TimJ

In the training and nutrition thread- not getting any hits:

I should add it's most pronounced in that hip/upper butt area but that "I need to stretch this muscle" feeling goes all the way up my back on the right side. That's not the problem when I race though, it's that lower back/upper butt/hip cramp that's the main thing and is really holding me back.

jonestr

try pigeon folds

meanwhile

1. Consider adjusting the fit of your cross bike. You might need a slightly higher and shorter stem. It's possible that bars that give more leverage for steering might help to - the cross specific pain could be resulting from the need for more steering. (For which you have to use the back muscles as stabilizers.) So you might try wider bars and/or Bell Laps if you decide to change your steering set up. (More cushioning on the bars might be some help too, because again the torso muscles act as stabilizers for shock absorb through the legs and arms.)

2. You might need to strengthen your abs and back (the ab wall should take a lot of torso weight and if it doesn't your back will strain.) Stretching won't help, because you don't have a problem getting into the position initially, it's just that you run out of strength/endurance. So work through a selection of these exercises:https://www.sportsmedicineuk.co.uk/si...gexercises.pdf

I'd also advise adding the amusingly named "bicycle crunch" exercise to that list. Google for info.

And if you're doing sit ups, stop them. They're ineffective for the abs (they're actually a hip flexor exercise) and do bad things to your vertebrae.

jfmckenna

TimJ I was just talking to aa mountain bike racer yesterday who described a similar problem which got so severe with him that he couldn't ride any more. He went to a rolfing specialist and said the guy cured him. It could be that you need some intense message and stretching to work it out.

JamieM

I agree with the suggestions about bike fit and strengthening the back and abs.

Have you ever been checked for a leg length discrepancy?

TimJ

Fit-wise I can't afford to go to any 3rd party right now so that's kind of off the table. I've got the positioning set up pretty close to my geared cx bike which I've never had any problem with- reach from seat to bars, fore-aft positioning, etc. Pretty much anything that costs money is off the table cuz I'm unemployed right now and can barely afford the races. I'm gonna try the strengthening b/c I was actually doing core exercises there for a while and could feel 'em working, then I pulled an inner thigh muscle and didn't do them for a couple weeks and I actually felt like I was sort of... out of symmetry, like the thigh weakness kind of moved up my body.

Alright, I'm gonna hit the exercises and see how that goes. I was thinking of going to see some kind of medical specialist cuz I've got my old insurance via cobra, maybe I can find a rolfer.

hocker

Tim,
Since you have Cobra and are probably paying an arm and a leg for it, you might as well see a doctor and get your money's worth.

Not to alarm you, but it sounds like sciatica from your brief description. Not sure why it would cause you pain sometimes and not others, but it may be worth a look.

isotopesope

is your bar height the same between your geared and ss cx?

you should definitely get back into your core strengthening routine. seeing a rolfer sounds like a great idea too! i've been doing yoga about once a week now for almost a year and it has made an incredible difference in my core strength, as well as flexibility.

i recently starting seeing a chiropractor twice a month as well. he used to race cyclocross in the 70's! it has made a big difference for me, in terms of helping deal with one side of my body pulling the other out of whack and so forth. my lower back can get kinked, which was causing problems further up my back, as well as down my legs. i also feel like i can breathe deeper now.

igknighted

When I am riding SS or fixed and really pushing, I get a similar pain. Whether or not you can really do anything with it, I am not sure. But I believe it comes from pushing too hard a gear, and your body needing to recruit muscle groups further up the body than normal. It always happens at times when I would have been in a much easier gear and spinning on a geared bike, but the extra force applied and the twisting of the torso seems to be doing it.

In the mean time, try an easier gear in order to increase your cadence if you can.

TimJ

'bout the same. It's a little higher, actually.

It's probably due to that plus maybe some slight positioning issue.

I've had weird little musculature issues my whole life pretty much cuz I'm just built funky in a few ways, it's just tough to know what to do and how to deal with these deep tissue problems. I've been to more physical therapists more times than... well I've been to a lot, that's the point. That kind of subtle stuff never works for me, what I really need is my own personal thai massage girl to work me over every evening.

igknighted

It's my firm belief that one of those should come with every USAC license.

crocodilefundy

I think you're just in too big of a gear at certain points in the race. You are probably trying to accelerate and you are using your lower back muscles to generate the power required to accelerate at a low cadence.

TimJ

I'm thinking now this is more of a nerve thing after all. I raced saturday and sunday and sunday was very painful so I had a lot of time in the saddle in lots of pain to see what hurt more/less. Different positions, standing up, etc., alleviate it a little I think because the pressure is being taken off the nerves that are getting squished. If it was muscular I don't think it'd work like that. And then today I've had it tweak out a couple times and it's been really pinpoint and localized, so I gotta see the doctor while I still have insurance and see what I can do.