Also, what triggers it?
i do when my psoas muscle tightens so i strecth etc..and it goes 🙂
Me.Cycling proably doesn`t help ,but I reckon mine is normally triggered by lifting my young children and years of playing as 2nd row in rugby.
I get lower back pain when cycling. After lots of trial and error experiments with handlebars/stems/reach, I've found it's if I have the saddle too low and the handlebars too high and too short a reach.
I do. Had a stupid off at a DH race in my yoof. Sneezing can set it off, so can lifting the kids. Doesn't seem too bad when out on the bike though.
A sufferer for over 20 years - lift & pulling injury. Actually, my back went into painful spasms on Thursday and I couldn't straighten up. Still painful now & muscles keep tightening so have to do some of my old pilates exercises to get me upright again.
I do get backache whilst cycling up long hills. I really have to stop myself pushing too hard because this aggrevates it more. Usually have to stop and do some stretches.
I haven't found a cure in all these years though regular visits to the osteopath helps.
Thetford Back here!
not had much recently but used to have chronic problems - muscular issues relating to 2 dics which have been worn down a little by rowing too much too young. Since implementing a decent pilates routine I have very few issues any more.
pilates is top.i heard folks harp on about it for years before giving it ago.its a good thing to do when you should have gone out on the bike but you couldnt be arsed.
allso hows the function of your large intetine working on digestive strengh works for lots of people.
i had a sore back while riding for years and years, but recently i bought a bigger bike (i been subscribing to the "I like to ride a smaller bike to make it more flickable" way of thinking)
and also just bought a wingnut rucksack.
Magic, back cured
too much running was causing my bike back pain. So I'm replacing running with swimming now.
I did doing a long race, I put that down to having a too short cockpit for that style of riding.
I don't on the commute since I got rid of the rucksack and use a pannier mounted bag.
What triggers your Goan? Are you looking for a simple solution?
Beasting it up the uplift road at Inners and putting too much weight over the front triggered mine today. A more upright posture and stretching Illiopsoas seems to have worked to fix it.
Had it since I was a kid. Just standing around used to bring it on. Think I have very bad posture too. Strangely I don't get it on the bike. Recent increases in excercise on bike and in pool have helped
I did this on a course at GT two weeks ago...
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Two falls onto a stony forest road practicing manuals.. wear flats kids.....
Out at GT today it was merry hell. Doc advised no painkillers as they cause internal bleeding... I am worried about hard lumps in one of my butt cheeks which I guess is blood.... it also causes me to sit in a way that affects my posture and spine alignment. Literally a pain in the ass!
For regular relief from back or neck pain, bike fit may help. Andy Pruitts Medical Guide for Cyclists is very helpful.
HTH
As a legacy of 13 years of bricklaying (now almost 20 years ago hmm) I have to be careful with my posture whatever I am doing. I find that placing the bars so they are slightly higher than the seat and with short reach - riser bar/stem/longer stem was a huge help and I can get out for 12hrs no problem. Still pack the Ibuprofen tho
Prolapsed disc for me, caused by a number of things.
I can take the back pain, but sciatica has had me in tears a few times.
Cycling eases it 😀
so does Co-codamol 😕
I suffer lots due to several back injuries, including fracture, which has left 4 damaged discs. Any jarring or twisting sets off pain or can pop something out of place. Personally I almost exclusively ride full suspension bikes to stop the jarring
I spend time working on my core strenth doing pilates and as a result my back can often exceed average riders strength (eg: in bad crashes) despite my injuries.
I get bad lower back pain on a morning unless I get on the bike, like I do most days on my commute to work
it's really bad if I walk any distance straight after getting out of bed
don't know why I get it, I just grin and bear it
I very rarely get lower back pain despite fracturing my L3, L4 & L5 vertebrae a few years ago.
However, it was stiff as hell last night after a couple of hours of bouncing up and down at The Proclaimers gig! 
(no double-entendres on that one please!)
Riding hardtails really sets my back off after a vertebral compression fracture a few years back.
Bending over to tie my shoe laces did for mine last time.
Always get a pain in my lower right of my back. Sets in about 1hr in usually and irritates me for the rest of the ride. Only get it cycling...
I have a mechanical (lifting) injury
Good posture helps. I don't get pain on the bike - higher bars than normal sees to that. I am convinced many cyclists run with the bars too low and that causes you to have poor posture
Was getting back pain on longish rides. Then at Bristol Bikefest this year it was pretty sore. I got a massage from the massage people (MyLife I think) who said it was coming from from hamstrings.
I've altered my saddle height and have started riding with a saddle bag and bottle instead of camel. Not had same problem since (even at Twentyfour12 where I spent longer in the saddle).
Rugby injury about 25 years ago. Acupunture helps. As does riding a single speed strangely enough - probably because your stood up most of the time.
Andy Pruitt's medical guide for cyclists and Pilates. I cannot believe the difference in my back pain since starting about 3 months ago, get a good teacher in a small class.
Injured my back 30yrs ago lifting gearboxes as a mechanic, followed by a motorbike and then a car accident.
Usually starts with a lift and then aggravated by long climbs, I am now painfree most of the time and improving 😀
10 years of wearing very heavy backpacks and running long distances in boots have taken their toll on my back and knees.
Only running once a week now, Boxing and Swimming.
For those of you comfortable in your masculinity, Yoga has helped immeasurably.
Struggled with a bad back this year, getting more miles in on the road bike, plus new bike, plus a mis-guided attempt to change my position for a slightly less aggresive one.
Talking to an old mate who I used to race with, he was convinced, and I agree, that more upright positions can cause as much problem as a too low one, and that a shorter more cramped position certainly becomes very uncomfortable for me.
I used to try a short stem, but my own tip would be to stretch out more.
I've always used an XC style position on the mountain bike, but the current trend for stubby stems and wider bars improves control but leaves me sore.
I find yoga and core strength exercises have sorted my lower back aches beautifully
My advice is go and see a chiropracktor, it did wonders for my whiplash,
-3 sessions, cured 5 month of constant headache, problems with focusing, and neckpain !
I find yoga and core strength exercises have sorted my lower back aches beautifully
Good, after my last episode that's what I've started doing. Don't want to develop a back weakness as a get older.
I used to, but swapped to running longer travel forks with a longer headtube and it seems to have gone. I'm 5'11 riding a 16" Orange 5. My old pikes were about 50mm shorter than my new Lyriks and I haven't had any problems since swapping them out.
Anyone know where you are supposed to carry a camelbak? Some people say wear it low so that the weight is on your hips and others carry it high to put the weight on their shoulders?
Mine's terrible - too much road biking years ago. Tried chiropractors, physios, the works but now I'm finally starting to get better. Sounds mad but [url= http://www.relaxwithreflexology.co.uk ]reflexology[/url] is really working for me. If I'd stretched out properly from the start, I may be a lot better now and not needing it however.
work and injuries don't help my back!!
been 2 months off the bike(apart from the turbo!).
Should be right in the new year hopefully! 😀
I was under the impression that if you get lower back pain only when cycling that you need to strengthen your core muscles, I find a stability ball to do the job, I use it for specific excercises and as a replacement for a bench for chest excercises and the like.
Iain
only if the angle of my saddle is wrong. if its not pretty much level then it starts hurting pretty quick.
yep, I've had a bad lower back for years and years. I only figured out this year what the problem was. I'm a dense get.
Wearing a camelbak. I've not ridden with a camelbak for about 3 months and I've not even had a twinge. I use bottles on the frame, a saddlebag and maybe a few bits and pieces in my jersey pockets.
I used to until I started doing regular core strengthening exercises and working on my mobility.
Hi used to suffer big time but since going to a spors physio have not had any problems
I find that rides with lots of seated riding are more liable to set it off on the occasions that I get it; good stretching helps a lot, as does rest. Always try to stretch a bit when we stop for a breather and snack and chat too.
Also, make sure I stay hydrated and fed; more susceptible to pain if the muscles are working and have no fuel to burn - lactic etc I guess; we've all felt it in the legs etc, no reason for it to not affect other muscles groups if you are using them a lot too.
Better having gone to the full sus too; takes some of the jarring out of the ride for sure.
All of these things really just point to not making the back muscles work excessively compared to what they are capable of; sus to take some jarring bumps, getting out of saddle to let arms and legs do more compressive work, keeping them all fuelled to work as well as they can...
Obviously this is relevant only if your bike fit is right for you to start with
I have had a lot of problems with back pain especially over the last 8 months. Tried chiro (shit IMO), physio (Very good IMO) but after a relapse yesterday and major pain in my lower back and right leg I am going to try Osteopath, just of rthe sake of trying something new. Hopefully all will be fiune by the time I have to do the Puffer as I mist most of last season due to injury
Yup, many years of lower back pain caused by (1) overly tight hamstrings and (2) too much driving.
Had a really good sports-injury specialist work on my back and gave me some specific core-strengthening exercises after a sudden twinge in my back left me rolling around in agony on the floor.
I now do a series of back stretches every morning and can now bend over and touch my toes - something that I haven't been able to do for over 20 years!
25 years of carrying folk up & down stairs in the ambulance service has taken its toll on my back. I've tried just about everything (except pilates!) but strangely enough, I find a bike ride loosens up my back muscles and eases any pain. An occasional visit to my chiropractor is needed if I get a spasm or prolonged aching though. I hate taking anti-inflammatories, but as a short term measure I fail to see why a GP would advise against them.