MikeT wrote: ↑Wed Jan 19, 2011 10:46 pm
CamW wrote:
I was wondering if anyone might be able to provide some help or advice in relation to my back problems. I realize this is very hard to do over the internet but any help would be greatly appreciated.
Have seen a physio about it and his diagnosis was a weak glute which lead to me recruiting back muscles to compensate. After a multiple months of treatment and exercises there was no noticeable improvement.
Any ideas?
OMG you sound just like me. Mine's on the left side and my back, at belt level and aches like toothache on every ride I've had for decades (48 years).
Just typed out a big reply, but seems to have gotten lost in the ether of the internet. A condensed version is:
Add me to your list of similarly afflicted riders. Been dealing with it since I first started serious racing as a teen. Primarily left side for me.
I've tried a variety of things, no luck with ab work, but I think core stabilizing work like planks and side planks, as well as glute activation work has promise.
Look up a chart of back muscle anatomy. If I, or a massage therapist, dig around in my back the pain seems to be centered on the outer edge of the erector spinae (spinal erectors). I pretty much have full time knotting in those areas, which means that they are very susceptible to getting reinflamed under loads that might be normal and tolerable for someone without this history of muscle dysfunction. Professional massage, or self massage with a lacross ball or tennis ball can be a good way to help release those knots.
As to why the knots happen, I think that it is often due to pelvic rocking on the saddle. If you look at an image of those muscles, if the pelvis rocks to the side, one set of erectors will be stretched, and the other side forshortened. I am of the opinion that people with back pain on a single side of the back are often dropping the hip on the opposite side. That could be due to an excessively high saddle altogether, or it could be due to a "functional" Leg Length Discrepancy. While he is a kind of polarizing figure, Steve Hogg's bike fitting website has a lot of good info on this topic. If you do seem to be dropping a hip, you can shim the cleat on that side to help support that leg and keep from over reaching to that pedal. If you only drop the hip at high intensity, then you also may want to look at arch support, as if your arches are collapsing under high load it can change the dynamic reach of your leg.
If you want to try higher bars, I'm of the opinion that it's a waste and frustrating to mess about with 5mm adjustments that often don't do anything. If you have a serious problem, the go ahead and flip your -17 stem upright (for example) or take a hybrid bike for a ride. If the problem still exists even with insanely high bars, then you know that you needen't put a lot more effort into that direction, but if you experience an improvement, then you can gradually work down towards a "performance" position until the problem re-emerges, then back off a bit.
Lastly, if you are a big gear pusher (id classify that as always under 85rpm) try upping your cadence to 90+. I know that whenever I do a hilly singlespeed ride, or hit the mountains without an adequate cassette, I can feel the tension building in my lower back from having to muscle the gear over. A higher cadence may keep the loads on your back below the point where it reacts by tightening up and going on strike.
Sorry, that's not quite as thorough as the original message, but it will have to do for now.
