back pain?

[ny biker]

I've had problems with lower back pain. Regular stretching, especially the hamstring muscles, helped a lot.

[blackhillsbiker]

Yoga is doing wonders for my lower back. The cow/cat stretches are helpful before riding.

Deb

[KathiCville]

Yoga and working on your core strength will likely help with your lower back pain.

I've found that doing "pigeon pose" (yoga) and rolling out my IT band on a good foam roller 4x to 5x a week has made a huge difference in keeping my back, hips and legs from getting too tight from cycling. You'll find lots of posts here on TE about the joys of foam rollers.

I had a constant lower backache until I realized how important it was to stretch key muscles regularly. I still get twinges but now I know what to do to help myself. The trick is to do the stretching and the roller consistently, even when you're not feeling aches and pains.

Now I'm focusing on strengthening my way-too-weak core by doing planks and working with a balance ball. (Another subject that has inspired posts aplenty here on the forums.)

BTW, welcome back to cycling!

[alice]

I had some lower back pain when I first started riding after a long time just because my muscles weren't developed for whatever it is that they do while I'm cycling. It went away after a few months.

Also, beer is the best thing to have in your granny basket!

[nscrbug]

As a long-time sufferer of chronic low back pain due to a bilateral pars defect (fracture) that has resulted in one of my vertebra sliding forward off the vertebra below it (spondylolisthesis)...I can sympathize with anyone that deals with back pain, especially while cycling. I know it goes against what all the fitness "experts" out there preach, but I simply MUST stretch extensively BEFORE riding. I do a lot of knees-to-chest moves while still in bed, then I roll over on my tummy and do child pose for a minute or two. Then I do a few more stretches while sitting on the edge of the bed, before actually standing up. From there I'll do a runner's stretch on the floor beside the bed, and if time allows I may throw in a few prone planks. Once I'm done with my stretches, I move to my inversion table, where I invert to various degrees for about 6 minutes. Only then, am I ready to swing a leg over my bike. Even once I am on my bike, it takes me about a good 30 minutes before I actually feel limber enough. Back pain really sucks.