Bicycling and back pain..any advice???

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

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'.

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.

BigYin puts the scale in context.

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

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:

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