Really annoyed as I hurt my lower back at the gym on Tuesday even though I was only doing the same routine I have done twice weekly for the last 2 years. Cannot pin point what caused it as session went ok and it wasn’t till that evening that the pain came one.

I’m not in agony and not taking pain killers, but the pain is constant but I also get periodic twinges. I rode for 2 hours last night and it didn’t seem to aggravate it, but now wondering whether I should cease cycling too and see if it settles down.

I’m 45 and never had a bad back in my whole life so this is an alien concept to me and not sure the best course of action.

Keep active within reason,ibru gel works the best for me,helps reduce inflamation and aids healing.Ps its old age 😉

In my experience, having injured my lower back in 2008 when 34, your back will let you know if cycling with your current bike front end setup upsets it! 😉

I had to fit a 35 degree 100mm stem to my road bike to stand a chance of riding for an hour on a good day, while using a set of Modolo Dumbo modular adjustable touring bars to make my mountain bike be ok to ride.

So long as the pain isn’t too bad, keep moving.

Cheers Fellas.

Does ibuprofen gel help for non muscular. Worried that I have done a disc like my wife did 5 years ago. Her back was really bad.

+1 to all that, stop cycling if it aggravates your back but keep going otherwise.

You’re asking the wrong people.

Light riding, not graunching or straining.. spin maaaann.

I’ve done similar, carried on light riding through it, runnings worse for me because of the shock in the lower back so had to take time out from that (grrrrrrr)

I did my back in falling down some stairs and once I could walk again cycling was awesome. An hour bimbling around the local woods kept everything supple: lots of movement but nothing with too much impact.

As above. If pain isn’t too bad then keep moving but tone it down (as above easier spinning no mega high gear climbs). In my personal experience (lower back injury from tennis in my later 30’s) this may well never go away completely. Probably worth getting a specialist physio session to get a few excersises to do at home daily (*). I have poor disci0line when it cones to excersize so tend to onky do them as / shen lain comes back instead of just doing then tegularly all the time. Also ime the injuries often came when I was stressed and something would twang, just a thought

You could try these which I do

Lie on back, bring one knee to chest and hold with hands – say 5 or 10 secs then do other leg. 5 or 10 reps. Then do same with both knees.
Lie on front arms outstreched, raise one arm (eg left) and opposite leg (eg right) straight for hip each a few inches – hold for 5 or 10secs. Switch arms/leg and repeat. 5 or 10 reps.
Yoga positions like cat, up and downwards dog.

Movement is definitely good for the typical lower back complaints, mine was stiffening up and getting painful recently, so I just focussed on glute stretches and mobility. Kept cycling but like others mention, careful of wrestling big gears, and if you do try to stand more upright on the pedals, keeping your upper body relaxed.

I did a winter of spin classes when I first hurt my back, useful for keeping fitness without being too stretched out, no impact either, and they’re quite useful for teaching you how to use your core better when out the saddle

What jamba said. (yes, I wrote that). I do the same exercises, for a similar reason (disc surgery 15 years ago) but it never goes away.

^^ I am only posting what the physio told me so you can take some solice in that 🙂

(I must turn the auto correct back on too 😳 )

Phew, I was worried 🙂

Cycling to work will be ok then as if I push big gears I am too knackered to do any work, so have no choice but to go steady.

Physio point noted.

And don’t spend the rest of the time sat on the sofa or in a chair. Lie down and watch TV, or stand at work whilst it recovers. Sitting is a nightmare for backs. Walking is good.

In the same boat here, did mine trials riding. I’ve been taking ibuprofen and applying heat/cold whenever I can and trying to keep active.

Wednesday night was pretty bad, had to get the mrs to pick me up halfway home – proper sharp, intense pain, spasms and struggling to walk, but now it’s just a slight ache.

Give it a few days to settle down before trying to stretch it, mine was a dull ache until I did some exercises similar to what’s mentioned above on Tuesday. That set it off and made things 10x worse.

Give it a few days to settle down before trying to stretch it, mine was a dull ache until I did some exercises similar to what’s mentioned above on Tuesday. That set it off and made things 10x worse.

This is the problem about taking advice from blokes off the internet like me, what works for me might not be suitable for you OP

As for Ibrupeofen that may becone part of your excersize schedule as it has mine. Taken in advance of a ride. When I saw NHS consultant for my buggered knees in May he told me to “self medicate” ie keep active but take ibuprofen to ease the pain, when you cant walk anymore in about 10 years I’ll replace your knees 🙁

Yes walking is good, as is any movement. I get a bad back from time to time and slouching about is the worst thing for it. Swimming is v good.

Or, seek some professional advice.

My new personal favourite is a good Osteo over a physio (apologies to any physios, but an Osteo cured a problem for me in 1 session that a physio had failed to improve over 8 sessions).

You only have one back and it’s pretty critical to your movement.

Also, surprised no one picked this up

have done twice weekly for the last 2 years

some variation might help too.