Lower Back Pain

[davidB]

The muscles in my lower back are causing me pain a couple miles into a ride to the point that it usually becomes the reason i'll have to stop. I was trying to do a 6 mile loop last night around Bonelli and almost 2/3 of the way into it the pain is very noticeable. Legs are fine, but it's like I need to lean back more or get off the bike and stand up.

As soon as i'm off the bike everything is fine, which has me believing I need to find a more correct position on my bike, by either messing with the seat or something.

Also, can this just be fixed by stretching before? I do a couple stretches before and longer ride, but this doesn't seem to help.

CN: I need to know what to stretch, or adjust on the bike.

[ShinKen]

how about the handle bars ehh? if it's too forward u will feel it big time!! trust me I know!!

[xhuskr]

i have the same probs at time.........try sliding the seat forward or backward to see if it feels better. Also...do you have any spacers on on your fork/stem? Adding/deleting may help and it's easy to do. For me...climbing helps.......DH hurts...odd, eh?

[DeeZee]

Originally Posted by davidB

The muscles in my lower back are causing me pain a couple miles into a ride to the point that it usually becomes the reason i'll have to stop. I was trying to do a 6 mile loop last night around Bonelli and almost 2/3 of the way into it the pain is very noticeable. Legs are fine, but it's like I need to lean back more or get off the bike and stand up.

As soon as i'm off the bike everything is fine, which has me believing I need to find a more correct position on my bike, by either messing with the seat or something.

Also, can this just be fixed by stretching before? I do a couple stretches before and longer ride, but this doesn't seem to help.

CN: I need to know what to stretch, or adjust on the bike.

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]If you haven’t changed anything on your bike or increased your riding time……….I say you need to strengthen your core. I had the same issues until I started doing core work EVERYDAY.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Strong legs + weak core = back pain[/SIZE][/FONT]

[Gabriel Zink]

The lower back pain you have is due to you loosing circulation while you riding in the hunched over position. You can change bars and stem to give you a more upright position or do 100 crunches a day for a couple of months. This will build more lower back muscles increasing circulation and relieving the pain while riding.

[denmother]

Originally Posted by davidB

The muscles in my lower back are causing me pain a couple miles into a ride to the point that it usually becomes the reason i'll have to stop. I was trying to do a 6 mile loop last night around Bonelli and almost 2/3 of the way into it the pain is very noticeable. Legs are fine, but it's like I need to lean back more or get off the bike and stand up.

As soon as i'm off the bike everything is fine, which has me believing I need to find a more correct position on my bike, by either messing with the seat or something.

Also, can this just be fixed by stretching before? I do a couple stretches before and longer ride, but this doesn't seem to help.

CN: I need to know what to stretch, or adjust on the bike.

Have you ever considered having your bike professionally fitted to you? I had mine done by Eileen Olson of Erowheels Pro Cycling and it made a big difference.

Here is her contact info:

Erowheels@juno.com
(949) 722-6342
426 E. 19th Street
Costa Mesa, CA 92627


These are the things she measured and changed:

1. Bar width, heigth, spacers and positioning.
2. Seat heigth and positioning.
3. Crank heigth and positioning.
4. Cleat positioning.

You can have the strongest core, etc. and still have back issues. All of these things combined make a big difference in riding performance and comfort!!!

[SAR_boats]

Bring your seat forward and get a riser bar. You may have to tilt your seat back or forward to maintain a comfortable, balanced riding position. If you already have a riser bar try tilting it back (towards the seat) a few degrees.

If none of this helps then you may have a bike with too long of a top tube.

Core strengthening excercises are a good idea anyway. You don't wanna end up looking like one of those French roadies with hugeongous legs but nothing up top do you?

If none of this works you may want to see a doctor about possible back injury or get a professional bike fitting/custom frame (about the same price)

[Kid A]

Originally Posted by denmother

Have you ever considered having your bike professionally fitted to you? I had mine done by Eileen Olson of Erowheels Pro Cycling and it made a big difference.

Here is her contact info:

Erowheels@juno.com
(949) 722-6342
426 E. 19th Street
Costa Mesa, CA 92627


These are the things she measured and changed:

1. Bar width, heigth, spacers and positioning.
2. Seat heigth and positioning.
3. Crank heigth and positioning.
4. Cleat positioning.

You can have the strongest core, etc. and still have back issues. All of these things combined make a big difference in riding performance and comfort!!!

just curious. what does a fitting run $$$ wise? if you have a few bikes how much "measurement" can you transfer to other bikes or is it really a seperate fiting per bike. thanks

[BeantownRider]

It certainly could be a bike fit issue, but I have very similar lower back problems that have a lot to do with the weak core theory mentioned before. Also it doesn't do you as much good to stretch before a ride, you should try to stretch after a good warm up focussing on hamstrings and hip flexors.

[ShinKen]

Originally Posted by SAR_boats

If you already have a riser bar try tilting it back (towards the seat) a few degrees.

this is prob the problem here!! Thanks SCARSS!!

[denmother]

Originally Posted by Kid A

just curious. what does a fitting run $$$ wise? if you have a few bikes how much "measurement" can you transfer to other bikes or is it really a seperate fiting per bike. thanks

It has been a few years, so can't remember how much. The 1st bike was a set price, then each bike after that was less, because she already had all the measurements. I had 3 bikes done, road, trail and dh. I need to go back and have my trail bike redone as I changed some components.

Dynamic mobility exercises before you ride and stretching afterwards will really make a difference to. Check out this article:

Mobility Strategies: Just Stretching Is Not The Answer

I have been working with James for the past year and have really noticed a difference in my performance, flexibility and recovery.

Originally Posted by mechmann

allison has tried lots of different positions on the bike. some people just will suffer more from lower back pain. the key is to find the LEAST painful position for those that cannot avoid the pain altogether.

I thought so to, but opted for a trip to the Physical Therapist instead.

[allroy71]

Another idea to throw out there.

Are you doing anything else that might cause back pain, outside of riding?
Do you do a labor intensive job? Do you do a lot of weightlifting? Do you have poor posture at a desk job?

I was having some recent soreness and I noticed it was due to my weightlifting on my non riding days.

Also, when I was riding in the early 90's the bikes were way stretched out. When, I switched to my Stinky 2000, my low back thanked me.

[STP]

I concur with the others on both bike fit and getting a stronger lower back, through exercise. I don't know how long you've ridden, because I suffered the same problem for years before my back became strong enough (didn't exercise, just let the sport work slowly at strengthening what I had).

Denmother mentioned seat height and our local belief is that is the cause of most of the lower back problems you'll have (besides the core strength issue). I believe in having the seat at the same level as the handlebars or as close as possible to it. If your seat is far above the handlebars, you'll be a hurtin' doggie for sure! If that's what it takes to get good leg extension on the bike, then maybe you're frame is too small for you.

Ideally, your leg should be just a few degrees short of locking out on the bottom of the pedal stroke and at the top, it shouldn't break the imaginary line of your waist.

If this is too much, I'd go to a shop as others recommend and get fitted or get an opinion on fitting. This is a pretty important facet of our sport. Because if the bike doesn't fit you, then it's only misery on the longer rides.

[53-12]

Since I can pinpoint exactly when and where my lower back pain started I know it has not been caused by improper fit. For me the fitness thing is the key. I can always count on back pain being the worst early in the year, but becoming less noticable as the year goes on and I become more fit. The more fit I can keep myself during the winter, the less likely I am to be bothered by back pain. I think stretching off and on throughtout the day has also helped some.

[allison]

As Justin mentioned, I always have lower back pain while riding. It is way more pronounced on my Dos Niner than my Enduro. That bike is so NOT set up what-so-ever that it's almost amusing, but I can go on longer rides with it and really never have to stop on the trail and stretch my back out at all. Other times it's not so great, but the 6" of FS cush definitely works better than my 80mm soft tail.

I went to PT mostly because my lower back was bothering me ALL the time. At work, at home, sitting, etc. She said since I have a desk job I need to stand up once every 30 minutes. So, I get less water at a time so I usually have to get up more, and do a few other things to give my back a rest from sitting.

Since my lower back was bothering me on every bike, it wasn't just the fit of one of them (had major problems on my Stumpjumper, continued to have problems on the Surly 1x1, and also the Dos Niner).

I also got a few exercises to strengthen my hamstrings (proportionally under developed compared to my quads), as well as my glutes. I had some injuries that stopped me from doing those as much, but still have slightly less pain than I used to.

Also, I started doing these exercises from bicyling.com a few times a week. I really want to get in a rhythm and do the core exercises, take a night off, do the PT exercises, take a night off, repeat indefinitely, but haven't really gotten into doing that fully yet.

Since starting the core exercises I definitely notice less back pain while in the drops on the road bike.

... I still had some back pain riding the Dos on SART last weekend, though.

It's weird because I have a seriously flexible lower back and hamstrings, but just no muscle endurance.

I also stretch a bit before and after rides.

[CalEpic]

When I had 3 different bikes, I noticed I had lower back pain the most on the stretched out XC bike. Much less on my trail bike and none on my light FR rig. My core is a weak, throbbing blob of jelly so I'm sure exercising would help but as others have said, a more upright cockpit should offer the most immediate relief.

C

[Kid A]

Originally Posted by CalEpic

My core is a weak, throbbing blob of jelly

nice - i'm taking dibs on this in my signiture

[davidB]

the stretching while on my bike and improper fit seem to be the issue.

It's not so much anything else in life, as I sit here at work everything is fine, and usually is a minute after I get off the bike.

At times it feels like my arms are reaching too far for the bars (almost straight elbows) and I do think I need to adjust my cleats and put them further back on my foot.

I'm just hoping it's a combination of that + lowering my seat an inch or so (still trying to find proper placement there)