Ohhh.. My back!

[bigjim]

After a couple of Sunday rides 1 a 100 miler and one 60 miler I am really suffering with lower back pain that lasts for days. I have raised the bars on the bike but it makes no difference. This is a new thing for me as I did these runs last year with no problems. The bike I have been using [which I did not use last year] is a an aluminium frame, carbon fork, very hard saddle and 23c tyres pumped up to 120psi. I have noticed more on this bike how rough the roads are and am now wondering if the harsh ride and vibration from the road surface is taking it's toll on my back. I enjoy the fast stiff ride of this bike but wonder if eventually my back will settle down to it or if I need to revert to a less extreme machine with a softer saddle and more forgiving tyres.
Anybody any experience of this or any ideas? By the way I am an old git that won't see 55 again but not overweight so not carrying much padding.

Cheers. Jim.

 

[iAmiAdam]

If you haven't been cycling for very long, then long distances will create pains in muscles you didn't even know you had. Do more and eventually you won't have these pains any more.

 

[bigjim]

Thanks Adam.
Been cycling forever. Rode through the winter but mostly 25mile training runs 3 times a week and all the distance stuff last summer without this problem. I always get a bit of a twinge in that area even on a ride using other bikes but it usually goes with a good, after ride stretch. I never wake up with it like now and it hanging around for days is a bit of a worry.

 

[mcshroom]

How high is your saddle? I was getting lower back pain and it turned out I had the saddle slightly too high.

 

[bigjim]

Good point. I lowered it slightly before Sundays ride so that I have the prescibed slightly bent knee at full stretch. If my knee is too bent I get uncomfortable. It's a mystery at the moment. Funny things backs. I do wonder if I actually have the bars too high and my back would benefit from being more stretched out on the frame. I'm long legged and short top if you know what I mean so I tend to run a shorter stem and higher bar. I never get any wrist or pins and needles problems in the hands so I assume my arms aren't taking a lot of my weight. I'm never sure what the right thing is with backs. I thought it was more natural riding position to be stretched out so less strain on the back rather than the upright MTB position where all the upper body weight is tranferred onto the lower back.

 

[ttcycle]

hi bigjim

Sorry to read about your back. My first thoughts were saddle height -did you lower it by a lot- a large adjustment in one go can sometimes effect the body. In regards to your comments about being stretched out - it depends on your height and what the geometry of the bike is- the consensus is to be in a position that works for you and this not only depends on your bike sizing, your height etc but also what your ride for as that influences how aggressive the positioning is.

Personally, I don't like to be too stretched out but I know a couple of friends who ride bikes that are too big as they like being more stretched out.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Try a few minutes of hamstring and glute stretches every day. A lot of lower back pain originates from tightness in those two areas (or so my physio says)

 

[bigjim]

Thanks for the info. I only lowered the saddle height slightly. I'm also tempted to lower the nose slightly from level to see if that helps. Off to the gym this afternoon so will try to stretch those hamstrings and glutes.

 

[ColinJ]

Jim - it's sad, but most roads in the UK are not good enough for that sort of tyre pressure. Pneumatic tyres are for suspension on rough road surfaces. We have rougher roads now than we've had for years so we need the suspension effect of the tyre more than ever. 120 psi pretty much = no suspension effect - i.e. you will get battered! If you want to put up with that battering, that's up to you but I'm not surprised that you are suffering!

I had a chat with an ex pro team mechanic on a training camp in Spain once. He was watching riders putting 120 psi in their tyres. He said that he'd given up trying to advise them on tyre pressures because they wouldn't listen to the voice of experience - "It says 120 psi on my tyres, so that's what I'm putting in!"

He suggested that I try about 90 psi front and 100 psi rear and see how I got on. I found that rough inland Spanish roads were miraculously softened, while the tyres still rolled well on the better quality coastal roads. Job done!

I'm a biggish bloke (6' 1", 15.5 stone) and I've only had two snakebite punctures in 10 years of riding at those pressures and both of those were due to not watching where I was going and hitting holes in the road hard.

Go for a couple of rides with 20 psi let out of your rear tyre and 30 from your front and see how you feel then. (There is less weight on the front so less pressure is needed in that tyre.) I think you will be pleased at the difference it makes. Experiment with +/- 10 psi from those figures to see what the optimum is for you, your tyres and your roads.

My message is that you can gain an awful lot of comfort with hardly any loss of performance but most riders don't even give lower pressures a try.

 

[ttcycle]

I'd say +1 to Colin's comment re psi - my tyres are pumped to 100- an old colleague of mine (road racing team mechanic at one stage) when I used to work for a cycling organisation said that if you pump up your tyres regularly ie weekly then 100 should be fine.

Tilting your saddle at the front may not be of much use as you may find that you slide off the saddle a fair amount. Make some other changes first and see what you come up with and if it improves the back pain.

 

[e-rider]

I sometimes get very bad lower back pain cycling and then 2 weeks later on the same bike doing the same distances I have no pain at all! It all seems a bit random. I have found strong painkillers work very well for long rides if I get back pain, so I always carry some but usually don't need to take them.

You might have something more serious though so worth keeping a close eye on it and see the doc if it persists.

Try dropping the saddle by 2-3mm

 

[bigjim]

Thanks all for the advice. Just back from the gym where I exercised the hamstrings and glutes with my weight belt cinched tight and at the moment no pain. Will try the tyre pressure thing tomorrow. Been looking at Sheldon Browns site and noticed his advice about the curviture of the spine whilst riding, if in the correct position takes pressure off the back and puts it onto the muscles. He agrees that a more upright position puts pressure on the back on long runs as the spine compresses.
Actually the 120PSI seemed to work against me as I suffered my first puncure for months on Sunday. I have very little faith in Doctors when it comes to sport injuries, especially when one sent me home from ER last year after telling me my arm was fine, even though it was broke in 3 places

 

[Fab Foodie]

Hi
Some good stuff above. I tend to get lower back pain because:

I'm sat back on my saddle
I push bigger gears at a low cadence than most and drive myself along with my lower back muscles
I also use them for climbing when sat
I don't stretch enough
I don't do any core excercises
I'm 48 and a fat bastard

So....

Maybe move the saddle forward a tiny tiny smidge and possibly raise it a tad
Spin a lower gear rather than grind
Spin when climbing
Stretch
Do core excercises to strengthen the ole 6 pack ( top pull ypu back into shape).

Note to self: Must follow my own advice ....

 

[Fiona N]

...
I also use them for climbing when sat
...

Nowadays, this is what gets my back - steep climbs when I don't have the strength to climb out of the saddle and my gearing (and weight ) means I have to really push on the pedals rather than spinning.

This was the difference between last week's 200km in Carmarthenshire - all short steep climbs - which give me severe back pains whereas this week's 300km of long slow climbs gave me no problems at all as I could spin up most things without too much stress.

 

[bigjim]

Thanks all.
Just in from a 25mile ride after I lowered the saddle more than I normally would. No small of back pain when I got in though I do have a bit of upper back pain but I have that on a long walk as well so can't blame the bike. I think that seems to be a general activity thing. Sometimes think it is much easier to be a bone idle git. LOL. During the ride I got out of the saddle a lot and spent more time spinning in smaller gears so something is working which is a relief. I'm definately thinking of either Yoga or Pilates as my gym runs free classes. Unsure which is the best though. On the core strength, I always include a good set of squats at the gym in an attempt to keep core strength up as well as a decent bench press etc workout.