Lower back pain

[tulip]

...i have bought a new bike that seems to fit me ...

Have you had a proper fitting on your bike?

[lisathew8lifter]

um..well...sort of? i have changed the seat height, shortened and raised the stem...and that's it. i know this sounds very foolish, but i really thought that was all there was to it...

[tulip]

If your back is really bothering you and you think that it's related to the bike, then going in for a professional fitting might be just what you need. They can really dial in the perfect measurements.

If it could be from something else, then the bike fitting would be good, but might not solve the problem. Could you actually be hurting your back with the core classes you are taking? I found that in the gym I used to belong to, the core classes were a terrible mishmash of pseudo yoga, Pilates, tai-chi and crunches. The instructors had no clue about any of them and did not correct the students' posture and position. I stopped going to that gym because of it. And it was a well-known national chain gym. Terrible. I know I beat it to death, but Pilates really helps me. But it's really important to go to classes taught by properly-trained instructors.

Have you been to a doctor or chiropractor? I found great relief from a chiropractor for my lower (and upper) back pain. Which brings up something else. My lower back pain had nothing to do with my bike and everything to do with a weak core, poor ergonomics at work, and a whole lot of stress in my life. I had to deal with both the physical and emotional stuff to find good relief. Might not be your case, but that's my experience.

[lisathew8lifter]

Thank you Tulip for taking the time to respond thoroughly. I have had the chiropractor thing in the back of my mind but I haven't brought myself to get there yet. I know that this is ignorance on my part but I am scared to go for fear of the sales type pitches I hear my friends say they get when going there.

I thought it was something to do with my bike because i rode a different bike when we rented them while in Nevada. I now have it in my head that its MY bike that is causing the pain (while biking) and that I need the other bike.

I love to mountain bike but it seems as if the first thing (or really the only thing) to hurt at the end of the first lap of our trail (4.5 miles) is my lower back. This usually happens at the end of the ride and it prevents me from enjoying the ride and it makes me want to stop long before the rest of my body. I guess I was so shocked that I rode a bike for three hours on rougher terrain than i'm used to and I had no back pain. In fact, it didn't even feel like "work" or like exercise. I should say that my current bike is not a full suspension bike and the one I rented was. Could that be it?

pardon my ignorance here on all of this - i'm new to the forum but I have learned a lot just from poking around in the threads!

[Dogmama]

Hi Lisa,

Lots of advice here - we have no shortage of that! Here's mine.

I, too, have a bad lower back due to arthritis changes in the spine. Epidural injections were no help. Chiropractic helped ruin my neck & hastened my trip to the cervical fusion doctor, so I won't do that again. Spine doctor said strengthen the core, take asprin & live with it until you can't stand it, then we'll operate. Not an option for me.

I did two things:

I agree with Tulip about pilates. (1) I took private pilates lessons from a real instructor at a real studio. I learned a LOT about core strengthening. (2) I started to slowly strengthen the surrounding muscles around my spine. In the weight room I did very light squats, deadlifts along with my pilates routine. It was frustrating for awhile, because I had been capable of using a lot more weight but I knew if I pushed it I would regret it. Patience - a virtue (for somebody else!!)

Today, I have pain when I'm pushing gears that are too big for an extended period of time. I have to concentrate on spinning up hills, against the wind, etc. Other than that - I'm pain free. According to my MRI & x-rays, I should be hurting.

Keep us posted!

[lisathew8lifter]

Hi Lisa,

I agree with Tulip about pilates. (1) I took private pilates lessons from a real instructor at a real studio. I learned a LOT about core strengthening. (2) I started to slowly strengthen the surrounding muscles around my spine. In the weight room I did very light squats, deadlifts along with my pilates routine. It was frustrating for awhile, because I had been capable of using a lot more weight but I knew if I pushed it I would regret it. Patience - a virtue (for somebody else!!)

Today, I have pain when I'm pushing gears that are too big for an extended period of time. I have to concentrate on spinning up hills, against the wind, etc. Other than that - I'm pain free. According to my MRI & x-rays, I should be hurting.

Keep us posted!

I used to do squats with 2 45#s on each side. i am 5'5 and at the time weighed about 145. i know all about the frustration of wanting to go heavy and then having someone tell me to just do light weight, etc. I, too, have ZERO patience.

Maybe I just don't know HOW to ride or HOW to use my gears? It does seem like I have problems finding the perfect gear. When we were in Nevada at Red Rock, I was able to use a bunch of different gears because I could tell what was up ahead since the terrain was WIDE open. I live in MN and the trails we go to have a lot of sand, rock gardens, trails between two trees ( i hit one last fall and had a bruise on my azz for two weeks that I never thought would go away) and I think I get very tense and that doesn't help my situation either!

I will have to check on info for hills and gears - I saw the sand one (thank you to whomever posted that!!!) and that was helpful too.