Lower Back Pain on One Side.....

lorrod said:

I did a 47-mile road race yesterday, with some smallish rollers - not big hills/mountains. The first 20 miles felt okay - but after that, I developed a strong pain in my lower back - left side only. Still hurts a day later - ibuprofen didn't help. Not sure what it is - never experienced it before. The other thing I experienced is right foot pain during the last 10 miles of the race. Any ideas on what could be causing this........or solutions to solve the pain?

The best advice you'll ever receive is go to a physio as soon as possible. Nobody on a forum, however qualified, can diagnose a back problem without seeing you. And I speak from experience when I say you can't go soon enough. The longer you leave an injury, the longer it will take to treat and the more damage you potentially do to yourself (as in you'll be off the bike longer).

Speedy recovery.

I'm only a nursing student but it sounds like a kidney stone to me, I hope it isn't because those are horrible. If it still hurts tommorrow I'd go to the doctor, you may have pulled something. Take care of yourself.

It could be alot of things causing it if your bike isn't the right size the handle bars might be to low for you. My ebay bike is a little on the small size for me but still within my range I do exercises that I think are called swings to strengthen my lower back and make my position on the bike more comfortable for me. My Dad got a handlebar riser for sciatica that was causing him pain in his hip flexor. He says he is back in the game now.

I would definetly go see a doctor if the pain lasts more than two days or gets worse. DON'T put it off. I have to manage back pain all the time. I had a spinal fusion almost 30 years ago. For me it's something I have to live with, But if I developed pain in a new area or old pain reaching a new severity I would not hesitate to get it looked at.

If you do get better without treatment, I would take your bike back to your bike shop (with the shoes you wear for biking) and get the "fitting" checked out (seat height, handlebar height and distance between them) so this won't happen again.

RussB