Quote Originally Posted by OakLeaf View Post
Itself, I know you mentioned a recumbent when I first got hurt, but I really can't understand how that wouldn't aggravate back issues. I can't climb in the saddle at all because of the torque at L3-4. Once you can extend your hip joint farther (as I can when I stand to climb), you can let the leg muscles do the work, not your back. Sitting, just sitting without torquing the low back, is really hard on the back. Most people I know with back issues need to sit more upright on their bikes (at least temporarily) - not more bent at the hip.

Zoom-zoom, I feel for you... as I mentioned in Catrin's thread, motor point acupuncture and Sutherland's osteopathic techniques seem like they're starting to do me some good, which months of physical therapy and chiropractic and massage really did nothing. Something to look into. I think core work is safe as long as you do mobility and not just strengthening - that's been the case for me - strengthening alone can be problematic, and of course some of the stretches can aggravate pinched nerves, so it's all a balancing act...

Good luck. Hope you find a solution.
I am certain too much sitting has contributed to my own issues...perhaps is the primary issue. That and my goofy anterior-rotated pelvis. And lack of core work. Then the effort and stress of cyclocross. I'm not sure I could have happened upon a worse combination of back-killing factors than I have.

I'm going to call the doctor if taking it easy for a few days doesn't yield noticeable improvement. Replacing our mattress may be worth a try, too, since it's about the age when it's recommended they be replaced and it was never an ideal bed for us, in the first place (too firm when newer--it was a guest bed at my DH's grandparents' place) so we have a 2" memory foam topper on it. In nearly 16 years of marriage and >19 years of sleeping in the same bed we've never had a NEW mattress suited specifically for us. We could get away with that when we were younger and inactive, but we're both ~40 and determined to wear out our bodies in the years we have left on the planet.