Good Training Tip

what stretches did you find worked best for lower back pain? I will get these pains in the middle of my ride that are so bad that they make me wanna pack up and go home, and it is even worse when i go to bed and get up in the morning....

Hi texws6

There is only one effective stretch for your lower back. First lie flat on your back on a flat surface. Second raise one leg and tuck your knee into your stomach while keeping your other leg as flat to the ground as possible. repeat for the other leg. to finish raise both legs and tuck your knees into your stomach. Reapeat this a couple of times. This stretch is safe and places no undue strain on any part of the body just remember to take it easy.

Also if you are getting cramps in your lower back while on your bike start strengthening your stomach muscles by doing crunches (start slowly and build up).

This stretch does work, but should be done daily along with crunches to help your back "endure" a long ride.

Hope this helps !

Quoted post said:

There is only one effective stretch for your lower back.

if your having cramps in your back it may be because your hamstrings are too tight!! bes thing to do is incorporate some allround body stretching!! you WILL feel better afterwards!!

thanks for the advice guys, i really appreciate it....

I've just (2 days ago) had a sports massage after having LBP on my bike, relieved the symptoms the next day on my bike. My hamstrings were way too tight and their much better now.

I would recomend this option without a doubt.

Thanks guys.

tips for stretching

1.) Never bounce when bending over to stretch your hamstrings
2.) Hold your stretch for at least 20 sec, remember you should only experience mild discomfort
3.) don't neglect to stretch your back !!!

"there is only one effective stretch for your back"
hmmmmm,
then i'll list some "ineffective" stretches for your back

a simple forward bend in great for your back-it helps to think of the muscles that may affect backpain as starting about your knees & going to your mid back
when doing a forward bend (whether standing or sitting) reach w/ the top of your sternum, not your nose-it may not look as deep a stretch to an observer-but you'll feel the difference

what i call a knee down twist-laying on your back raise one knee & place the ball of your foot approx. on the knee of you opposite leg, forming a triangle-with your arms extended to the side (cruciform style) take your raised knee to the floor on it's opposing side (right knee up goes down to left side)-turn your head in the opposite direction of the direction you took your knee-the goal is to have the knee touching the floor & have both shoulders lying flat on the ground, a variation of this is to do the exercise but w/ your leg extendedstraight out to the side, holding the leg at extension by the toe w/ the opposite hand of the leg you're extending

there's more (completely ineffective mind you) exercises one can do for their back-mostly various twists, but always remember to to follow a twist w/ a forward bend as this helps to realign the vertabrae

also strong abs help counter back pain try seeing how long you can hold Boat pose, where you hold your legs off the ground & balance on your sits bones keeping your back straight (but at an angle reachingbackwards) & your arms extended towards your toes forming an upside pyramid of sorts

not that any of this could possibly be effective, but i hope it at
least provides a placebo effect
(all apologies, i just couldn't help being a smartass)

nice bit of sarcasm there taxicab (i had a laugh anyway). Speaking as someone who has suffered from lower back pain I can tell you that that is the only stretch I will ever perform for my back the reast are as you say ineffective. It has worked for me and was advised by both a chiropractor and a physiotherapist. But as with everything you should do your homework first and I only hope to propose a point of view not give advice !!

P.S. at least you brought some humour to this thread it was appreciated !

Good thread. Years ago, a coach had us spend 15 minutes out of a 90 minute workout on stretching. He insisted that the more and harder you train, the more you need to stretch.

Problem is, when the back feels fine, it's easy to ignore this wisdom. I hurt my back in August, and it took several weeks of very easy rides to recover. I'm stretching every day now.

Dan