I ride several thousand miles a year, and at the age of 51 finally had an injury that has kept me off the bike for over a month. Apparently, I have a lower back injury known as a disc bulge. It's not herniated but it did lead to some pretty painful events over a several month period last fall. Ultimately, I've seen both a doctor and a chiropractor. After three weeks of following a stretching and related exercise program, I'm feeling pretty good. Not quite ready for the bike, but close. (By the way, I never had a back problem before, and was dubious about chiropractors. But I feel like this guy pretty much knows what he's doing. At least my back feels better, and I haven't re-injured it as I did when I was trying to manage the situation on my own).

However, I'm being told that in the future I should limit my bike riding to twice a week. That, of course, is simply unacceptable. I'm not sure what my next step should be. Find a sports medicine doctor? Most of them seem to focus on running and don't know much about backs. Set up my own self-care program? If so, what? Find a chiropractor whose focus will be keeping me on the bike?

If anyone's been through something like this I'd sure like to know what worked for you. I'm considering a higher, shortr stem and maybe even switching to a more forgiving road bike--a Lemond Big Sky for example. Thanks!