Back Spasms!! Ouch!

[jinks]

I've been dealing with back pain for a few months now, and finally got around to getting it checked out. I got some pretty bad back spasms. No hard riding for awhile, that means no mountain biking. I can't think of any mountain biking that's not hard riding. This bites. Anyone have experience that can help a brother heal faster?

[ocrider]

Drink Green tea thats what i do to heal my aches and pains. Or dink any other anti-oxidant drink.

[TURNERob]

Eat a vicodin and enjoy the ride

[jinks]

hehe, I was downing some prescription motrin, but if I took vicodin I probably wouldn't even be able to stand up..maybe some medicinal marajuana would do it!

[TURNERob]

So what did the doc say? Did he give you any excercises you can do to strengthen your back muscles? I fought with a bad back (and still do on occasion) and my doc just advised me to do some strenghening excercises. It really helped out a lot. Also make sure to stretch before and after rides.

[jinks]

Well.. my normal doc prescribed 600mg motrin and told me that if it didn't get better in a month she'd give me a cortizone shot. It didn't get better, and I don't want no cortizone shot, so I was just taking it easy this past month (riding weekly of course), but it wasn't getting better. My wife got me to go to a friend of her family, who's this Tai Chi Master and Chinese Doctor. He gave me a massage and accupuncture. He stuck needles in my left butt cheek!! Yikes. So.. I'm going the alternative/eastern medicine route. Too bad I can't understand most of the stuff he tells me to do. Basically he said to use a heat pad for an hour after I exercise, and no strenuous exercise for a month, not to mention the massage/accupuncture once a week for a month and a half. But that means no mtb for over a month!!! I can't take it.

[project_d]

Doing the right stretches can mean a world of difference! My back has become kinda weak from working in a wine shop; every time I remember to stretch before a ride, I feel only minor discomfort when I feel any back pain at all

[jinks]

Any links to some good back stretches?

[Big Guy]

I don't know if you saw some improvement with the acupuncture, but I got my Achilles tendon broken 11 years ago. I got surgery and was in a cast for 3 months. After the acupuncture treatments, I could almost forget I got surgery, I wasn't feeling any pain. It was lasting about 2-3 days per treatments.

But it might be depending on the practitioner. It's a bit like chiropractors, some are great, and some are just fakes...

But I agree with the other post, stretching will help you.

i noticed you ride a hardtail. maybe get a full suspension with a nice, plush rear suspension? my back hurts sometimes after riding my hardtail, but on my full suspension, its like i was on pillows.

[jinks]

I'm a believer in accupuncture too. When I was a kid, my parents took me in for accupuncture every so often, because i had some shoulder problems from competitive swimming. It helped alot. It's been a week after I got the needls in the back/rear and my back's feeling just slightly better. I'll report in a couple weeks how it is. This doctor is amazing. When he gives a massage, I know instantly where the tight/damaged muscles are, but then he rubs another part of my back with the same pressure and all I feel is good. He says I'm learning to feel "good pain" and "bad pain".

As for my bike, I love my hardtail. Switching back to a hardtail after ten years has forced me to improve my skills in new ways. Not to mention I'm tight on cash, so wouldn't be able to get a new frame anyways. I'll just have to heal up and look at the long term, rather than the short term loss of riding. I did look up some stretches and did them this morning before work. Helped me to start my day.

[Evel Knievel]

When I was injured bad in a crash I started back in small increments. Lots of Aliso from the Library. Eventually I made it to cholla before the pain. Same with the desents bumpy and fast were not cool so lots of Meadows , Cholla , Mathis on the desent. Stay smooth and small til you don't hurt.



Climbing anything long is where it really hurts . I shift in my seat every 30revs and stand and attack in spurts, real short spurts now and again. Stay loose don't prone up in that one spot too long.

A suspension post would be ideal for you.

GL Evel

How much does accupucture sessions costs ? Sounds like good medicine.