Bicycling and back pain..any advice???

mindyjo74

Im getting ready to do a long ride (168 miles) this summer and want to avoid the usual back pain i was getting while training last summer. Im getting ready to start training for this ride in about a week and need some advice... A good friend told me to try and keep repositioning while riding. I tried that and it helped a little. Anybody else have any other suggestions?

mkeller234

How long or how many miles does it usually take you to feel back pain? Have you experimented with stem height and length? What sort of bars do you use? There are lots of great options with multiple hand positions. I like drop bars, but the butterfly trekking bars look interesting too. Tall stems look a little nerdy, but my back and shoulders seem to like them better.

168 miles is one loooooong ride. I don't know if you can eliminate all discomfort, but obviously worth the effort.

jetsboy68

Get into the routine of stretching your hamstrings actively ... as you probably know many of the muscles are linked together in one way or another ... Having greater flexibility in the hamstrings and hip flexors has helped to alleviate some of my lower back pain,

Hope that helps

Cyclink

Depending on how fit you are, it could be a flexibility or core strength issue. That's not the most common cause, though.

Most problems like that stem from a problem with the fit of your bike. It could be a simple adjustment of the seat or stem or it might require a replacement part.

All the flexibility, repositioning, and strength in the world won't overcome a problem with the bike fit.

Roughly $75 on a bike fit will save you ten times that in chiropractor bills later.

cloggsy71

Depending on how fit you are, it could be a flexibility or core strength issue. That's not the most common cause, though.

Most problems like that stem from a problem with the fit of your bike. It could be a simple adjustment of the seat or stem or it might require a replacement part.

All the flexibility, repositioning, and strength in the world won't overcome a problem with the bike fit.

Roughly $75 on a bike fit will save you ten times that in chiropractor bills later.

+1

Go to a good local bike shop and ask them for a 'bike fitting'.

Yogi_Carl

Go to a good local bike shop and ask them for a 'bike fitting'.

Agreed; exactly what I was going to say.

julesy_b

Make sure your bike frame is the correct size this is a common problem and can cause back pain etc. A good seat always helps even if its expensive great investment.

TheBigYin

+3 on the bike fit.

It's amazing but tiny tweaks to the postioning of my saddle height (raised +3mm) and rear offset (decreased 4mm), saddle to bar drop (bars dropped 5mm increasing overall drop to +8mm with the saddle movements) and changing my cleat position (+2mm away from my toes keeping the angular location the same) meant that I can now happily ride 100km+ without the slightest twinge, where prior to the tweaking of setup anything over 70km resulted in a stiff lower back/hips towards the end oof the ride, and my walking like Douglas Bader the following day.

And the best bit was, I didn't actually have to buy ANYTHING new for the bike - all the hardware had enough adjustability in there to fix it for me without additional £££'s. Of course, when I'd actually GOT the bike fit data, I then went out and bought a fancy new bike that was built to exactly the same layout which DID cost a shed-load of money (but that's just me being a tart!)

Cyclink

BigYin puts the scale in context.

Every adjustment was less than a centimeter. Added together, tiny adjustments made a huge difference.

Riemersma4

Two things:
* get fitted by a professional. Bike sizing is KEY!!!
* try a recumbent for a while

Good luck

TheBigYin

BigYin puts the scale in context.

Every adjustment was less than a centimeter. Added together, tiny adjustments made a huge difference.

The most amazing one was the cleats... not only did it change me from "heel down" to level, but the nagging knee-pain I'd had for the last 8 years stopped within 3 rides AND improved my power development into the bargain. :smokin:

mindyjo74

Thanks so much for all the advice!! I debated on whether or not to get a "fitting" and thought maybe i would reach out to see if anyone else had any advice otherwise. I guess i didnt realize all the many adjustments that could be made to a bike, wow!! Looks like I will be going to the bike shop for a fitting!!

TheBigYin

Thanks so much for all the advice!! I debated on whether or not to get a "fitting" and thought maybe i would reach out to see if anyone else had any advice otherwise. I guess i didnt realize all the many adjustments that could be made to a bike, wow!! Looks like I will be going to the bike shop for a fitting!!

Well off the top of my head, in addition to the ones I had done... i.e.

Saddle Height
Saddle front/back offset
Handlebar Height relative to saddle
Cleat positioning fore/aft

there are a few other areas that can be addressed

Overall "Reach" from saddle to bars which can be addressed by...
- Frame Size (top tube length)
- Stem Length and angle
- Seatpin Offeset (some are straight others have a rearward offset)

Handlebar choice
- Width of Bar
- Profile of 'bar curvature, shaping (round,'ergo' or compact drop)
- Some bars have a slight rearward sweep to the top
- Material (Alu, Alu/Carbon Wrap/Carbon)

Pedal Crank Length
Pedal Type and "float"
Cleat Positioning
- heel in or out (not necessarily same on each foot!)
- whole foot in/out (sometimes referred to as the Q factor - the overall distance between your feet)
Saddle Make, Type, Shape and Tilt angle...


Plus, there's also the material choices of the components which can affect the whole comfort/feel of the ride, and therefore your perception of how comfortable you are on it.


Quite a lot to consider.

The company I went to used something like this to tweak the different settings



After a session with the fitter chatting about my requirements (if I raced or not, what kind of riding I did, what distances etc.) and a quick going over with a tape measure and a couple of other measuring devices, the name of which escape me for the moment, he looked at my existing bike and set up the machine to copy the existing setup.

I was then wired with a set of "joint markers" and told to pedal for a while on the machine while they captured my riding via video. The "joint markers" then produced a "stick man" view which showed that my left ankle was ok, but my right one was dipping down, and the knee "throwing out to the side" indicating the leg length imbalance (of nearly 25mm) from a prior injury. This meant I could either get the right saddle height for one leg or the other, but probably not both. The challenge was to get the most efficient compromise.

In the end the solution was to "shim up" the cleats on the left leg by a couple of mm, eventually also adding an orthotic to the shoe to raise the heel further still. Effectively "lengthening" the left leg this way needed the saddle to be raised and pushed back a little. The 'bar/saddle drop was pretty much just a result of my losing enough weight to be able to bend down to the bars without my gut getting in the way of my knees, and was in all honesty, just a return to my "old school" cycling fit numbers

Ejwelton

My husband was told to raise the handle bars up higher so you are sitting more upright.