Lower back discomfort and exercises

[Slow and useless]

So I get regular lower back discomfort when riding longer than an hour or so. Pain stops as soon as I stopp and stretch on the bike, then returns another 30-40 mins of riding later. Stiffness settles by the following morning (once i have stretched using a roller).

I have had my bike setup properly (I think!), but still get the problem.

Any thoughts?
Will back strengthening help? In which case what sort of exercises?

 

[Mywifesirrational]

Not an easy answer for something like this and strengthening the back may or may not help, or even worse something like core stability training may even cause further aggravation.

Where is the pain in the back?
is it getting worse over weeks or months?
when did it start?
Bike setup is certainly worth cheacking, particularly things like reach and saddle to bar drop.
Are there other issues in your body?
Are you flexible enough in the hanstrings (or anything else that attaches to the pelvis) - as this can cause pelvic rotation and excess pressure at specific points in thge lower vertabrae.
Does any other activity cause this pain?
Does road riding, exercise bike, wind trainer, recumbent cause the same pain?

The stiffness and pain that goes away is probably due to inflammation, the mechanical movement of stretching compresses and forces it out of the area where the inflammation process is occuring.

Strengthening may make it worse as the tissues may already be at saturation point and any excess exercise / loading may simply increase the inflammation process. It also doesn't sound like a strength issue more an endurance issue as it tales an hour initially to get significant. Strength 'may' help, as at submaximal loading a stronger person is using less muscle mass to hold a contraction, but it wouldn;t be my initial approach to treatment.

two things I'd suggest if this is:
Get your bike setup checked - no idea who is competant in this regard
Get youself assessed by a competant clinican, you need to work out the issue before a treatment can be effective.

Waiting for people to blindly suggest your core is weak and you must do pilates or some other crap... :loco:

 

[fridgie]

I stuffed my lower back years ago, bike position plays a big part in my comfort levels/pain. I stretch it out as often as I remember at home and it doesn't 'crack'..... It pops!!

Without knowing history it's hard to help. What works for me might actually cause you damage so agree with above. Find out cause, then enact management plan.

 

[pistonbroke]

One thing that did help me was concentrating on riding relaxed. I was using my core muscles to kind of brace my body while riding through technical terrain or grinding away climbing.
When I realized this I could focus on it and make a effort to relax my core and use my legs to do the work. Try using a higher cadence and relaxing your body.
No idea what your issue is, but this helped me.

 

[SlowManiac]

I think the causes of back pain can be quire varied but I have had quite good results with a book called 'Core Advantage' by professional rider (and doper) Tom Danielson.

It's a few exercises and stretches designed to correct posture and wake up a few muscles that may have gone to sleep.

Anyway I know 'core' exercise is not really the flavor of the month but these seem to have helped.

 

[mtb101]

if you're pushing too hard a gear or have poor pedaling technique (not pedalling in circles), then the lower back as a platform for the legs will start to take up the extra load eventually resulting in pain and fatigue of lower back, if you back off or rest pain goes away, so solution is to focus on the legs and how they apply their power to lessen the load off the lower back.

from my experience a sore lower back appears when under higher load such as extended climbing, so I have overcome it by spinning more and becoming more conscious of how I apply power through to pedals.

 

[johnny]

That^^^ is very much my problem. Gears too high, pulling hard on the bars (tendonitis in my right arm is flaring right now because of this), I have to discipline myself to stop trying to power-stomp and get used to high cadence with lighter resistance.

 

[Zac Hinton]

Why not post a pic of your riding position (lean against a wall and get a friend to snap away). You will get plenty of advice from RBers on your bike setup that way.

 

[rsquared]

This post could have been locked after MWI's reply. All you need to know right there.

As he said, very complex and individual problem requiring professional assessment before recommending solutions. Anything else is just a pure guess.

 

[wilso1]

See a professional

As others have suggested, see a medico. That might be a physio, osteopath or a chiropractor. Even within one of those disciplines it might take a couple of attempts to find the practitioner that works best for you.

My lower back pain was a spine alignment issue. This is not always a physio's area of experise, so a chiropractor worked for me. And she was great - no stuffing about, cracking joints when needed. And then she went and moved to country NSW. But improving my spinal alignment took pressure off the discs which allowed me to increase my flexibility.

But seeing a professional of some sort will give you an understanding of the problem, a plan to fix it, and some knowledge on how to manage it going forward (important if they move to the country).

Best of luck (pain shouldn't be a part of day to day life)

 

[hazza6542]

My lower back locks up after a long day of dh, if I lie down it just locks and I can't move. If I try it feels like a sharp pain on a nerve, but once I'm standing it disappears, won't come back till I'm lying down for another 15 minutes. Seen doctors about it a fair bit but every time I get told 'it'll go away', pretty much dismissing me even after mentioning its been happening for last 18 months. Physio was more helpful, but couldn't quite figure it out, gotta go back soon.

Scares me, I'm only 20 and I'm having trouble getting out of bed after a day of riding.

 

[steve jobs' pancreas]

two things I'd suggest if this is:
Get your bike setup checked - no idea who is competant in this regard
Get youself assessed by a competant clinican, you need to work out the issue before a treatment can be effective.

Waiting for people to blindly suggest your core is weak and you must do pilates or some other crap... :loco:

I suspect my bike fit is not optimal however I also suspect that I am not particularly bikefit (I'm old and I only ride on the weekends) so its probably a combo

Getting the right bike fit is probably easy if you are about to drop mega bucks on a new bike, not so easy if you are riding a second hand bike (one LBS told me to chuck it).

Dude before me was heaps tall, I may try a shorter stem and stop being a pus.

 

[BirdJimmy]

I have the same problem, just went for a ride before for bout half hour and backs aching now. Ive been to the chiropractor and they gave me exercises to strengthen up my core and back. Just maybe hit the gym and work on your back for a month or 2 and see if it helps.

 

[nmw]

My lower back locks up after a long day of dh, if I lie down it just locks and I can't move. If I try it feels like a sharp pain on a nerve, but once I'm standing it disappears, won't come back till I'm lying down for another 15 minutes. Seen doctors about it a fair bit but every time I get told 'it'll go away', pretty much dismissing me even after mentioning its been happening for last 18 months. Physio was more helpful, but couldn't quite figure it out, gotta go back soon.

Scares me, I'm only 20 and I'm having trouble getting out of bed after a day of riding.

Hey mate, don't know how bike fit you are; or what you do for work/ study but if you're like me (3 days gym minimal stretching/ half day trail riding a week/ 5 days predominantly sitting work) I'm going to give you my .02 cents worth of non-qualified but reasonably well read feedback.

I suffer/ used to suffer more with lower back stiffness/ pain- really reduced range of motion when leaning over, super stiff and tight when carrying anything and felt like it was pulling way too much when lifting loaded objects (Romanian Deadlifts in the gym for example).

Sore lower back, tends to not actually be your lower back but imbalances elsewhere. In my case, due to riding half a day and packing straight back into the car with minimal stretching, a few gym sessions on a sub par stretching routine and then sitting at a desk for 90% of a 50ish hour week. Basically, half of your hip is overstretched in a seated position (chair or bike) and the other half is loose, leading to imbalance in strength in your hips- ever noticed how the chiro or osteo doesn't only work on the point of pain during a session.

The ligaments and muscles that hold your hips in line connect in many directions, including from the pelvis around the leg bone opening, anchored onto the pelvis at the back. When these become unstable/ not used correctly (root cause could be a sore toe, bad arches, sore knees, tight calf) your body has to adopt a slightly altered posture to make up for this ailment which in turn can change how muscles in your pelvis and hips work... which in turn makes these muscles (as they are not being used correctly) become tight, over a short period of time you'll notice this into your lower back, leading to tightness there too.

I'm not about to get all hippy on you, but foam rolling has some seriously well documented recovery benefits. Word of warming: buy a good roller and use a good program. Numerous techniques (albeit poor ones) can potentially exacerbate injuries. NEVER roll your lower back to "release" your lower back- the muscles will try to protect the spine but constricting around it, increasing the existing stiffness and potentially injuring you. Do your reading and I can guarantee that this will provide relief- if not from what you've described above, from all the other tight spots you don't realise.

Here's 3 videos. If you haven't foam rolled or ball rolled before the pain will be seriously bad news; imagine biting really hard on a sore tooth. Or pushing on a really crappy bruise. I'd be interested to see how you find the exercises/ results. Also important is to roll the whole muscle slowly, in small sections. Don't only focus on painful areas.

Here goes, happy rolling and pressing!

Tail bone and hip release
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JXr1C4bEOCc

Inner thigh release
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=apTRZOJlqqY

Outer thigh and leg release
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mrC5-HN_S3c

 

[nmw]

If you have foam rolled before; roll your piriformus; main section of hamstring; inner hamstring (make your feed pigeon toed when rolling main hamstring); TFL's; hip flexors and quads; plus the three videos posted above. This should unlock your hips, in turn helping out with the back tightness.

And if your bikes not the right size/ fit this will surely keep happening over and over.

 

[hazza6542]

Thanks mate, appreciate all this, I'll edit tomorrow with a proper response, having a watch of all these now before bed, cheers.

 

[steve jobs' pancreas]

I'm more of a spine-o-cylinder guy

 

[nmw]

I'm more of a spine-o-cylinder guy

1,2... Please don't sue

 

[Walletau]

I've had a lot of luck with rehabilitative physios.

Generally working on core strength will assist in stabilising your lower back. This REALLY depends on your level of injury/discomfort.

Exercises include everything from holding plank, rows, dead lifts, supermans...There are about 50 core focused exercises you can do with suspension straps...PM me if you need suggestions.

First and foremost, see a rehabilitative physio, or good osteo. I don't trust chiropractors without degrees in other areas. Spend the money, it's worth it to not live with pain.