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?

--

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.

--

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.

--

OzSkier 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?

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

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?