one massive positive with an ebike though, is that they make any normal bike feel like a pure race bike after you’ve been moving an ebike around.
.....because they are so cumbersome to manouvre - which is the bit of biking I need to be careful of with my dodgy back. Twisting or unplanned rotational movements is what does for me.
Is it the pedalling that makes your back worse or the bent over riding position? An e-bike will only ease the pedalling.
No-one mentioned pilates yet?
That is what got me mobile, and back on my bike again, after a bad time laid up with typical herniated L-5 symptoms a few years ago.
i have no qualifications in this topic other than my own experience but it seems to me that buying an e-bike is (possibly) a work-around type solution rather than a long-term strategy to get you back to riding your proper bikes.
And I would worry that using an e-bike would just inhibit the rehabilitation and management you should be doing.
Pilates movements help me manage pain when it strikes but also build up the core strength that helps prevent flare-ups. And give me the confidence to ride pretty much whatever or however i want (which is important, as confidence and state of mind are quite big factors in the overall management of pain like this).
So it’s the constant pedalling pressure on my lower back - particularly when bent over or going up something super steep. So road bike commuting is going to take some time to get back to I think.
Pilates is on my list for when I’m a bit more recovered - my core is pathetic right now - got cramping in the front doing one of the physio exercises. I think when I had my appendix / part of bowel out and they cut through the front and through the belly button that mangled things up a bit. I’ve found a local guy who specialises in Pilates to help injury recovery and the classes are pretty cheap so as soon as I’m able I’ll start doing those once a week 👌
I find with backs there often isn’t one thing that sorts it out - so nerve root block / physio / Pilates / ebike etc all combined to help recovery is what I’m thinking.
Pretty set on a Dune now if they’re still on offer at the point I can sell the Sentinel. On eBay and Pinkbike now and getting some questions. Might pop an advert on here although I’ve literally had zero response to any Singletrack ad I’ve ever placed 🥴
