Lower back pain after every ride. Anyone else?

[BOTG]

Been doing 2-3 hamstring stretches in a morning and night. And trying to sit more upright on the bike has helped a lot! Still a little stiff after long ride, but soooo much better, Thanks all the advice.

 

[RickBullotta]

Sore back often (usually) equals weak core.

 

[RickBullotta]

I have the same issue at times. I have to stretch like crazy all day, every day. I had back surgery in 2011 when I was 33, for a double microdiscectomy (two ruptured disc in my lower back). I have sciatica pain again but with six herniated disc I know why . Now I just ride for exercise and try not to do anything stupid. A well set up Full suspension bike has helped. But I agree with the doc find a good PT along with hit a local bike shop and talk about the bike set up. Good luck and keep us posted.

After a certain age, everyone has some level of disc herniation. Unfortunately, too many docs are quick to go to surgery when non-surgical approaches are usually the best option. In my case (leg weakness and numbness), the neurosurgeon wanted to do a microdiscectomy, an orthopedic doc wanted to put me on a VAX-D decompression machine for 30 days, and I wasn't too keen on those options. I went to a chiropractor (wait before you judge) who took a standing X-ray and assessed that I had an undiagnosed scoliosis. She then determined that the piriformis muscle on one side was tight/spasming and causing pressure on the sciatic nerve. She showed me a piriformis stretch and within minutes the numbness and weakness had faded. It's now a standard part of my stretching routine.

I guess the point of this is that doctors tend to diagnose whatever makes them $$$.

 

[wagonrd]

No matter how long the ride or the terrain, gentle blast on the canal or gnarly riding in the dales, I always get lower back pain when I get back.
My last ride I couldn't stand up straight, feels like lower back is really aching, I am on a full sus, any ideas?

Not sure what issue could be.

I am 5 ft 11
on a large Haibike all mtn 7 2021 (new)
and only a small backpack with tools.

Any ideas? suggestions?

Lower back pain seems to be a part of the aging process; the vertebrae discs get squeezed and protude into the nerves, particularily the sciatica nerve. For me, surgery partially solved that problem. I have an exercise program and have found that ab crunches can be deadly if performed to excess; I must have a 2 day rest period between exercises for the muscles to recover. Then, too, I work hard at a diet program in order to keep the belly fat off; the discipline to do so occasionally falters and within a few days the jelly roll around my middle increases. So, I'll never return to the days when I had sculptured ab muscles, and the lovely times of redlining my heart beat for long periods are gone forever.

 

[RustyIron]

Also, sometimes tight hip flexors can lead to back pain because they don't allow your pelvis to rotate properly and create an unnatural position for your pelvis and lower spine. Try stretching those out (lunge stretches work well).

Right on, brother. Many people have tight hip flexors. They're tight, so the back muscles have to do overtime to keep you standing upright. Many people suffer from this, especially the elderly, and it's easy to spot if you watch people walk. Several folks in my riding crew use a percussion massager. They are great for thumping all your leg muscles, abdomen, and whatever other bits need attention. This will help with the hip flexors. I have a Tim-Tam, which is good, but friends have Theraguns, which seem nicer.

A while back I figured out that I had some bad anterior pelvic tilt. I do a few exercises, but mostly, being mindful of my posture is what helped. And this helps with back pain. We're complicated machines, and sometimes the problem is not where we think it is.

 

[Doug Stampfer]

I like this guys approach to helping injury less stretching- more muscle strength.
I do the exercise at 4:30 every time I feel tight hip flexors without weights & find immediate relief. He talks fast like an infommercial so you have to listen quickly.

 

[BOTG]

Right on, brother. Many people have tight hip flexors. They're tight, so the back muscles have to do overtime to keep you standing upright. Many people suffer from this, especially the elderly, and it's easy to spot if you watch people walk. Several folks in my riding crew use a percussion massager. They are great for thumping all your leg muscles, abdomen, and whatever other bits need attention. This will help with the hip flexors. I have a Tim-Tam, which is good, but friends have Theraguns, which seem nicer.

A while back I figured out that I had some bad anterior pelvic tilt. I do a few exercises, but mostly, being mindful of my posture is what helped. And this helps with back pain. We're complicated machines, and sometimes the problem is not where we think it is.

How much are those gadgets?

 

[carlbiker]

How much are those gadgets?

you’ll probably also be suffering pelvic tilt and rounded shoulders with weaker chest muscles if you’re office bound (I’ve suffered badly myself!) so Jeffs exercises are some of the best around I tried, it’s just being disciplined to do them consistently, something I struggle with! I bought a standing desk with a flat treadmill under it to keep mobile when working

12 years ago I slipped a disc in my lumber and it’s plagued me every since so if I run I tend to get sciatic shots down to my calves and it can get so bad that they actually get rock hard, I used to still play like this during 5 aside football at a decent level but had to have a long lay off in the end.

I still can’t run like forest gump or run purely for fitness (I need an op which they won’t give me!) but I can say that I built my core strength up and back muscle to a point where the physios would say it’s the best they’ve had in a while but still it didn’t cure my issues, also a scan shows my disc has popped back in but there is still some kind of damage going on so it’s annoying AF and progress has been zero despite massive efforts (5x a week training for months).

To cut a long story short I’ve done all that can be done resistance training wise but there’s way more I could do for muscle tightness which is what I’ll explore next, I did incorporate stretching and stuff into my workouts also and would finish with core each session.

like any sport we should warm up and warm down but many of us don’t….

I think something like this daily would help alot

- warm up
- warm down

maybe one of the better versed guys can pull a pre/post video they can recommend?

 

[RustyIron]

How much are those gadgets?

The Theragun Pro runs six benjamins on Amazon. My friend, who is a lady, and ladies have the two X chromosomes that provides them with superior shopping skills, got hers for half off by waiting for a sale. Don't ask me how to do that. It's a mystery.

There are dozens of Chinese knock-offs, but from what I've read, they're all underpowered and sound like there's a jackhammer tearing up the street in front of your house.

Another thing I use, more than the percussion massager, is the Rollga roller. You can buy Rollga's for yourself and a dozen of your friends, for the price of a single Theragun. The Rollga's shape allows you to increase pressure where you want it. Every morning I start off by rolling my butt on each side, my back, front side of legs, then the outside, then the inside of the legs. I'm sure there are good technical reasons why this is healthy and how it helps riding, but frankly, I do it to make sure my back doesn't hurt. Oh, and when you first get your Rollga, it will probably hurt so bad that you'll want to throw it in the trash. That initial pain is just an indication that you're goofed up and need to fix yourself. Pinkbike Yoga Girl could do it, and she wouldn't cry.

 

[jim0905]

This helped me a bit

 

[KCMitch]

After a certain age, everyone has some level of disc herniation. Unfortunately, too many docs are quick to go to surgery when non-surgical approaches are usually the best option. In my case (leg weakness and numbness), the neurosurgeon wanted to do a microdiscectomy, an orthopedic doc wanted to put me on a VAX-D decompression machine for 30 days, and I wasn't too keen on those options. I went to a chiropractor (wait before you judge) who took a standing X-ray and assessed that I had an undiagnosed scoliosis. She then determined that the piriformis muscle on one side was tight/spasming and causing pressure on the sciatic nerve. She showed me a piriformis stretch and within minutes the numbness and weakness had faded. It's now a standard part of my stretching routine.

I guess the point of this is that doctors tend to diagnose whatever makes them $$$.

Great info and I’ll look it up thanks. My two discs were ruptured and there really wasn’t a different o option. He wanted to fuse 4 vertebrae but I told him he’ll no. I’m too young.

 

[geardoc]

The only thing that worked for me is raising the handlebars high enough so that my spine is no longer in flexion. I use a combination of riser handlebar and upward tilted stem to get the bar about 13 cm higher than the seat.

 

[urastus]

After a certain age, everyone has some level of disc herniation. Unfortunately, too many docs are quick to go to surgery when non-surgical approaches are usually the best option. In my case (leg weakness and numbness), the neurosurgeon wanted to do a microdiscectomy, an orthopedic doc wanted to put me on a VAX-D decompression machine for 30 days, and I wasn't too keen on those options. I went to a chiropractor (wait before you judge) who took a standing X-ray and assessed that I had an undiagnosed scoliosis. She then determined that the piriformis muscle on one side was tight/spasming and causing pressure on the sciatic nerve. She showed me a piriformis stretch and within minutes the numbness and weakness had faded. It's now a standard part of my stretching routine.

I guess the point of this is that doctors tend to diagnose whatever makes them $$$.

So true. I was advised to have vertebrae fused together and then Arthroscopic knee surgery - both over 15 years ago! I still tear my lower back muscles where they attach to the hip girdle now and then, but no vertebrae trouble that I can feel. I stretch lower back, adductors, hamstrings - they're all very tight in the mornings. This allows me to keep my back straight in the attack position, and support it with minimal weight on my hands.