that crap above might work but its a good chance you'll just have to deal with it. Dont forget if you get a stem with more rise that it will bring the bars closer to you so you might want to go a bit longer with more rise.

Recommend some basic stretches every day for back and hamstrings. I spend a couple of minutes stretching every morning, and it's really helped. Crunches and back extensions (no weights) are great for core strength, but I've found nothing replaces the flexibility you get from a consistent stretch routine.

do you have a visor on your helmet?

Try different things. Its not crap if it fixes the situation.

Didnt say it was crap,said it as crap{stuff** might work. Read carfully.

Thank you for your support!!

I was thinking more rise with less extension?

Ben doing the abdominal excersizes, lots of fun. Hasn't helped yet but I am sure it needs more time.

As I said in my original post I am needing a stem I can get higher, but quill stems are not the easiest to find these days, plus I am lazy and dread taking off my handlebar tape, both layers, so I could thread my handlebar into a new stem, I am thinking about one of those threaded to threadless stem adaptor deals since they all have removeable plates to put bars on and threadless stems are widely abailable in various sizes.

The stretching was very valuable information I am very unflexable, i.e. standing straight up and bending at the waist I strain to touch about half way down my shin.

When I am riding and look down my bar goes a little past my front hub, I believe it should cover it? would one or two centimeters make much of a difference?

ONE MORE QUeSTION, does anybody pop a painkiller, like excederin or regular old asprin, ibuprofrin, stuff like that before a ride, I just thought about doing that.

Thanks

if you have a visor on your helmet, take it off. as for the stem length, this is a rule-of thumb, and not a hard-and fast rule. befoer you start screwing with your bike geometry, take the bike to your lbs and have yourself fitted properly. if you don't know what you're doing, you'll just make things worse.

i know a lot of guys who take painkillres and anti-inflamatories before rises. rememeber, though that they irritate your stomach and think your blood. i'm not saying don't do it... just think about it before you start popping ibs.

I've brought pain killers on the longer rides I've done in case I get half way out and need the help to get back (only needed once, but that once that you need em and don't have em can suck). I wouldn't fix the symptom (w/pills) without trying to get at the actual problem.
the bike fit advice I think is key.
the stretching and exercising is also very important. that book of abs aforementioned is a great one. just doing one kind of crunches isn't going to hit the array (like the obliques) and all those muscles are back support *or not*. planks are a favorite of mine too, it engages all the core muscles.
hope you get it worked out so the rides are more enjoyable.

I suffer from burning pain in the lower back muscles, every little thing you can do helps, here are my remedies so far.
Ab work, must strengthen abs to take the curve out of your back that you allow on longer rides. Practice rotating your hips forward and holding while in any riding position.
Stretches, around 20 miles, if not before, back stretches are a must, the Piriformis Stretch is one of the best, but can be tough to find a good location to do it on the road, I look for picnic tables. It and others are here...
http://www.briggschiropractic.com/newpage21.htm
If you have the balance, ride no handed, sitting high up in your seat every 5 to 10 miles, concious effort to rotate your hips forward as far as possible. 30 seconds of this can bring a world of relief.
Hope this helps, it's not hopeless, you just have to experiment and find what works.

Advil

http://www.briggschiropractic.com/newpage21.htm (Back Stretches)



hey, for some reason the link wouldn't show the page for me.
I'd like to see those stretches.

Almost everybody who takes time off in the winter gets upper back pain, just about between their shoulder blades or even higher, when they start again. No point in ruining your good midseason fit to accommodate momentary weakness that will only last five weeks at most. If that's what your problem is, ride through it. Work on flexibility too. You need to be able to sit in a hurdler's stretch position, and bend forward a bunch. I can get my nose past my kneecap on both legs, but right now I can't make it to the carpet.

Three inches is a lot of drop for a mid-forties club rider. If you are in your twenties and a flexible racer type, you may find that that fit on your bike is like everybody else's fit. I couldn't ride that way. I have about a 2.25" height difference between the top of the handlebars and the middle of the top of the saddle. On my new custom tandem they set the single bike fit in the middle of the stack washers, and I moved up and found that higher was better. I don't think I would do it on a single, though, because I would be throwing away some aerodynamic efficiency. On a tandem the extra leverage that comes with the higher position makes the long miles a little easier, because you have to correct for stoker motion as well.

If you change your fit, I would just go higher to start with. Your fingertip reach suggests you should not go longer, at least not yet. Work on flexibility and find people who are barely faster than you to ride with. Nothing like keeping up with the Jones to improve riding ability quickly.

Being one of the lucky 1/2 of 1% of males in the world to have scoliosis... I've dealt with back problems my whole life... though my case isn't too bad (at least I can ride) I do get a sore back fairly regularly when riding. I've found that doing exercises to strengthen my abs, as well as my 'core' muscles have helped quite a bit... Unfortunately for me.. I'll always have a lopsided back, but it hasn't slowed me down yet... :)

Try go seeing a chiropractor, I go once a month now, I see an improvement.

6 feet tall and riding a 57cm?? if its center to center that frame may be a bit too small for you. personally, my 6ft frame fits a 58cm c-to-c better. my back pain goes away when i climb out of the saddle every so often. i like the saddle moved forward more than set back. this puts less stress on your hamstrings, which stresses and pulls at the lower back.
before getting on the bike, lay down on your back. bend your legs and cross one over the other. pull up like you are doing a crunch. this lengthens and stretches the hammies.
BTW I don't recommend taking advil before/on rides. they have done studies on taking NSAID's during a dehydrated state and the results are not pretty. I'd just prefer you didn't take Advil on a chronic basis.

biking shouldn't hurt.

Didnt say it was crap,said it as crap{stuff** might work. Read carfully.


Write clearly. What does crap mean in your world?

Check your reach. Go to www.wrenchscience.com and go to their road fitting page. Measure yourself very carefully and see what they recommend your reach should be. Riding a 57 with 135 stem seems long, even for a 6 footer. I'm 6' with a 33.75 inseam (measured per the WS instructions) and I ride the following:

58 Trek with a 110 stem
57 Lemond with a 110 stem
55 Lemond with a 120 stem

Because of the differing geometries of the frames, all three have virtually the same reach. Point is, if you are set up too long, that could be causing the pain. It's worth checking.

Also, as suggested above, raise your bars to about 2 or 3 cm below the top of the seat. This too could help.

55/Rad

Write clearly. What does crap mean in your world?
Lots of meaning but dont let it bother you. Bottom line is a bad back hurts.

lots of meaning? in cultural studies, you'd say it was "thick." so your crap is thick? interesting.

I can understand why people shoot each other. CRAP!

Sounds like lack of flexibility could be contributing to your problem. If you can't get near the floor with your fingertips, I'd set up the bike so that the stem was level with the seat for starters. After a 3-6 months of daily stretching, when you can touch the floor, then maybe start to lower it gradually. Until you can palm the floor with your hands, I'd say forget the 4 or 5 inch drop the racers like to use...you need the position that works for you.

Concerning visors, I wear my helmet visor to reduce sunburn on my face during the summer months. It doesn't cause any neck problems for me at all, and keeps me cooler on the long hot rides.

But a true roadie doesnt wear a visor. I got that 1000 times when i used one.Myself,thats BS as a visor is good if it helps ya.

Ironically, I've been doing tonnes o' crunches recently, after hardly doing any abdominal work for about 4 years, and my back is now killing me. Being a former gym instructor, I'm confident I know how to do crunches safely (lots of padding; knees right up, etc), but.....yeeeouch! :(



But a true roadie doesnt wear a visor. I got that 1000 times when i used one.Myself,thats BS as a visor is good if it helps ya.

By the way, I can't get the 'cap under the helmet' trick to work so I glued on a visor to an old helmet for rainy days. After 10,000 years I finally figure out that it keeps the rain off your sun glasses. :D

I started riding a couple of weeks ago after taking a long winter break, well if you count Most of last year as winter...

Anyway I've going going about it more scientifically then I ever have before and keeping track of relative data and here is what I have discovered. At almost exactly 11.00 miles into every ride I start to get back pain.

After two weeks of riding I am already feeling stronger and have stepped up my average speed from 12 mph to 14.5 mph but at about 14 miles my back is usually trying to talk me into getting off the bike. Thinking back this is why I quit the first time

doing my homework tells me that one of the ways I could fix this problem is by changing my riding position so here is my question, should I go back or up? I have another stem which I could swap. I am currently using a 135mm stem with about +7 rise, I also have a 70 mm stem with negative rise but a longer column that can be set equally high.

Heres is a little more information I am about 6 foot, ride a 57 cm frame, my bars are about three inches below my seat and when I am riding I sometimes find myself with my fingertips on my bars to be a little less bent over.

I guess my body is telling me to raise them up, but I am at the max line, I guess I need to break down and buy a stem or at least try the shorter one.

whatdayathink...


Why has the problem of "on the bike" lower back pain never been solved. The answer is simple. It is
caused by the natural pedaling style and an imperfect lower back. Because natural pedaling uses direct
downward pedal pressure as its main power source, all the resistance must be supplied by the lower back
in addition to having to support most of the upper body weight. This puts the back under continuous
strain which starts to aggravate any weak or injured parts of the lower back and after a few miles the
torture will begin. By confining all research to the natural pedaling style, the experts are simply trying
to dig their way out of a hole.
J. Anquetil used a completely different linear toes down pedaling style in which direct downward pedal
pressure was never used, all necessary resistance for this high geared style came from the hips and
arms. His technique also enabled a rider to combine the resistance of the arms with the legs when riding
at speed in the saddle and in the process the working arms supported all the upper body weight. Unlike
natural pedaling which causes back strain and injury, Anquetil's style has a relaxing, beneficial and
strengthening effect on the lower back and will completely eliminate even the worst cases of " on the bike"
lower back pain.
I hope to make it available shortly, it has to be explained and demonstrated in detail. Hopefully it can be
spread on a chain system (free of charge) after that.