Back pain and bicycling?

I have for the first time in my life felt real sore back pain. Two people have mentioned to me that it might be because of all those many years of cycling.

I am hoping this is not the case, I cannot see any other way to get around the way I want, to without being subject to too much crap with all the other transportation alternatives.

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Permalink Reply by in it to win it 8.0 mi on March 3, 2011 at 3:53pm
I've had friends and coworkers blame every ailment I come up with on my biking.
Why? Because they don't do it...
What can I blame their ailments on?
Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on March 3, 2011 at 3:54pm
A bad seat or a bad fitting bike will hurt over time, personally I like the fact I can bend a little, transfer the weight onto my hands and using my legs differently after a day of sitting/standing/walking.
Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on March 3, 2011 at 4:12pm

My AMAZING chiropractor told me about a position which has helped me a lot.  He calls it the "Belgium" position. Dr. Tom, can you explain?

 

 

Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on March 4, 2011 at 2:37am

I have had a history of being a young punk with my BMX bicycle, jumping dirt ramps and landing on my butt a few times. Perhaps it finnally caught up with me.

Eric Van, I love recumbent bicycles, but I have to start culling my collection to make room for that one.

Julie, what is the "Belgium" position? I like their waffles though...

Permalink Reply by Duppie on March 4, 2011 at 3:42am

First off: I am not a medical doctor of any kind, so take my advice with the appropriate amount of salt.

 

Is your back pain muscular in nature? If so, it might be caused by tight gluteus, piriformis, hamstring and calve muscles. When these muscles are tight they pull down the muscles in your lower back causing them to feel tight themselves.

I would start by doing some stretching exercises for each of the muscle groups. Do these everyday when you get home. A quick google search should find plenty of video examples of how to stretch these muscle groups. Yoga tends to cover all these groups as well, so that can be an option as well.

 

Permalink Reply by Gin on March 4, 2011 at 3:44am

One thing both cycling and sitting at a computer do is encourage hunching over. Learning how to stretch your back in other ways to counter this position can be helpful. . . but best learned with folks who really know what they are talking about and can learn about your specific needs.  Kathleen Ellis, who is a cyclist and yoga teacher extraordinaire is leading some yoga for cyclists workshops in late May: http://mokshayoga.com/events2011/yogaforcyclists0511.html. 

 

I also had a very positive experience with Accelerated Rehab on Armitage/California (and all over the city) for some shoulder issues I have having. They will do a free consult.

 

Good luck!

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on March 4, 2011 at 4:42am

When your quads are in good shape and you don't push too aggressively beyond what you're in shape for, riding a recumbent can make your back feel better.  If I've been gardening or doing other work where I'm bent over, riding the recumbent without pushing too hard can relax the back.  "Without pushing too hard" is the important part to remember.

 

However, as I discovered recently, if you're getting back to riding after some time off and your quads are NOT up to speed (or if you're just asking your body to do more than it can deliver), your lower back may end up compensating for what your quads can't do, and you may injure your lower back in the process.

 

Recumbent riding works quads, glutes and lower back in a very different way than riding an upright bike.  It's much more like working out with a leg press machine.  If you try a recumbent, keep this in mind and allow your body time to get used to how different this workout really is.  Your back will thank you.


H3N3 said:

Hey, sorry, I know the recumbent folks mean well but it's absolutely not the solution for most back problems, and is likely to make them worse.

There's no way to answer this in any sort of useful way without knowing more than you'd probably want to post publicly, Juan.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on March 4, 2011 at 4:43am
If this is a lasting problem, seeing a doctor and getting an appropriate exercise program from a physical therapist, if needed, may be very worthwhile.
Permalink Reply by Amy Y on March 4, 2011 at 5:43am

Hey Juan

You mentioned that you've been riding for years, and this is the first time you felt back pain. While not ruling out biking as a cause, what makes them think that all the sudden, after years of riding, that cycling is the culprit? Has your cycling habit changed? Has other parts of your life changed? 

Rather than hopping to one source, I think trying to think systematically whether any of your circumstances have changed over the last year. For me, I had back pain when I first started doing longer distance, but it turned out the main problem was not so much the bike per se, it was my weak core muscles, and during biking my back would compensate by straining the back to hold my core up. After a a few months of core training the back and my posture got much better.

Hope this helps.

 

Permalink Reply by Tiberculosis on March 4, 2011 at 7:03am
Your're probably just getting old. I was not so kind to my body either when i was younger, Skateboarding almost destroyed me. Scar tissue will creep up on you discs will get inflamed, etc. Go to a doctor, get checked out, stretch and make sure you're posture is cool. Yeah, pretty much what everybody else is sayin'. I go back and forth with backproblems, it can get better and a healthy back can be maintained but it's really a chronic condition. Get checked out.
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on March 4, 2011 at 7:07am

My seat angle on the recumbent is fairly relaxed.  Also, I'm not pushing big gears unless I've worked up a lot of speed by starting from lower gears.

 

I'm not speaking from the perspective of a medical professional but from personal experience.  I've had back problems for years from an injury that happened when I was fairly young.  By doing recumbent riding in easier gears, not aggressive ones, spinning more than forcefully pushing, I've had very little back pain during and after my rides.  The only exception was last week's ride, when my quads weren't up to their share of the work.

 

Several friends whose riding technique is similar have reported similar results.  Again, the key is not pushing too hard.


H3N3 said:

Locking your lower back in flexion and then loading it forcefully via pedaling, as you do on a recumbent unless your position is so relaxed you're looking up into the trees, is a recipe for disaster.

You might think it "feels better" initially but it's the wrong thing.

Anne Alt said:

When your quads are in good shape and you don't push too aggressively beyond what you're in shape for, riding a recumbent can make your back feel better.  If I've been gardening or doing other work where I'm bent over, riding the recumbent without pushing too hard can relax the back.  "Without pushing too hard" is the important part to remember.

 

However, as I discovered recently, if you're getting back to riding after some time off and your quads are NOT up to speed (or if you're just asking your body to do more than it can deliver), your lower back may end up compensating for what your quads can't do, and you may injure your lower back in the process.

 

Recumbent riding works quads, glutes and lower back in a very different way than riding an upright bike.  It's much more like working out with a leg press machine.  If you try a recumbent, keep this in mind and allow your body time to get used to how different this workout really is.  Your back will thank you.


H3N3 said:

Hey, sorry, I know the recumbent folks mean well but it's absolutely not the solution for most back problems, and is likely to make them worse.

There's no way to answer this in any sort of useful way without knowing more than you'd probably want to post publicly, Juan.

Permalink Reply by tmacz on March 4, 2011 at 8:25am

wow, so much good information!

 

As a chiropractor, "competitive" cyclist and daily commuter myself; the best advice is to first analyze what the root cause of the back pain.  There are two main types of causes which many times overlap; stuctural and functional types of back pain. 

For the sake of this reply I am excluding the neuro-emotional and psycho-somatic pain types (grouped together) as well as the pathological (cancer, tumor...) 

 

Structural = muscular imbalances, hypertonicity, inflexibility, misalignment(s)...

Functional = improper position (many apsects), joint/tendon tension relationship issues as it relates to certain positions on or off the bike (including sleeping), joint restriction

 

If it hurts after exercise it is most likely structural

If it hurts when you are moving, it is most likely functional

 

Long term wellness for every-cyclists-body; get bike -fitted, do core exercise, do yoga, foam roll your legs, get adjustments to the spine and pelvis, have massage therapy. Find someone you can trust, comes recommended, and is a cyclist!...to help assist you in your healing process.  Just because none of us are "pro" cyclists, doesn't mean we dont need "pro" therapy.  I hope that helps.  Tom

 

 

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