Getting worried about the stiffness in my back and the numbness down my thighs after an off in December.
Whilst I climb ok out of the saddle, I can’t lay down any power whilst sitting.
I have seen a specialist and I am doing excerises. I’m also prepared to write the year off and concentrate on getting fit and strong again.
I should say up until August I was going well, but injury after injury since has taken me down to a level were I can just about cope with riding. And the thought of another 24 solo seems like an unatainable target.

have you tried a Tens machine? just wondering, I’ve never but I’ve heard folk say they are good?

Broke my back (tranverse process fractures on L3, L4 & L5). Back riding (and snowboarding, climbing, etc.) stronger than ever within a year.

That’s what I want to hear, any good excersises you could recommend to rebuild core strength.

Dunno but my hips stopped me from riding for over a year, 24 mins would hurt too much these days let alone 24hours.

any good excersises you could recommend to rebuild core strength

Get your specialist to refer you to a physio.

The ‘plank’ (with variations) is good for general core strength, but you might want to do Pilates or Swiss Balls. Could be worth getting the advice of a good sports physio before you start out on a programme.

As andym says, I did loads of swiss ball work to rehab my back. I was in a rigid plastic corset for 12 weeks while my back healed and by the end of that my core was shot.

Could recommend particular swiss ball exercises, but basically all of them are good! You can get one for home for pretty cheap (<£30) and there’s loads of exercise programs on the web for using them.

Any “normal” exercise (sit-ups, press-ups) becomes much, much harder when done on the ball, so be prepared to be humiliated at first!

My accident happened in July and my final visit to the specialist (neurologist) was just before Christmas. From previous sessions, I knew the types of range-of-movement tests he used to assess me, so I trained quite specifically towards those tests so that he would pass me fit to snowboard that winter! Got away for a trip over New Year and there was good powder. Bouncing up and down through powder turns hurt like hell, but I was loving every minute of it!

Go and see a proper sports physio.

A knee surgeon told me that I would have to stop riding, Keith Johnson (former Millwall physio) at Dave Roberts Sports Physiotherapy just asked me what sport I did then taylored a solution. It worked.

get involved in some yoga for mobility/ flexibility and some pilates to build core srength

Good advice thanks.
My daughter just told me she has a swiss ball going spare.
Actually my core strength has been dire for years ever since an apendix opperation went very wrong so perhaps or hopefully it’ll all turn out for the better.

I’ve suffered two bad strikes of sciatica, got it back upto good strength a few years ago and kept doing core exercises. I managed to suffer almost zero pain doing a season in the alps last year to then mess it up by fracturing my L4. I was back riding within 6 weeks and now just as hard as ever. Yesterday I had a very bad crash on an MX bike and my back strength and armour resulted in pain everywhere except my back!

For me the best thing was to combine physio with my normal activity. If I take periods of rest it only gets worse and less strong.

i had a really bad off and burst a blood vessel in my back, couldnt walk for 2 weeks it was horrendous. ended up getting a gym ball and got the physio at my local gym to give me some good core strengthening exercises and within a short time the pain had gone. a good one is where you take your shoes and socks off and lay on the ball on your tummy with your feet on the skirting board…. put your arms out (pretending youre superman) and lower/raise your upper body like a reverse sit-up. you can adjust the difficulty depending on where you place the ball – the more towards your legs the ball is the harder it is to pull your upper body up straight. great for lower back strength.

Hey this info on exercises is all good.

A tens machine is a gadget that is supplied with two sets of probes. You have self-adhesive pads that the you stick to your body in the affected area and hook the probes up to. A small pulsed current is applied and this causes the loacalised muscles to respond. The feeling is one of tingling/numbness and you have a gain control to up the output to a bearable level that overcomes the pain you were feeling. It worked for me when I had a back injury. I can’t remember, but i think this machine has the effect of stimulating recovery of damaged tissue in the affected area too. I would speak to a qualified physiotherapist about the matter as they know what they are talking about.

Exercises to free up your spine and building in strength to your abdominal wall to support your spine are key to preventing further injury, but see a physiotherapist for advice if you haven’t done so already. They charge £30-40 per session. You will probably need a letter of referral from your GP though. Tell him you are going to pay for it so you don’t have to wait months etc.

What about your bike? How is it set up? Have your tried a different stem or bars, or changing your saddle position. Have you tried a different bike?

I have two MTBs. One has a very high bottom bracket resulting in a more prone riding position. It used to give me a bad back. I now have longer forks and a shorter riser and wider bars. The ride is now a lot more comfortable and no back problems since. My other bike is better still.

I tried out a Specialized Stumpjumper FSR last year which has a much more upright geometry. It was this that prompted me to spend a lot on my bike to resolve my problem.

I also have an article on matching frames to rider physiology if you are interested. It is aimed at roadies and a bit involved, but there are a few tips on resolving aches and pains, numbness etc. Enlightening stuff.

Hope you get well soon and get a comfortable sustainable ride sorted out.

Spongebob.
I’ve got over three decades of road racing under my belt, which means to feel comortable on the mtb I have to adopt a fairly racy set up bar ends in particular really help. So I think I’m sorted there, only downside is it leads to a pants set up for technical stuff.

Swiis ball at the ready along with the dumb bells and Turbo trainer.

I see where you are coming from re. your riding position. I do wonder if this is contributing to your problem. I find technical stuff often jarrs your back, so that prone roadie position is not ideal. It was similar ride position on my MTB before rebuild and I used to use bar ends too. Siunce changing the ride position i find i have a lot more control.

I have a mere 20 years MTB experince compared to your 30 on road. I’m not much of a road man these days due to all to frequent scary motorist behaviour. Maybe I have been unlucky on the road, but i feel safer away from the public highway. I do have a road bike I converted to a hybrid (after a load of hassle with sti gear/brake levers). It better suits my needs in this configuration and is a whole lot more comfortable.

I did a lot of road riding in my youth and built a couple of offroad bikes (10 years before the mountain bike genre was invented).

Perhaps I should reregister with a name containing the word old too! 😉

I would be more worried about pain down both legs than my riding. Does it extend below your knees? Any genital numbness/ pins & needles? Is it getting worse? If so you may have a central disc prolapse which requires surgery. Have you seen a neurologist/ orthopod to assess if you need an MRI to find out?
Assuming you don’t need surgery core stability & flexibility exercises are good – concentrate on doing them exactly right with no pain and, initially, not to exhaustion. Get used to the idea of keeping a slight inward curve of your low back when sitting (including on your bike when you get on it).

I had a prolapsed disc operated on in September last year. Got back on the bike last month and everything has been fine. Been concentrating on doing a lot of leg stretching as well as going to pilates to help build core – pretty much the same as has already been said really !

I would also recommend looking into getting an MRI done as the longer you leave the worse the muscle wastage or imbalance will get.

nick1c
It’s not pain, when sitting and trying to push up a gradient or against the wind I get a numb sensation in my butt that extends to my outer thighs. No problem at all climbing or pushing out of the saddle.
So it’s not pain, just an odd feeling like my legs are dislocated from my thoughts????

Pilates is very good for core strength.

While you are healing a back support will help alot. I use a motox kidney belt if my back is weak. For any hard DH I now use back armour and the kidney support. Keeping your posture right while being jarred is essential and a support will help.

Hi,
I suffered for 2 years on and off from 06 with a bad back. I used to get the pins and needles thing just as you say, and the total inability to lay the power down when seated. I was regularily seeing a physio, and both him and myself reckoned I was about 85% recovered, when I helped a friend move house in oct 07. Lifted one end of a wooden bench and twisted a bit, and it went ping big time… The pain that built over the next 2 days was unbeleviable. Ended up going to A&E for diazepam and tramadol..

Saw one specialist, had an MRI scan and had a massive prolapse (2/3 of the spinal canal taken up with disc!), but he wouldn’t operate on me, as I could still walk apaprently. (but believe me, it wasn’t really walking as I know it now!). anyhow, sought a 2nd opinion, and he took one look at the size of the prolapse and I was operated on in dec 07.

The first couple of months of recovery was quite slow. Initially could hardly walk 2 minswithout pain, but so glad I did it. Even immediately after the op, I could feel less ‘pressure’ on my spine and legs. One year and 2-3 months on and I’m out for 3-4h rides (roadie and mtb) with no problems. Still doing lots of yoga, ‘balance’ and pilates and prob will have to for ‘ever’ now, but if it means I can ride.. thats not a problem.
Lots of good advice on exercises here already, especially the planks versions and the swiss ball work.
doenside on the op is that I’ve got a bit of nerve damage doen one leg, abd can’t really feel front of my shin and big toe… but when its cold I can’t feel it and the times it cramps up, again I can’t feel a thing! Am told nerves ‘may’ grow back, but can be very slow, about 1mm per day max, and its a long way from the spinal column to the bottom of yer foot! so we’ll see…

Take home message, if you can see a proper physio ASAP for structured recovery program, and then don’t help a mate move house! But if it does go, big time, you can still get it sorted… Am palnning on doing the Trans Rockies this august!

Mark

If you have no symptoms below your knees it is unlikely that you have a significant central prolapse of a disc.
The fact that you get the problem when sitting & pedalling hard makes me think that it’s most likely to be a core stability issue, but another possibility is overuse of a muscle (tensor fascia lata) compressing a nerve which supplies sensation to part of your thigh (lateral cutaneous nerve of the thigh).
I would suggest getting it looked at by someone who is properly trained & has an interest in this sort of thing (I am an osteopath, so understanably I wouldn’t suggest restricting your search to just physio’s). They should be able to assess you & suggest the next course of action, this will probably be either referral to a surgeon or (more likely) a course of manipulation & exercise.

I had three prolapsed discs. No sensation in both legs for a couple of hellish years. Almost addicted to painkillers.

Considered surgery then freakily, my back pain eased a couple of percent. An old biking pal suggested I try riding a FS mtb. I thought he was crazy. But I went for it, and it developed more core stability. I can now even crash without back pain. Before if I stepped off a kerb I hadnt seen I’d be writhing in pain. Still wary of big jumps/drops etc, but it hasnt stopped me enjoying the sport.

Just done 1/2 hour on the Swiss Ball and it feels great already. The one were you rest the torso on the ball and arch backwards keeping your arms in a ‘free fall’ position really hits the spot. I’ve also only just realised that my ability to touch my toes has gone since the accident. Lots to work on.

had two knackered discs that were going to be operated on and was going to be given a colostomy because certain nerves etc were being affected, but they were sitting just over my spinal cord,so op didn,t go ahead as was only given 50/50 chance of walking,agree with all the exercises etc but looking into the future I only rode full suspension bikes once I was able to ride again,took 3 years before I fely comfortable on hardtail,and if docs tell you to stay of bike follow their advice,stayed of,then started with road cycling on a full susser,not allowed to do any climbing,then ordinary road riding,eventually mountain biking,yes its very frustrating but jumping back in the saddle could stop your cycling completely,time does heal n I can do evrything that anyone else can,that includes racing