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Back Pain

Having just completed the Bude Triathlon - boy its tough! I want some advice...I get real lower back pain on tough bike rides, either lots of hills or long distances, it feels like my back is about to seize up!



Any thoughts or ideas!



Cheers

Comments

  • toadtoad Posts: 104
    Congratulations on doing the Bude Triathalon



    You maybe having some lumbar stability issues , when you are getting tired on the harder bike rides.

    My physio gave me some lower abdominal and core stability exercises specific to cycling , which helped me alot .

    Check your positioning on your bike , make sure towards the end of your rides , that your lower back is not flexing ( looking a bit like a camels hump ) Shop windows are quite a good way of doing this if part of your ride requires you to go through town.

    The exercise that worked best for me , required me to sit on a exercise ball and lean forward with my arms resting on a table ( just like your cycling position ) then I was told to tighten my buttocks and draw in my stomach ( particularly the region below my belly button ) Your back should be straight and you should not be holding your breath . After practising this on my bike and at home on the ball my back pain eased .... also found by drawing in my abdominals whilst on the bike it often takes away the odd pain I still get .

    I do have some scanned pictures of this exercise however cant work out how to paste them into this message.



    Also one of the members in this forum advised www.coloradocyclist.com/fit/ for information on correct bike set up , I had a look at the site and found the info very useful.

    hopefully these things might help.

    Happy training
  • hound doghound dog Posts: 293
    Hi toad, I too get some niggling lower back pain usually on the left hand side. Had a look at the link you posted and am going to check my bike set up when I have the time. Being a taller cyclist 6'4" Im not sure what they mean by picking an even smaller frame. As after I did the sums it put me on a 60cm frame, which I feel would be waay too small. Great bit of info all the same.
  • toadtoad Posts: 104
    hi hound dog



    being over 6 foot you maybe better to calculate your frame length by subtracting 27 cms from your inner thigh length , should give you a more realistic figure . It does mention in the link that a cyclist over 6 foot may find this a more useful formula.

    Glad you found the info useful
  • wheelworxwheelworx Posts: 6
    Lower back pain can often be caused by the bike being too short, try moving your saddle back a bit or fitting a longer stem, especially if the pain is after a hard/hilly ride or race.

    Rob
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