Lower Back Pain

Tight hamstrings are a big problem in men. If they are tight enough to tilt your pelvis backwards, then it requires more flexion in the lumbosacral spine to reach the handlebars. This can cause back pain. Stretch them regularly (it doesn't have to coincide with exercise) and get an experienced friend or LBS to check your bike fit.

doing some abdominal work and hip flexor stretching may also help.

Also, you might wanna use the "advanced" search function, and look for "back" in the titles of the "Cycling Training" section. Should get plenty of hits.

Here I did it for ya 😎

http://www.cyclingforums.com/search.php?searchid=158778

http://www.bikeforums.net/search.php?searchid=819075

artemidorus said:

Tight hamstrings are a big problem in men. If they are tight enough to tilt your pelvis backwards, then it requires more flexion in the lumbosacral spine to reach the handlebars. This can cause back pain. Stretch them regularly (it doesn't have to coincide with exercise) and get an experienced friend or LBS to check your bike fit.

One quick thing to do yourself, is to check your seat height. If your seat is too high it will cause your pelvis to rock side to side as you ride. This can cause a sore lower back. Adjusting by small amounts at a time, ie 5 - 10 mm, is the way to go.

In addition to checking your seat height, the above advice sounds good.

531Aussie said:

http://www.cyclingforums.com/search.php?searchid=158778

http://www.bikeforums.net/search.php?searchid=819075

I shouldn't have posted these URLs because I knew that links to search function results on forums only have a certain shelf life.

As the others have said, tight hamstrings and everything else too maybe. Stretch, Stretch, Stretch before AND after you ride. I have also found that seat too high is a cause of this as well as seat too far forward / stem too long.

Forget all that rubish about KOPS (knee over pedal spindle). You need to be balanced on your seat without feeling like you are falling forward and putting too much weight on your arms and putting your back under tension. Fore/ aft seat position depends on weight distribution ie. people with heavier upper bodies need their seat further back to balance their weight.

Start with a measured seat height (LeMond Method) and get someone to watch you ride and look for hip roll. Sneak your saddle down 5mm at a time untill it stops. When you are flexible enough to put your palms on the floor (not just touch your toes) you will be able to achive max output from pedaling at you optimum seat height. Remember that putting your seat back also effectively slightly raises your seat.

Good Luck Jay.

I support the previous posts that bike sizing and then positioning need to be correct so that the basics are in order then see if back pains subside. The swedish ball is a great tool for ab work and improving flexability, the reverse back arch helps ease muscle ache after a long ride, works for me. Stretch befor and after rides. The stronger the abs the less likely you are to get/ have back pain IMHO. 😄