Lower back pain
 

I just got a new bike a couple of weeks ago and getting lower back pain after 5 miles or more.

I'm about 5'11 (not that it matters much) My old bike was a Cannondale caad9 size 54. 545 mm top tube and 120 mm stem and I had 1 5 mm spacer under the stem. The new bike is a Giant TCR size M/L. 570 mm top tube and 90 mm stem. I started with all spacers under the stem as it was from the shop. I have now moved the stem down and have 1 10 mm spacer under the stem. By my math the reach (tt+stem) is only 5 mm longer. I would think bigger frame = less back pain but I guess not. Maybe extra reach is causing it?

To be clear I had no pain on the smaller bike unless I went over 40 miles and then I might have a bit of discomfort. What should I be looking at fit wise on the new bike? Saddle fore/aft? Height? reach? move stem down even lower?

Hi there,

I'm probably not as experienced as others, but I would advise possibly having a bike fit done to make sure everything feels comfortable for you. I had a back injury about 4 months ago, and subsequently had a bike fit done where they changed the riding position to factor in my back pain. It now feels much better to ride.
I would also consider (depending on your circumstances) seeing a sports physio to check that there aren't any imbalances or anything along those lines.

Thanks. I have had various lower back issues for years and did some physical therapy in the past so I know my back is not perfect. Plus I'm 37 so it's probably not going to get better all of the sudden.

But with that said, I had been doing 100+ miles a week and up to 40 at a time on my old bike with no real discomfort. Today I raised the saddle on the new bike 10mm. Seems a little better but I've only done a couple of miles commuting to work today. Tomorrow I'll do about 20 miles and see how it goes. Increasing saddle to bar drop seems counterintuitive to get rid of back pain but I've read a lot about it and I think in my case it puts my hips in a better position and I think I need to be more stretched out and use my core to support my back

One thing to be aware of is that the actual "effective" top tube length on my Giant defy M/L is ~54cm. (I have one and have measured it.) though Giant lists the top tube as 56.5. If the TCR's measurements are similarly proportioned, and given that they are both compact geometry with slanting top tubes, the frames might actually be about the same size, and part of your issue may be that the 90mm stem is making the reach way too short for you compared to the CAAD with a 120 stem. I'm 5'9", and I ride a Defy M/L with a 90 stem though, granted, I have monkey arms, so it doesn't make a lot of sense we should ride the same frame/stem.

I suggest you measure your TCR top tube distance (from seat tube to head tube in a straight line) just to affirm the actual ("effective") length, and if it is, as I suspect, closer to 54 than 56, reconsider your stem length.

It is very useful to document the fit measurements that you find work. http://www.parktool.com/uploads/file...positiontt.pdf Park Tools has a very handy chart for those measurements to duplicate them from bike to bike.

Hello rms13,

You mention "sports phsyio" in one of your posts. I think that is a good direction to head. Of course proper bike fit can help. The slight change in position is probably aggravating issues that were already there.

I have had lower back pain myself that has always been attributed to tight muscles, specifically, hamstrings and calf muscles. Not an expert by any means, but I would invest in several half hour massage sessions with a licensed massage therapist. Try to find one that works with a chiropractic doctor.

We probably all tend to over exert ourselves from time to time and this will compound physical issues. I have experienced this myself over that past two three weeks. Being currently between jobs, I have had plenty of time to ride etc. so my lower back has been screaming at me a bit. So when stretching or having my wife help with passive stretching did not work, off to the masseuse I went. First 30 minute session made a major difference in how I felt. Will follow up with one more or two if needed.

If you have med insurance, check to see if they will cover the costs, mine does.

Good luck!

Mike

Good points above about the actual TT measurement. I think if you shortened your reach (by accident), you could be sitting more upright = different back muscles being used = new pain?

Not to miss the obvious, but are you pedaling in too high of a gear? Drop the gearing down and pedal a faster cadence (80-85rmp) with a light touch on the pedals.

J.

Some good points in here but... unless wildly off, a new fit should not result in back pain. I think we bear some responsibility for having our physical house in order and cannot always lay our comfort issues at the feet of the bike fitter (or sports physio). The physio if s/he is any good will wonder what kind of shape your core is in. That's where I would start. The issue about the bikes being the same size and therefore not needing different stem lengths is something to consider but a 37y.o. should be pounding out the crunches and the situps and developing abs that make women want to leave their husbands. What you do with respect to that is your own business but your being comfortable on the bike is my business and I am pretty certain that a lot of the posts we see hear bout this saddle or that bike or those bars, etc. not being comfortable is that the riders are not flexible or fit enough to appreciate the demands of diamond frame bicycles.

H

So I measured the eff. tt and I get 57cm which is what Giant lists on website and I am sure they are listing eff. tt since it's a compact geometry/slanting tt bike.

With that said, after raising saddle about 1 cm, I rode 16 miles this morning before work and had no pain. I'm going to ride 30-40 miles tomorrow and see how it goes.

Thanks for all the other tips. For the record I am more of a masher than a spinner, especially when climbing. I try to do my best to keep a steady 90-100 rpm when I can but unless I'm very vigilant of it I don't.

People go on and on about fit, but fitness is the real deal. I can ride any bike on which I can reach the pedals, with no problems, and that's not unusual at all. It should be mentioned that core strength is not about crunches, not at all. In fact, one should never do crunches. When's the last time you heard someone complain about sore abs after a bike ride? No matter how out of shape they were? Core Advantage.

Adding some photos of me trying to balance on my saddle with help of the couch since I don't have a trainer. Probably not ideal for judging fit but it gives you an idea of how the bike fits me. I actually moved the saddle back 5 mm after these photos since my back was still hurting a little after 20 miles this morning. Thinking maybe I need to be more stretched?

As for core. I don't do sit ups and crunches and don't believe in them. But I do a lot of planks as well as a lot of other body weight, free weight and kettlebell exercises that require your core to stabilize you.


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Can't comment on your fit.

Practice Yoga? Do any other stretching exercise? I still say you may need to see a licensed massage therapist a bit.

Just had my second half hour massage in a seven day span. This along with some yoga stretching has alleviated my lower back issues. And I have ridden 100 mils since the second massage Tuesday, two rides, 50 miles each.

I should be good for quite awhile. My previous work by my massage person was 3 months back.

I practice a little yoga on my own with youtube videos. But don't do it enough. I probably should be getting massages.

There's a pretty significant "kink" in your thoracic spine in the "drops" photo. It's there on the hoods too, but a little less severe. That's indicative of a bar position that's too low for your current level of pelvic flexibility. More reach probably won't help (and even if it would, you shouldn't change saddle setback to get it). The goal is to keep a flat spine. To do that with your current saddle-bar drop, you need much more forward rotation in the pelvis. You've compared reach on the two bikes, but what about stack? Any significant difference in saddle-bar drop between the two?

It's also hard to tell from the 3-o'clock pedal position in the photo, but your saddle may be a bit high. If so having to rock your hips slightly to reach the bottom of the pedal stroke combined with the higher than normal tension on your lower spine could easily lead to lower back pain. As little as 3-5 mm change in saddle height could make a significant difference here.

In addition to tweaking bike fit, a daily stretching program is a really good idea. Core strengthening exercises are great (I did a 300s plank once and thought I was going to die!), but they can cost you flexibility if not complemented by a good stretching program. I know it's tough finding yet another 20-30 minutes a day to devote to fitness, but it's well worth it.

Try rotating your pelvis forward, as mentioned above, to straighten your back out.

Specifically, do it in your living room in front of a camera or mirror, to see what the rotation does to your back and what it feels like when you have that position. Then when you are riding, move into that position for a minute, then two, then three, etc. At first it may be more like stretching briefly, then you will be holding the position for longer and longer, eventually you will be riding with a straighter back all the time.

When I'm on a long ride and my back starts to get sore, I focus more on a straight back "posture" and the low back pain recedes.

Hello. I'm a certified yoga teacher specializing in therapeutics. Students have come to me who are avid cyclists with low back pain. Low back pain is common, I see cyclists who ride with a strongly flexed spine (think shaped like a c), riding on the tailbone and making little or no contact with the sit bones, and a shortened front body (that c shape again) with shortened psoas. I've had herniated disks and back surgery...so I also have a personal experience with this. Some ideas:

1) measure your sit bones...or get help with this..and make sure your seat is wider than your sit bones. Seriously, this alone can make a huge difference. When you sit bones connect with ground, your body can naturally elongates from them and you get a longer, more extended spinal column in its natural s shape

2) Don't tuck your tailbone under. Sitting on the tail bone causes additional pressure on..everything. Roll your pelvis forward a bit, Stick that tail out, let it blossom, show us those tail feathers. Sit on your sit bones. If you can't feel them, you aren't sitting on them.

3) Keep the front body open and long. Don't crunch the abs, elongate them

4) Work on lengthening the hamstrings. Tight hams tend to pull the tailbone down into that tucked position...very bad. Gentle stretches with a lot of repetition..no tugging, no forcing them. Stretch and then stay and then relax. It should feel really good and you should start to feel them release. Hamstrings just get mad and tighten up when you tug on them. Any good yoga teacher should be able to help you find some gentle ways to get release in the hamstrings.

This is probably TMI.. I'm really passionate about this. I see so many cyclists in bad positions for low back health and I want to chase them down and give them a lesson..which I don't do...so since you asked you're getting a mouthful! :-)

Looks like you've got substantial bar drop, maybe too much.