Mid-Lower Back Pain
 

First off Ive been racing for several years. This season, however, about 30 min into a tough crit I will start getting a bad soreness/dull pain in the lower-middle back. I get no pain when training regardless of distance. I havent grown since last season and my bike fit has remained constant. I saw a specialist and he believes I need to strengthen my core (back and front). My flexibility is also pretty poor. Ive only been doing core work for several days so it is way to early to see any improvement but I was wondering if anyone has dealt with anything similar and what you did to eliminate the issue.

Thanks for any help

Agree with strengthening core. I bet it solves your problem.

Hamstring tightness will lead to low back pain. Core stuff will help too but i'm guessing you aren't as warmed up for the Crit as you are while training.

The quadruped arm/leg raises help my back. Keeps me balanced as I tend to be heavily right handed/bodied.
http://www.uofmmedicalcenter.org/hea...tent/xlbpm.jpg

STRETCH!!!

I experience lower back pain sometimes on rides, but it comes and goes. Sometimes never, sometimes once on shorter rides, sometimes more on a longer ride. In all cases, if I stretch beforehand it either doesn't occur, or is minimal. Also, strengthening your core is a good idea. That has helped me as well.

I don't stretch, my hamstrings are tight, and I get lower back pain in general (I have "burst and bulging discs" according to my doctor, after an MRI a few years ago).

Core work helps a lot, the most.

When I saw a chiropractor it really helped - I could be super aggressive on the bike and not have back pain for 1.5-2 hours. I'm usually stretching my back after an hour or so.