To ride or not to ride ...

[Sparrow]

... that is the question facing me tonight. Whether to ride the 8 miles to work in the morning or give it another day of rest. I could use some advice from those more experienced than I.

Here's the story: I'm currently disgustingly overweight and have a bad (disintigrating (almost gone)) disc in my lower back, right at the base of my spine. I bought a bike last summer and started riding 'cause it's one of the few exercises that my back will tolerate. I made some great strides in overall fitness last year but then quit riding over the winter (bought a house, was going to school and working, you know the story), then picked it up again this spring. I've really been pushing myself the last few weeks and enjoying seeing the improvements in my body and fitness level.

This last Sunday I suspect I pushed it too hard. Rode 33 miles (longest yet, yayyy!) and didn't start really flagging until the final 5, 'though we did take it pretty slow and easy all the way. Woke up Monday with a stiff, painful neck and shoulder but the rest of me felt in pretty good shape so I figured I'd ride to work this morning. Woke up this morning and my lower back was tied in a knot, the worst it's been in a long time. I could hardly walk. It's still feeling pretty fragile tonight, but dammit I wanna ride! It's starting to get fun! *whiiiiiiine*

The question (obviously) is: Do I need to take another day off, or would y'all just suck it up and go tomorrow?

[cathleen]

Congrats on surviving 33 miles!

After pushing yourself on a killer ride, and ending up really sore and stiff, I recommend to you what I do myself:

1: give yourself a 24 to 48-hour moratorium on riding.
2: get some anti-inflammatories on board, i.e. Ibuprofin, Naprosyn
3: enjoy some long warm showers to sooth a sore body - beg your hubby/boyfriend/man servant for a massage if you can!
4: swollen parts get ice packs, if needed
5: water nourishing food and an extra hour of sleep can only help your body
6: gentle stretching

After a day or two, for your body to heal you'll probably be OK to start getting back into shorter rides and working back up to that 33 miles and beyond. Hurting yourself again and again could really take the newfound fun out of riding and that would be the biggest shame of all, don't you think?

Good luck!

P.S. I assume, with your back problems, that you have discussed your exercising and bicycling with your physician?

[bounceswoosh]

I would say, rest some. Also, maybe take your bike to a bike shop -- your back, neck, and shoulder pain could be indicative of fit issues. It's amazing what swapping out a stem, seatpost, etc can do for fit.

[Sparrow]

Thanks for the input guys! I got up this morning and my body informed me that, while it was feeling better, another day of rest is in order. I'm sitting here trying to convince myself that three days off isn't gonna set me back ... I'm just too impatient! *laugh*

I did see a doctor, Cathleen, last summer before I bought the first bike (they're like potato chips, I've decided ... can't have just one ). He heartily endorsed it and gave me some muscle relaxers to keep in the cupboard for emergencies. I probably should have taken one yesterday but I try to avoid them as they put me out of commission for a good 24 hours. I've been sucking down ibuprofin like candy and just taking it slow and easy, gently stretching the muscles out every hour or so. I'm not really in trouble until the muscles down my right leg start twitching, so relatively speaking this is actually an improvement.

I wish we had a decent bike shop here to take it to, bounceswoosh. At some point this summer I'm gonna take a day off and haul the bike to Spokane for a real fitting. I swapped out the stem, seatpost, handlebars and saddle (several saddles until I settled on this one) and have been slowly adjusting the fit. I've only had the neck and shoulder pain once before and it seems to be when I get really tired and my upper body starts sagging over the bars.

The back pain is primarily weak supporting muscles that I mistakenly protected for years thinking that all pain was bad and not realizing that I was actually damaging them by being overprotective. Their job is to protect that disc but they can't do that when they're weak. They're slowly getting stronger and I've been able to do things this year on the bike that would have put me in bed on drugs for three days last year. The disc itself will be replaced as soon as disc replacement is approved in the US (I refuse to consider disc removal and vertebrae fusing, which is the traditional method for dealing with this problem here) and strong lower back muscles are the difference in recovery time for that surgery. (Buring the weight off can't hurt either )

I'm just too impatient ... want it all now, that's my problem! *laugh*

[maryellen]

I too suffer from low back problems--here's what has helped me:

1. stretch at every break during a ride
2. ice any sore body part when you get home from your ride

After my first group ride of 32 miles I thought I would die. Now I'll get a bit sore after 65 miles, but I feel fine the next day. Try it! Good luck.

Maryellen

[Dogmama]

Watch your cadence. Pushing big gears is murder for your lower back. Spin, spin spin. Get off your bike every so often & stretch your back.

When you get back on the bike, you need to start slowly. Do 10 miles at an easy, spinning pace. Rest one day. Do another 10 miles. Assess how you feel. There's no point in hurting yourself badly & being out of commission for a week.

Re: upper back & neck pain. I get that on longer rides too. Try painting the alphabet with your nose while you're riding. It gets your neck moving in lots of different ways.

Here is a nice stretch, if your back will allow it.

Sit on the floor & put the soles of your feet together. Your legs will be forming a diamond shape. Let your knees drift down towards the floor, but don't push them. This will open up your hips. Next, slowly lean forward. You'll feel this wonderful stretch in your back. If you curl forward (as if leaning over a beach ball) you'll get a nice stretch in your upper back. Let your neck hang.

I'm not a doctor & know nothing about disks, so if your doc told you not to do this, don't! I just know it feels wonderful...

[snapdragen]

Another good stretch for the lower back are hamstring stretches. I've found if my hamstrings are tight (can be common in bike riders) my lower back gets really sore. If your doc ok's it, this might help too.

[Sparrow]

Wheeeeee!

That's what my brain was doing all the way to work this morning. Looks like that was just about the right amount of time off. I started out determined to just take my time and pootle along ... pootle, pootle, pootle ... next thing I know I'm bombing down the road with a big-arse grin on my face. Took three whole minutes off my best time for that route today, even with a side-trip to the espresso stand! I guess it's true what they say ... what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, no?

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I need to get better about remembering to stretch, definitely. My current doctor's into anything that involves me moving as long as it is low impact so stretching is a good idea.

[ausgirl]

Sparrow, if you can, go see a physiotherapist and take any medical information (x-rays etc) about your back with you. A physio generally knows more about this sort of thing than doctors and will be able to advise you of specific stretches and exercises to strengthen your back and prevent pain while you wait for disc replacement to be a possibility. If the physio knows about cycling, even better. To find someone good, ask the guys at the bike shop for the name of someone who is popular with the local cycling community. You want to be able to ride without this pain resulting or else you won't enjoy it.

Good luck!

[Sparrow]

Thanks, ausgirl!

I've been seeing an orthopedic surgeon here locally along with my GP and was in and out of phys-therapy for about a year. I reckon this pain is my fault entirely, pure and simple -- I was overprotective of my back instead of strengthening the muscles and now I'm paying with weak muscles that haven't been asked to do anything strenuous for a long time. This episode showed a massive improvement over even just a few months ago and I didn't have to resort to narcotics to get through it (let's not mention that glass of wine ) ... it was just overstressed and underdeveloped muscles that needed time to heal and proved themselves stronger for it today. My biggest concern this week was that, in wanting to take another day of rest, maybe I was being too overcautious.

I knew going into this that there would be a price to pay in order for me to get where I want to go. I'm willing to pay that price because the stronger I get the more fun this is!

[cyclingnewbie]

Congratulations on the 33-mile ride! Those milestones are a thrill. I remember the first time I rode twenty miles, I called everyone I knew, like I had won the Tour or something!!

I have found that, after a particularly long or hard ride, I'm usually really tired for a day or two, and sometimes sore. I usually take the next day off and, if I'm still feeling bad in some way, I just take a leisurely ride around my neighborhood for a day or two before I hit the trails for a workout again. That works better for me than staying off the bike altogether. I feel better about doing something, rather than just sitting, but it isn't enough to aggrevate anything. Listen to what your body is telling you. It will let you know if you need a complete rest for a few days or can move about a bit until it has recovered. Then go for 35 miles!!