Back Pain

[Permagrin]

Rode and climbed hard last thursday and woke with the worst back pain I've ever had on Friday; I couldn't stand up straight or bend in either direction. Went to the chiro and he says it looks like I pulled on my L5 and the surrounding tissue and it's probably going to take a couple weeks to work itself out, at least.

In the meantime I called SB and talked to them about it because it's never happened before so I thought maybe it was a fit issue with the new bike. It's bothered me a little since I started riding it but it's always gone away until now and I never had this problem with my HT. They suggested a slightly shorter and taller stem so they switched it out and now I'm waiting for the pain to go away so I can test it out.

This sucks. I had to cancel my Dirt Series clinic for next weekend and I have my first duathlon coming up in May and I can't even run. It's a beautiful weekend and I'm stuck moping and I'm doing a good job of it, let me tell you. I'm done with my pity party, thanks for listening.

[Shannon]

Hang in there and heal up quick!

[dirtvert]

no disrespect to your chiro (there are good ones, although half of them don't have 4-year degrees), but i would get a referral from your dr. for a pt (some are better than others, so ask around- pm me if you need some names). pt's are generally better at fixing the root cause- and athletes are usually motivated and better at following the at-home regimen, so you can spend more time on your bike and less time in therapy. jmho.

[Permagrin]

Originally Posted by dirtvert

no disrespect to your chiro (there are good ones, although half of them don't have 4-year degrees), but i would get a referral from your dr. for a pt (some are better than others, so ask around- pm me if you need some names). pt's are generally better at fixing the root cause- and athletes are usually motivated and better at following the at-home regimen, so you can spend more time on your bike and less time in therapy. jmho.

I now use my chiro for all my sports injuries because 3 years ago my neck was so messed up from years of gymnastics and other sports that I was in excruciating pain for 2 1/2 years. I couldn't turn my head side to side or tip it down to my shoulders and even sleeping was painful. Xrays showed my C3-C5 were degenerative and my spine and hips were off as well, compounding everything. I spent a year with a specialist through my hoag referall and he had me trying every anti-inflammatory known to man, including 2 cortisone shots and 2 epidurals, neither of which helped for more than a few days.

Here comes the chiro referred to me through my trainer at the time from Gold's Gym and 6 months and a regimented plan with no drugs later and still over a year later, I'm still pain free and have full movement. I know some people are hesitant about chiro's and I was too until I found this guy. He does specialize in sports injuries and has helped me with other injuries too so I trust his diagnosis and treatments and have referred him to others as well.

Thanks for the input though. Having an injury and not knowing for sure what's wrong and how to treat it can be very frustrating and it's hard to know where to turn to for help sometimes.

[TrojanInsomniac]

Back pain's the absolute worst. I had a microdiscectomy on my L4-5 about a year and a half ago, so I feel for you. Take lots of time to get better!

[sdyeti]

Dang...sorry to hear about it! Hope you heal up fast...the most important thing is to let it heal fully before you get back to your regular routine.

I did my first road ride in 6 months yesterday and I was worried about back pain too...after my last ride I was in soooo much lower back pain. Luckily, my back felt fine today. Right about 6 months ago, I started seeing my chiropractor. Since then, no more lower back pain and no more headaches. It works for me. Maybe not everyone out there, but it changed my life in a moderate way.

I think you'll be back to it sooner than later...healing vibes~~~~