back pain

mcdye said:

after about 45min. my lower back starts burning. been to the chiropractor ect. bike fits right. any suggestions??

How much weight training if any do you do? Strenthening your core muscles(abdominals) would help you out alot. Along with strenthening your back muscles.

mcdye said:

after about 45min. my lower back starts burning. been to the chiropractor ect. bike fits right. any suggestions??

How tight are your hamstrings? Maybe that's an indication you need to stretch them more regularly. If you have tight hamstrings, they will tend to try to straighten the small curve just above the base of your spine.

I was having trouble last year, actually mostly my legs tightening up, and then I discovered my seat was not adjusted properly from back to front. After I corrected this, my leg tightening problems vanished.

Take a piece of string with a weight attached to one end (a plumb bob is ideal). Put your foot into the pedal, and make the crank arm parallel to the ground in its forward most position. You will probably want to be next to a wall to avoid falling down. Then put the free end of the string against the front of your knee, and see where the weighted end goes. It should intersect the pedal right in the middle of the pedal swivel (or whatever they call the shaft in the middle of the pedal). If it's not doing that, then adjust the seat until it does. The other side should do the same when the seat is adjusted properly. Check that as a double check on your setting to make sure.

Now see if you still get that back pain. I bet your seat is set too far back toward the back wheel now. This will bring your hamstrings too much into play and make them tighten up from overuse. Then they will begin to have that low back action that I was talking about above. They won't be overworked if the seat is set correctly. Also, you shouldn't be making an effort to pull up on the back leg. It should be an unweighting action only, not a pulling action.

Try this and see what happens. If the seat is set properly already, I guess you'll have to consider other possibilities.

gntlmn said:

How tight are your hamstrings? Maybe that's an indication you need to stretch them more regularly. If you have tight hamstrings, they will tend to try to straighten the small curve just above the base of your spine.

I was having trouble last year, actually mostly my legs tightening up, and then I discovered my seat was not adjusted properly from back to front. After I corrected this, my leg tightening problems vanished.

Take a piece of string with a weight attached to one end (a plumb bob is ideal). Put your foot into the pedal, and make the crank arm parallel to the ground in its forward most position. You will probably want to be next to a wall to avoid falling down. Then put the free end of the string against the front of your knee, and see where the weighted end goes. It should intersect the pedal right in the middle of the pedal swivel (or whatever they call the shaft in the middle of the pedal). If it's not doing that, then adjust the seat until it does. The other side should do the same when the seat is adjusted properly. Check that as a double check on your setting to make sure.

Now see if you still get that back pain. I bet your seat is set too far back toward the back wheel now. This will bring your hamstrings too much into play and make them tighten up from overuse. Then they will begin to have that low back action that I was talking about above. They won't be overworked if the seat is set correctly. Also, you shouldn't be making an effort to pull up on the back leg. It should be an unweighting action only, not a pulling action.

Try this and see what happens. If the seat is set properly already, I guess you'll have to consider other possibilities.

Yes, stretching is something we all should do alot more of!
And if your hamstrings are tight as mentioned, this also could be an issue.

gotendurance said:

How much weight training if any do you do? Strenthening your core muscles(abdominals) would help you out alot. Along with strenthening your back muscles.

I train 2 times a week, just sterted more abs and back. Back burns chiro,. thinks it may be artrithits

I've had back pain that goes on and off. It was suggested one cause may be riding, sweating and then getting cold air around the pores.
Another cause can be too much time spent in the drops. Try cycling with your hands on the upper bars and try climbing with your fingers wrapped round the shifter hoods.
Follow the other tips that have been offered apart from my own.
If it's any comfort I've had pain just about everywhere, neck, shoulder, lower back and wrists. The pains come and go but in my case it's probably not being used to riding long periods and damp air mixed with sweat.

mcdye said:

after about 45min. my lower back starts burning. been to the chiropractor ect. bike fits right. any suggestions??

I used to have the same problem, about every hour I would have to get off the bike and stretch my back. I joined a gym and now have built up my stomache and back muscles to the point where I can ride for many hours without a problem. I can ride centuries now without any back pain.

It took me about a year to be able to build up to this, but every time I go to the gym the first thing I do is 4 sets of 25 leg lifts on a flat ab bench followed by 4 sets of 25 reps on a crunch bench followed by 4 sets of 25 back extensions. I then go do a spinning class. I usually do this at least 2 times a week, but 3-4 is better. Don't try to do too much too fast or you'll hurt yourself or get discouraged. It takes time to build up your core muscles, but you have to stay dedicated to it. For me it has been very well worth it as I'm 41 now and have been back pain free for the last couple of years.

I also 2nd or 3rd the hamstring stretching. That helps a lot too. If you need to lose some pounds then doing so will also help. One thing that helped ease the pain for me was a particular stretch for the ITB around the hip area. Lying on your back spread your arms out either side. Lift one leg up straight over your head like your doing a leg lift so you have a 90 degree bend with your back and leg. Now while keeping your arms, shoulders and upper back planted on the ground, take the leg which is pointing to the sky and without bending it or changing the angle between it and your back, roll it over to the side towards the other leg. Try to roll it all the way to the ground so it is parallel with the ground. This will rotate your lower back and hips and stretch the itb around your hip. Swap legs and repeat.

I had back pain at the beggining of the year then after a few weeks it started to go away.