Lower back pain.

"OzSkier" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I get a very sore lower back when riding up long steepish hills e.g some sections of King Lake
(from St Andrews, Melbourne). It gets to the point where it affects my performance.

I'm thinking of going to the gym and doing work on the lower back.

Anyone have any other suggestions as to what I can do to fix this problem?

--

Nice ride through Wild Dog at the back of St Andrews. I have had back pain in the past and have
worked on the stomach muscles and no longer suffer it. I suspect my stomach was sagging allowing my
back to rock forward at the hip and put pressure on the lower back. I reckon I solved it after
around a month in the Gym.

So the motivation! I first went to a Chiropractor who X-rayed me and said my back was F*^ked and for
around $6,000 and an 18 mths program he thought he could fix it! Oh, but there was no guarantee!

The result...I went to the Gym worked on the stomach, fixed the back and put the 1/2 money to a new
bike. Now I feel really good!

Kevin

I found that by raising my handlebars, all my lower back pain went...

flipped the stem on my Giant TCR2, which raised the stem about 5 cm... no more pain...

one exercise you can do, is to put a cricket ball, in a sock... then lower the sock over your
shoulder, and lift it/raise it about 20-30 times twice a day...

looks stupid, but it strengthens the muscles in the lower back....

"OzSkier" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I get a very sore lower back when riding up long steepish hills e.g some sections of King Lake
(from St Andrews, Melbourne). It gets to the point where it affects my performance.

I'm thinking of going to the gym and doing work on the lower back.

Anyone have any other suggestions as to what I can do to fix this problem?

--

Spend around $20 and purchase a fit-ball. Instead of sitting on the couch to watch tele, sit on the fitball. It stregthens your back in a couple of weeks. Would also pay to raise your handlebars slowly, not the full 5cm at a time. By raising the bars slowly, and working on the fitball your body will quickly come to a great compromise.

Strengthening those abdominals is a great idea. Just remember to work on the opposing muscle groups. ie the back muscles. This is the same as crunchs only the other way around. They're called back extensions and can also be done on a fit ball.

Also consider your saddle position and stem length.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by OzSkier
I get a very sore lower back when riding up long steepish hills e.g some sections of King Lake (from St Andrews, Melbourne). It gets to the point where it affects my performance.

I'm thinking of going to the gym and doing work on the lower back.

Anyone have any other suggestions as to what I can do to fix this problem?

In addition to strengthening opposing muscle groups, you will also want to consider throughly stretching before and after your ride and exercising. (This worked for me). Good Luck!

Thanks for the replies!

Also been looking up other areas of Cycling Forums and have found out that one of the main reasons for lower back pain is the lack of hamstring flexibility.

QUOTE]Originally posted by Benny bum drops
one of the most common problems causing lower back pain in cyclists is inadquate hamstring flexibility. The pelvis is caused to either remain overly upright, increasing back curvature, or the pelvis is forced to rock knackering the lumbar muscles etc.

Personnally I've had an overly stiff lower back for years, and struggle to get a properly low position (I'm a track teampursuiter, 20k racer and kilo rider). My lumber always goes on the right side, i think we've now traced the cause to my left instep having dropped, making everything rock sideways under load. It actually hurt most after 4 hours of riding, or major gym sessions.

Gym and core stability work help massively almost whatever the cause, I'm starting a pilates class next week to see if it helps me do more core stability.

Regards,
ben [/QUOTE]

My I can't touch my toes (by about 4-5 inches when I'm not warmed up), so getting some hamstring stretching done might be a good idea as well.

I raised the bars 5 cm, as the only option I had with the stock Giant stem was to flip it over...

might put in a Christmas wish for a Swiss ball....

"rhino" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Spend around $20 and purchase a fit-ball. Instead of sitting on the couch to watch tele, sit on
the fitball. It stregthens your back in a couple of weeks. Would also pay to raise your handlebars
slowly, not the full 5cm at a time. By raising the bars slowly, and working on the fitball your
body will quickly come to a great compromise.

--

If your handlebars are low, try raising them to somewhere near seat height.

Nick

"OzSkier" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I get a very sore lower back when riding up long steepish hills e.g some sections of King Lake
(from St Andrews, Melbourne). It gets to the point where it affects my performance.

I'm thinking of going to the gym and doing work on the lower back.

Anyone have any other suggestions as to what I can do to fix this problem?