Last few years I’ve struggled with lower back problems, at first thought it was bike related but had a bike fit, changed to a plus bike and new full sus and during the summer no problems.

Today bent down to untie shoe laces and a back spasm so painful I nearly passed out!! Being the only key holder at work I couldn’t leave so tried to walk it off. When the next key holder came in I went to the doctors been told it’s a back spasm and recovery time 4-8 weeks so self cert a week then pop back for a fit note.

Obviously I’ve got lower back problems, so during my time off what should or shouldn’t I be doing? Doctor said rest but that makes it worse as I’m in agony when I do move, once recovered what can I do to strengthen the back to prevent this happening again? What do you guys do to keep the back healthy and strong?

I’m finding pilates pretty good at slowly improving the strength of my core, although no doubt it would help if I did more than one hour a week… It’s incredibly relaxing too, which so a nice post-work break.

Very gentle riding was great once I was past the point where I couldn’t even get on a bike, something about the lack of impacts but constant gentle movement was good at working out stiffness.

I slipped 2 discs last week. Had them pushed back and I’ve been on rest for 7 days no more than 30min sitting then a short walk around. Rest and keeping it moving without stretching or putting load on it is working so far.

Stay active, don’t sit still for too long, go for regular short walks.

When you’re not so tender, start doing core exercises like the plank, the bridge etc.

Similar problems here over the years, i share your pain!

Once you can, get yourself moving. My problems are exacerbated by sitting about and getting tight, so rest is the worst for me. So easy walking is good, gentle activity, keeping warm etc. Pilates and Yoga good and helps with a bit of a lifestyle change. I find specific stretching to loosen the glutes, quads and ITB are sorting me out.

I have used an osteopath on occasions where i have been really uncomfortable and he has generally helped a lot to get me back to where I can function normally. It also helped me understand where the problems where and how to self help. A good physio would also help if you don’t fancy the osteopath route. My experience of GP’s and back pain is generally poor, so no longer bother. Far better results via physio, osteo and self help

Vader +1 pretty much to the letter. Osteo helps straighten me out which is gradually correcting itself, core exercises help build the supporting strength and glute / cat stretches help with daily relief.

Tbh when I first did it this morning I was in agony, after 20 mins I tried to walk it off and was mobile, sat down for breakfast 30 min break and couldn’t get back up, took me 10 mins to get out of the chair tried again to walk it off but it got too much, luckily a colleague drove me to the doctors as I cycled to work. After doctors took the tablets which knocked me out tbh for at least 5 hrs and have been sitting 15-20 mins then up just to move, I’m dreading trying to get up tomorrow morning.

I don’t know if my experience is relevant but I’ve had lower back pain before and I am much better now. For me, stretching was key. Daily (almost!) I stretch my quads, hamstrings, glutes and hip flexors along with some shoulder bridges. I read up on some yoga recently – tight psoar muscles can be almost debilitating, maybe some lunges can help you? I drive a lot however and sit at a desk when I’m not driving – the lack of movement it very unhealthy! All the best with your recovery.

Stretch first thing in morning before leaving the house. 10 minutes or so of yoga when get home. Core strengthening classes at gym once a week. Had lower back issues for a lot of last year and this on a regular basis has helped. Also make sure you’re car/van seat is good if you drive a lot. Changed this as well and stretch when get out my van after driving. All long term solutions.

new mattress has worked wonders for my lower back.

Not had back pain to anything like that extent (its mostly just niggly stuff now with the odd flare up if I lift awkwardly from cold), but it’s stretching, stretching, stretching for me – especially hamstrings, plus as others have said – core stuff. (I do an S&C class once a week – squats, deadlifts etc)

Sitting for long periods is horrible for it.

Feldenkrais lessons or classes. When back gets a bit better do the Feldenkrais clock. Also Sarah Key back block excercises before bed. A few good short videos by her on youtube.
Use Suspension seatpost.

Where is the back pain, I get it in my very lower back, just above hips and it is related to tight it band. Physio identified it and stretches and rollering helps massively.
if you get knee pain below the knee as well it is likely due to it band

core strength all the way, very simple to sort.

ive suffered lower back all my life, ive had lock ups that have literally seen me crawl out the surf.

when i started running 5 or 6 years ago i started doing a weekly circuits session with my club and since then i’ve had no problems.

but to prove the point, the last 9 or 10 months ive really slacked off and my back has gradually started playing up more and more until before christmas it was really bad again. so all i did was make sure i did a bit of stretching, salutation to the sun, and daily before bed grab my iphone, hit the stopwatch, and do a 1m now up to 1m.30 plank, 15sec rest, 30 sec strong push ups. it sorted itself out very fast.

for immediate relief google it, there are some good stretch sequences for lower back pain that really do help. and also keep your back warm, use ralgex and the boots ibuprofen gel with menthol.

I can highly recommend this book (Treat Your Own Back – Robin McKenzie. Link below) which sorted my lower back issues. His techniques are now recognised as physio standards.
As with all rehab, it takes time and you need to be patient and disciplined.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0987650408/ref=asc_df_098765040857849992/?tag=googshopuk-21&creative=22110&creativeASIN=0987650408&linkCode=df0&hvadid=310834580283&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12331195184785401224&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006904&hvtargid=pla-489303599447&th=1&psc=1

Thisnis the reading I referred to in my earlier post. I hope it helps you.

https://yogainternational.com/article/view/how-to-stretch-and-strengthen-the-psoas

Did my back in badly a few years ago to the point where once when i fell down I couldn’t get back up again.  Had to wait for family to come back home and get me upright. Went to physio who game me a bunch of exercises to do that got me back into shape reasonable quickly

Took a look at yoga a couple of years ago and was amused to see that the physio’s exercises were all yoga moves of some sort and not even particularly complex ones.   Doing a bit of simple yoga seems to be keeping it at bay for the moment

I’m not going to add any new info but I’d also recommend pilates. At various points when I’ve been to a physio for injuries they recommend it. Many of the excercises are similar. By keeping your core muscles strong you reduce the chances of issues. I think of it as preventitive physio. Did more for my comfort/power in an aero position than any bike fit did.

Thanks all, I will admit it’s worse today, struggled to get out of bed, I have a new mattress and one of those toppers that forms to you body shape to help support.

The doctor prescribed some diazepam but that’s not touching it tbh, tried some stretches from the above google searches and it’s just immensely painful, but will keep at it. I need to get through this as it’s impacting on everything I do, been advised it could take weeks until I’m fit to return to work and not to even consider going back until I’m pain free.

Heat patches for the immediate problem, get you moving again.

Pilates for longer term fixing the problem.

Reading your OP rang many bells!

Pilates? Home dvd style or join a club? I prefer the idea of home as shift work so can fit it in easy enough.

I swam through my bad last summer. Helped keep it all moving

To be honest the couple of times when it was that bad that I couldn’t lie down/sit up I just went straight to the osteopath – instant relief. That was a few years ago now and since then i have generally self managed as per most of the previous posts. Pain killers never touched it, at least nothing I could buy over the counter ( I have never tried prescription)

It is misery but you can be fixed, don’t despair.

Firstly ICE it, secondly ICE it and later ICE it again.
Keep moving with just long walks and dont stiffen up with long sessions sat at a pc.
Later once the spasms are under control get onto youtube and look up deadlifts and overhead squats. Deadlifts are great if you have gym membership but if not overheads with nothing more than a broom handle will (if done correctly) strengthen and improve your posture and overall condition.
You could also just use a kettlebell or small weight because the technique is much more important than heavy weight.

I go to classes as I have no idea what I’m doing. Also stops me cheating with the exercises.

The heat patches are great for the immediate problem as they block the pain signals apparently.

• Buy a back brace and a party pack of ibuprofen, take regularly.
• Stop driving a car if you haven’t already.
• As and when you’re able (up to 3 months for swelling to settle), start doing pilates.

If you’re trying to stretch before the inflammation has gone down, you’re just going to be making it worse. Rest and ibuprofen and gentle movement (as you’re able to) only.

Obvs I don’t actually know what’s causing your pain, but the above is a summary of what worked for me when I had a large disk bulge last May. I got an MRI for accurate diagnosis, which helped. Pilates was an eye-opener, and is what eventually helped me get back on the bike.

Good luck! 🙂

agreed. don’t try all those stretches while it’s inflamed! there’s not way you muscles will comply because they are in protection mode.
go see an osteopath. there is some variety, but good ones have as good an understanding of the anatomy as doctors, and have ways of treating it that doctors don’t. if you’re not into the wafty non-scientific part of it then just say so (tho annoyingly i have found that par tof it to work too). you’ll get a diagnosis too of what’s going on.

all those recommendations for yoga, pilates and building strenght are right of course, but that’s in answer to you maintainance question, not what to do now.

and hot water bottle on the spot can help, but depends how bad. helps keep plenty of blood-flow

Get to a decent physio and have an MOT of all your connected tissues, my initial diagnosis was a back spasm from the GP, but after all the rest and meds, something didn’t feel right, so i paid to see a private physio, diagnosed tight hip flexors, overloading lumbar vertebrae combined with week thoracic muscles, a good few months of structured rehabilitation consisting of yoga, lots of stretches and targeted strengthening (quite a few sports massages and a couple of chiro visits) and I’m pain free and enjoying riding more than I ever have.

TL:DR, your back is complex and can be affected by things you may not even think of. Go get it looked at by someone who specialises and work from there. Good luck.

Today it’s much worse the diazepam isn’t touching it tbh just makes me sleep, I’ve contacted an oestopath and have an appointment next week, told them what the issue is and they say they can help relieve the pain but might be painful to start with, £50 a session seems the going rate locally. Once on the mend I’ve got an exercise mat and a dvd yesterday for Pilates thanks to amazon just need to recover first!

Been using deep heat but today’s the first day of those heat pads you wrap round, a short walk and that’s about all I can manage.

I think I know what triggered it, I went for a cycle down the canals on nyd normally I get off at the bridges with the stepped bricks but this time i shot over then with speed I’m guessing the juddering has upset my back, can’t think of much else or it could just be innocently changing my shoes at work when it happened. Ether way I’m definitely taking better care of my back in the future.

Osteopath might work but def try and see a good physio if you get a chance they can normally figure out if it is muscular or connective tissue rather than being skeletal like osteopaths.
I am lucky as have a really good physio who can normally see where issues are when I turn up (yes I do it as a test frequently), to give you an idea about the affect of it band I couldn’t actually walk properly 3 days ago, so used a massage ball on my it band and now am pain free. Just have to keep doing it.

seems a good thread to ask…has anyone had back/hip pain persist and after a couple of years feel like it is impacting the diaphran / breathing deeply? I’m 3 months / £500 into physio and whilst pain is much more manageable and breathing better it’s not gone away.

Doesn’t impact riding much and often feels better when riding at pace which suggests to me it’s a postural / muscular issue.

no scans as of yet (prob the next thing I ask for) but physios assessment is spine is ok. had ecg at gp heart is ok…had bloods they are ok. GP has said stress but there is no correlation between events and pain / breathing.

Osteopathy is bones and muscles, chiropractor is bones only.

But whatever path you follow it’s usually the practitioner that is important.

I had bad hip pain with my back pain, some days it was hard to walk more than a few yards. All went after the first Pilates session. Sounds unlikely but what have you got to lose (apart from the pain)?

Quite a few on here said osteopath and I asked a friend who is a nurse who said the same even if it’s just the one appointment to rule things out, my only loss is £50 which if there’s any improvement or even a better understanding I’m happy enough.

Many thanks for all the replies, today I’ve used a heat pad that wraps round still found it difficult to walk sit etc but not as bad getting up and initially moving but it’s painful enough. The toughest part for me is time off work, I hate my job but I hate letting people down, I know while there’s pain I can’t risk rushing back so I’m looking at a few weeks off that hurts more tbh. I don’t want to rush back and end up making it worse or being vunerable, when I did the initial injury I was solo at work for 5 hours that’s not a risk I can take again.

From 2008 until around early 2017, I was completely dependent upon a Homedics shiatsu massager with heat outside work, that was permanently on my PC chair, typically used for 5-10 sessions per day. The second one got damaged and I replaced it with a more portable version in late 2016, but I’ve barely needed to use it over the last two years, maybe ten times in total.

I have this due to injury – I am starting Yoga on Monday to try and help after seeing a physio! I made the same connection as above that most of the exercises she was suggesting looked like yoga, she said they basically were so I asked if a class would help. She said it would be perfect, so here we go 🙂

how do people not fart when doing yoga? no way I could do a class. it seems to push it out! I use YouTube…

I echo the physio thing, though if you’re not convinced you’re making the correct progress then don’t be worried about seeing another. I’ve had sciatica/bad backs for about 5 years and have seen 3 different physios, 3 doctors and a chiro. It was only the last physio who arranged an MRI, identified a bulging disc which is squeezing my spinal cord, arthrosis in 2 of the vertebrae and a massive strength imbalance between left of right sides. Finally, focussed treatment and Pilates twice a week is making a difference.

I had back issues for a while. Worst in the morning that seemed to ease as i moved about. Bought new mattress, did physio etc. Then by chance (eye issue, found the hla b27 in my blood) i was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis . Basically my spine is slowly fusing, with other issues (hip joints etc). Can struggle to get socks on these days but exercise, keeping the weight off all help. I really should do pilates but struggle to get the time. Backs pain is a ‘pain’. Apparently ankylosing spondalitis can often be missed when people complain of back issues. I went years before diagnosis….not that there is a cure.

Many thanks for those who recommended an osteopath, cost was £45 for an hour session, yes I feel no better but he explained everything was friendly helpful and a nice guy to talk to. He said I’ve damaged my level 3 disc the fluid has moved to the left hence muscle pain in my upper legs and the other issues I’m having. I have a trapped nerve where the fluid has moved, looking at 3-4 week recovery more tablets as my back muscles are inflammed. Feel happier knowing what I’ve done, next step doctors for meds and a fit note.

Thanks again!