Jason222

I have a lot of back pain after biking, and during biking. When I bike, I usually get pain in my lower back, and later I get it between my shoulder blades. The lower back pain goes away after 30 minutes of not riding, but the pain between my shoulders stays for hours and hours.

What am I doing wrong? How could I adjust my bike so that it doesn't bother me as much?

The Selector

are you on a full suspension? the same thing use to happen to me when I rode my hardtail with a 3L camelbak. After a while I think the muscles got stronger and I only had a little discomfort in my lower back.

mcoine

yeah get a sissy bike with fs, then you don't have to build any muscles to prevent back pain.

Jason222

I ride a Hardtail, a Trek Bruiser 2. There's a pic in my Signature("My baby"). I don't have a camel back either. I'm 17, 5'9" and I weight roughly 160 lbs

The Selector

yeah, how long have you been riding? I would get off the seat when you hit any bumps... that should help

idleuser

You should do some workouts for your lower back as well as strenghtening your core with a stability ball. Pain in your upper back? I think you just need to build some muscle there ;-)

I wouldn't know what kind of workouts to do, but I do squats atleast 2 times a week, usually 3 and I stretch for about 10-15 mins a day. I've never had lower back pains though. Are you hunched over less than 90*? And by less than 90* I mean relative to your thighs when your cranks are horizontal to the ground.Your riding position might be too aggressive.

*edit* The selector has a very good point.

mcoine

I looked at your bike, you don't actually ride with the seat that low do you?

The Selector

what are you like 15 or something? I could crush you in one hand

mcoine

No, I'm 32.

The Selector

If you really want to build muscle in your back get a roman chair

Jason222

Not much since it's the winter. I don't ride with the seat all the way down, but I do if I'm doing street, but in that case, I'm not sitting anyway. I had the same back pain all year (I got my bike April 1st, 2005) and it never went away. I look kind of awkward when I'm riding sometimes, because I'll be trying to crack my back somehow on the bike, or do some streches to try to relieve the pain. It works, but not for long.

mcoine

go see a chiropractor

The Selector

I would go to the shop where you bought the bike, ask them to fit the bike to you, get up off the seat when you hit bumps, and get a book on stretching and strength training. plus ride your bike more, after they fit it to you. I know it took me some time to get use to riding after I hadn't been for so long. I would have sore shoulders and a little back pain and be completely exhausted after a 8-10 hour ride, but after a few thousand miles (1.5 months) my muscles got stronger and I wasn't exhausted after riding. all this on a hardtail.

powpow

Upper back and neck pain can result from having too much weight on your hands. Sometimes lowering your seat slightly will put more weight toward the rear of your bike, relieving some pressure on your arms, neck and upper back. Whatever you do, change things slowly (millimeters, not inches).

The Selector

those brake levers look like they need to be adjusted to point more upward.

BoSoxYacht

A VERY BAD IDEA!!! Go to see a DOCTOR!!! Trust me on this.

RageoftheDragon

Well, probably was good you came to this forum first, as you may not even need to waste your time on a doctor. A lot of MDs won't know enough about the biomechanics of your biking to know exactly what is going wrong. The guys on here have a lot of experience and have been giving decent advice.

Except the chiropractic comment. No point in getting your back adjusted/cracked/destroyed without any scientific basis whatsoever. I know some people swear by chiro, but let's think: Is it really fixing it if you have to go back once a week to 'readjust', and you never get better, and are never properly told how to get better? NO! Are they bringing you back a lot to make money maybe...in some weird caplitalist ploy that they somehow fit into their care for only you? YES!

If the problem doesn't clear with some strengthening and making sure your frame measurements fit your body, then you'd be WAY WAY better set to see a physiotherapist. They know their muscles.

Oh, and have a pint after you ride. That always helps the sore.

-RotD

free_pizza

You speak wise words my friend.

BryanW

Just to bring in the other side, my personal experience, a physio misdiagnosed my back problem and gave me some exercises that made it worse. A chiropractor sorted me out, and though I was going to see him every couple of weeks at first, a year later I'm now on every four months and the next visit will probably be my last.

Having said that, I wouldn't go to any alternative medical person I didn't have personally recommended to me.

Best advice so far this thread: build core strength with a gym-ball. Even sitting on it watching TV (with your feet off the ground if you can) did a lot of good for my back.

BoSoxYacht

Having a few herniated discs in my lower back , I speak from expirence . I've been misdiagnosed by both doctor and chiro before the doctor ordered a MRI. This showed the problem , and would never have been fixed by a Chiropractor/Witchdoctor. I didn't need surjury , Just some shots into the spine (very painful) but they did the trick . I beg of you, DON'T LET THE CHIROPRACTOR TOUCH YOUR BACK . I would try rest and a Massage Therapist/Physical Therapist first to determine if it's a muscle problem . The Doctor I went to thought it was Back Spasms , the Chiro/Witchdoctor just started "adjusting" things , and did more harm than good .

TRaffic Jammer

I ended up having an SI joint injury in my lower back. Pain in the lowerback as well as up in the sholder blade but only on one side. It was first diagnosed as a bulging disk. I didn't have pain while riding but when I got off my bike I could hardly walk sometimes. Electrical treatments to the muscles surrounding the joint, and cold rub, seems to have done the trick. Deep release rubbing on the muscle tissues hurt while being treated but felt awesome afterwards. I absolutely would not let them do adjustments, no way Jose. Core training is recommended as well, as it will help keep your spine aligned properly. A good riding position is key.

Shiva

Experiment tweaking your bike. Change one thing at a time, see if it has any effect over a few rides. If not, try changing something else.

Example: I had horrible neck pain while riding which led to migranes. I put some spacers on my stem to raise the angle of my handlebars. It allowed me to sit a little more upright (less aggressive). My neck pain went away very quickly. There was now little stress on my neck, trying to look up while riding.

Perhaps your bike is too long for you, you're stretching too much to get to the handle bars (as an example). Or perhaps your bike is too small and you're cramped on it. Etc.

Good advice earlier in the a post, go to your LBS and have them help fit the bike to you.

Good luck.

BryanW

It does sound like you went to an inept chiropractor. I'm not trying to defend them as a profession, just saying that the one I went to helped me and a number of other people I know. Maybe he's a fluke, I don't know.

But the main way I got better wasn't from being "cracked" on a table or any other quick-fix, it was by following the exercises and advice he gave me, which included the gym-ball. If you have a weakness in your back (and lots of people do, especially taller people, because we weren't really designed to be bipeds) then the best way for a long-term fix is to strengthen the core muscles around the spine. And even if your problem is more serious, no harm will come of trying this route first (as long as the exercises are appropriate and you do them properly). Given the cost of other treatment, it makes financial sense too.

free_pizza

Thats what a Physiotherapist's job is.

BryanW

Yup. I just had a bad experience because a physio misdiagnosed me and made me worse, but that doesn't mean most people wouldn't be better off going to a physio.

But anyway, the OP's problem is probably just as much down to bike fit, which is what he should get right first.