Road Cycling - I crashed, now my back hurts..need advice?

So i crashed a week ago and, well, i won't go into details, but basically I think I aggrivated an old hemmoraged disc and also strained my back. I went to a Phusical therapist and he kinda confirmed the details.. but added my pelvis was a little off symmetrical..
The muscle strain has for the most part subsided.
My PT guy said I need to do some stretches.. he explained one to do. but wants me to come back.. and frankly my health insurance sucks so it would be very expensive to see the guy so I want to look for other ways I can treat this on my own..

So, i searched the forum and found a bunch of stuff on sciatica, but that isn't quite what I have. I can feel a nerve pinch when I hunch over, like riding a bike.. but heck, I can't be off my bike more than a few days without going through withdrawl..

Any suggestions on where I can go for some info or anyone ever go through this?

Thanks ,eric

oh, that's why I live in Canada.

Time will help, as will anti-inflammatories such as aspirin. You may want to see a good chiropractor, or acupuncturist for the nerve pinch. Don't blindly listen to them however, according to all these "professionals" , you need to see them twice a week forever.

(I stress GOOD chiropractor, not the flaky ones who use "activators" and herbal remedies)

Got some good Makers' Mark bourbon that'll kill that pain in no time flat. Relaxes everything too. Of course, you may need to stay off the wheels til' ya sober up. :)

Patriot

Ill second a chiropractor

I second an additional two shots of 15yo Scotch. :)

Patriot

P.S. sorry, I just can't resist. LOL

No doubt the injury has spasmed some of the smaller back muscles, pulling your spine and pelvis out of alignment (the pelvic tilt/twist your therapist noted). These smaller muscles have locked down in an effort to immobilize the injury, and getting them to release and relax can be a challenge. As the muscles continue to spasm, nerves such as the sciatica bundle will start to become inflamed, aggravating the discomfort and continuing the vicious cycle. These are very basic bits of advice-- you REALLY shouldn't f around with bulging disks and stuff:

Ice and heat, alternating 20 minutes each, as many times as you can stand.

Do the stretches your PT told you to do.

I like to roll on my stomach very gently over one of those large exercise balls like many gyms have... works *very* well for releasing tension in spasmed muscles.

Iboprofen

If you can afford treatment, electro-stim and moist heat administered by a PT or chiropractor, as well as deep tissue massage would help speed everything along. Good luck,

Dave

Okay, I'll second the acupuncturist. I had a pinched nerve and chiropractic just made it worse. PT and acupuncture completely healed it (knock on wood).

"...but added my pelvis was a little off symmetrical.."

Could we have a little bit more specificity here? What exactly did he say/mean? What did he observe? Did he show this to you?

So i crashed a week ago and, well, i won't go into details, but basically I think I aggrivated an old hemmoraged disc and also strained my back. I went to a Phusical therapist and he kinda confirmed the details.. but added my pelvis was a little off symmetrical..
The muscle strain has for the most part subsided.
My PT guy said I need to do some stretches.. he explained one to do. but wants me to come back.. and frankly my health insurance sucks so it would be very expensive to see the guy so I want to look for other ways I can treat this on my own..

So, i searched the forum and found a bunch of stuff on sciatica, but that isn't quite what I have. I can feel a nerve pinch when I hunch over, like riding a bike.. but heck, I can't be off my bike more than a few days without going through withdrawl..

Any suggestions on where I can go for some info or anyone ever go through this?

Thanks ,eric

You probably just need a new bike, maybe a Cervelo or a pretty Orbea Orca...that's what I'd do, buy a new bike

Self diagnosis and treatment is generally not a good idea. If you have a back problem that doesn't go away within a week, then you should see a neurologist or a back specialist. Your insurance may require you to see your primary care physician for a referral, but that should not be a problem. A physical therapist is not qualified to diagnose a condition. Doing stretches may be a good idea, but you don't know if you reinjured an old condition or have a new one. Even if it's a reinjury, the situation may now be beyond what can be fixed with physical therapy.

"...but added my pelvis was a little off symmetrical.."

Could we have a little bit more specificity here? What exactly did he say/mean? What did he observe? Did he show this to you?

I'm not sure what he meant by my pelvis is out of alignment when he told me. he said it wasn't symmetrical. He pushed on my pelvis while on my back and my right side seemed to give a little more than my left (he was able to push it toward the table more than my left side).. and I kinda remember landing on the left shoulder during the crash., but my helmet was all bashed in on the right side from the impact, but don't remember hitting that side directly. I thought it was my left side that I hit first..

I asked my PT when I was there about his opinion on bike riding, because I commute about 18-mi one way daily and wanted to get back on the bike.. he said, that it wouldn't kill me, but the position of hunching over, was putting more pressure on the nerve.. and today I could feel some pain down my leg as I was riding, so it must be the contraction of the spine to that effect.. However, it has now been 3 hours since my ride, and I have little pain walking around, picking stuff up, or just normal movement that I sometimes was getting through the day.

Also, I got a friend at work that actually has some of those electro-stimulus pads and things that the PTs use so I'm gonna try those too. My Doc perscribed me some muscle relaxers.. so I think i'll stay off the scotch for a bit :D

-e

Hi,
if this perists, you will simply have to get treatment. Try this for a week or two,
1) Soak in a hot tub, after a while start stretching gently. You
want to get stretched out, but you don't want to force things.
2) Take 2 Alleve
3)Go for a SHORT bike ride (you can add mileage later, start easy). If this doesn't work, start going to a gym instead and work the midsection. Thus will take some research on your part to find what will help. Start doing crunches now.
4) Go to a medical supply house, tell them what you're doing, and buy a couple huge gel packs. Use them one at a time for several minutes (how long depends on how thick) after exercise.

--- If things don't quickly 'fall into place', you are going to need PT. Personally, I'd start the PT, sometimes a couple sessions will do the trick. If they don't what we have recommended won't work either.

Thanks a ton for your tips! I'm not totally sold not to use a PT or not.. so I may continue to go to my PT

I was fishing for information that suggested that you have a leg length inequality (legs not same length) or deformed pelvis, without giving you any clues to what I was after that might have biased your answer, with an honest intent to help on my part.

You might be able to repeat your PT's observations for yourself. Lying flat on your back, with your belly sucked in just as far as it can go, you might be able to find one hip bone (anterior superior iliac spine) is taller (higher off the surface you are lying on) than the other. Standing, you might be able to find that one hip bone (posterior iliac spine? not sure) sticks farther out the back away from the sacrum too. If you have a hip bone sticking out the back, you will be rolled away from that side when lying on your back, and if you are x-rayed in a supine position (lying flat on your back), you will x-ray as though you are rolled a little bit, and the pelvis will not look symmetrical. If you have a bent/twisted hip, it might be possible to see that the SI joint sides are not parallel, and the pubic symphesis might not look right either. Got an old x-ray left over from when that disc blew out that includes the pelvis, lying around somewhere?

I've followed this subject at a PT website called RehabEdge for about two years, as they have argued over the existence and amount and significance and reliable detectibility of SI (sacroiliac) joint mobility. Good studies of intra/inter-observer reliability and typical mobility done by observing the movement of injected tantalum (?) balls by x-ray are only just being released during this period. I would rather you read those for yourself.

I hasten to add that I have been following these discussions as an interested observer and not as a professional in the industry (!).

C H I R O P R A C T O R

I swear by mine!! P.S. I gave her a Livestrong band and she comped me an adjustment!!