garrettbuckeye

My lower back has been killing me lately. It doesn't really hurt when I ride, but it kills me afterwards. It takes me a while to even stand up straight after a ride of more than 5 miles. Then it nags me for at least a week (mostly sitting).

My question is this... what's the best position for my back when riding? Sheldon says to keep your back arched to absorb some of the bumps (this makes riding more uncomfortable though). It would seem to me that keeping your back straighter would help, am I wrong?

If you ride with back pain or might know a bit about this, please help me out.

eb314

I'm no expert, but I can't imagine much help will be found here compared to what you could get by going to a shop where someone knows how your bike is supposed to fit. I think they'll be able to help out a lot more by actually being able to see you on the bike and making fitting suggestions or changes. Either that, or you may just have a back problem that requires a visit to the doctor, but I'd start at the bike fitting.

C-R700

I am no Dr. either, but ride with back pain. Mine comes and goes but diffinitly approves with core work. Bike fittings did really nothing for me. My key is core abdominal work and warming up before I get on the bike and stretching once I am off.

Namenda

You may well be aggravating a preexisting back condition that you weren't aware of. Its not normal to have pain for a week after a short bike ride. Only a doctor can tell for sure.

gr@sshopper

That sounds like a go to the doctor pain.

mrt10x

Are you stretching 3 times a day for at least 15 minutes? Much lower back pain, especially exercised induced pain is caused by tight hamstrings. I broke my back 15 years ago and was ready to go under the knife about 10 years ago until I read the book "stretching." I have had almost no back pain since then. It will seem like a huge pain in the ass for a while to do that much stretching,, but you get used to it. Stretch for 15 mins when you wake up.. another 15-20 mins AFTER you ride/run, and 15 mins before you hit the rack. I would wager it will make a huge difference.

patentcad

Yeah, I did that for five years.

RHOsbrink

be efficient...
1) go to a bike shop- check out your fitting.. if it's a good fit--
then
2) go see a Doc.

Normally solving #1 is the trick.
And usually core workouts will help alleviate exisiting conditions (but see a doc first!)

ken cummings

Absolutely. Works for me. Can take a few weeks to build up to the point where the back pain stops.

onRoffR

I'm not an expert at this either but I do suffer from back issues. I have a degenerative disk in my lower back and have been told by my Doc to avoid high and moderate impact sports. Cycling is low impact and is one of the sports that Ok for me to do and causes me no back pain. What you describe is exactly how I feel when I rag out the muscles in my lower back from bad body mechanics or over use. I would say that fit is your problem, being too stretched out or even having to keep adjusting your upper body due to incorrect saddle adjustment, I mean fore/aft and tilt, could be issues that cause your lower back muscles to tense up then knot up. Check bike set up, stretch your muscles before rides, then if all else fails, and pain continues, consult your Doctor.

garrettbuckeye

Stretching... I've definitely slacked off in that department. I feel great on the bike, but I guess I should get my position checked also. Thanks for the replies so far everyone!

mrt10x

I too have on occasion slacked off.. and miracle of miracles my back pain returns.. it is truly sad how many times I have to learn the same leasons in life. The 10x in my signature comes from "10 X's" a perfect score in a pistol competition.. I shot on the Marine Corps pistol team.. on occasion a shot or two will drift out of the right area and it will occur to me that I have not been focusing on my front sight the way I should be.. I swear I have learned that leason a thousand times.. I guess I am slow.. Swing Easy in golf is another.. etc etc etc.

stapfam

I have a couple of compessed vertebrae and I do find that bike riding helps. BUT- the common cure for back ache is to fit a higher rise stem to bring the bars up higher and possibly closer. That is the NORMAL cure. When iIwent to a road bike 18 months ago- I went this route and not a problem. However the next bike had lower stem- and longer reach. That more stretched out position cured the grumbling I used to get on longer rides. Bars are now 3" lower than the saddle and 2" further away that I used to set it up. Worked for me- so try different positins as much as you can- and don't be afraid to stretch out a bit to see if it works.

BarracksSi

It could also be the opposite, as it was for me -- being too scrunched up. I thought I was just out of shape when I was in pain on a friend's bike, but when I tried out another friend's larger bike, I felt great.

I'd normally just say to get a proper fit on the bike, but I'll add on that the OP might need to go to a doctor to get checked out. I've never hurt for that long after a bike ride.

Donegal

If you allways have back pain, check your bike fit. I have two frames, sized slightly large for me that I bought because of extra high head tubes giving me a more relaxed(upright) fit. I have no backpain as a rule and have ridden some 4-5 hour trips.

If you just had a few experiences, try spinning more. I was riding tempo, Higher gears, lower cadence, basically mashing this last two weeks to increase leg strength. I had a major bout with back pain the night after I settled in. I use a chiropractor regularly, had an active childhood, and my wife knows how to scan my vertebrae looking for one out of line. Sure enough, one was to one side causing a muscle spasm. She pushed it back into place and within 30 minutes the spasm was gone.

My trainer friend also has just begun doing triathalons, pushing larger gears lower cadence while laid over. His back is suddenly giving him hell and he is unhappy with his bike fit. For the last 10 years, he didn't care, he never noticed anything. He has ridden without socks, gloves, bar tape, etc. Hi just goes out and gives it hell. Now his back is killing him, he is stretching, doing pilates, etc.

ridethecliche

I was going through the same thing on and off the bike and my stem was flipped and had a really aggressive drop. I had the shop I bought it from swap the stem for a longer stem that was flipped up. This kept the reach the same and reduced the drop considerably.
I'm going to go for my first ride tomorrow on it, hopefully it'll be much much better!

Tarmacguy

would i be correct in saying you do alot or all of ur climbing standing up.. I had the same problem where i had severely damaged my lower back by climbing standing all the time (after an extensive climbing sesion), and extended down to glutes, and it hurt to sit down, as it was stretching my back and glute..sounds similar to what you have..

it only went away after i did alot of stretching the muscles out by pulling knees up to chin while lying down,some physio and time off the bike to heal..

i now do alot of core work to strenghten my back, and climb sittign down more.

Its nothign to do with your bike set up..

fogrider

I've had my share of back problems...most of it in the lower back. the one thing I have done to my bike is to flip the stem for a more upright setup. I know this is a bad style point for the racer types, but if relieves pain, so be it. as for back exercises, I do reverse sit-ups. I line up a couple of chairs and lay face down on the chairs with my feet pushed up on the underside of the dinning table. head down and up to level. if your back is in shape to do these, 20 reps can do wonders.

krazyderek

Physiotherapist's and chiropractor's alike will often refer to the saying "wag your tail" as in keep your back flat and bend at the hips, sticking your tail bone out. It requires a bit of an adjustment on your saddle, to nose it ever so slightly down (talking hairs here). I've had to use this approach for my bike setup since i herniated 2 disc's in my lower back. I also replaced my 110 stem with a 100 adjustable angle stem pointed straight up, it reduced my reach and put the bars up higher for me.

And get on the hamstrings, if you can't easily touch your toes then your hamstrings are to tight to be using a "racer" style bike setup. Hamstrings will pull on your glutes, and in turn on your lower back muscles causing pain. Try picking up a good habbit of stretching your hamstrings, hip flexors (they can tug on your lower spin aswell) quads, lower back stretching, and, heat is your friend when you're trying to get muscles to relax.

Finaly, do some core work, DON'T GO NUTS ease into it, just like you should be easing into riding if you haven't been in the saddle for a while. And make sure you balance ab, AND back excersizes don't try to overdevelop just one, it'll just make things worse in the long run.

seppomadness

My lower back actually feels its best when im down in the drops. It forces me to keep my back much straighter. Although sounds like your issues run deeper than bike positioning.

ridethecliche

Do you guys have links to diagrams of the exercises and lifting you're talking about?
Is there a source I can refer to because I do basic core and leg work in the gym, but I'd like to get more a more cycling specific lifting/stretching regiment.

Thanks a lot!

2wheeled

Have you suffered any type of back problems in the past?

It could be any number of issue(s) that you're having. Plenty of good advice already and I will echo the following:
Proper bike fit is a must.
Do plenty of stretching. I have tight hamstrings and that has added to the back issue's I have.
Core strength workout, I like fogrider's idea and I have started doing these reverse sit-ups myself and found that it helps.

I also use an inversion table which gives me some relief from the two bulging disks that I suffer from.

If your pain doesn't go away soon then definitely see your doc.

mrt10x

https://books.google.com/books?id=y5FKsFUbk9YC&dq=book+stretching&pg=PP1&ots=nnbht35aN3&sig=Bss3JGtjwmcoHMAV3xNjRnXKywA&hl=en &prev=https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&channel=s&hl=en&q=book+stretching&btnG=Google+Search&sa=X&oi=print&ct=title&cad=one-book-with-thumbnail#PPP1,M1

ltspd

Stretching, strengthening, and this book helped me...a lot.

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...kstorenow57-20

ridethecliche

Do you have any experiences with that book? I'm debating whether to grab that or to buy a yoga dvd to do in the morning when I wake up and once more some other time during the day.

Anyone have any experience with yoga and or stretching books/exercises?