Back Problem

L60N

Hi there,

Last weekend I was on the trails for a few hours. After a short time (30 mins) i developed a prolonged dull ache/pain in my lower back which fatigued me quite a bit, I felt good to go everywhere else (legs etc) but the ache in my back just wore me down.

A bit of history: i used to commute for 1.5 to 2 hours each day in a New fiesta which after a while brought on the very same ache in the very same place, i put up with it for 3 months until I started to dread the drive to work. Also i used to feel like it was causing me to lose a good nights sleep. I eventually changed the fiesta for a top of the range Mondeo ST with big plush seats. The subsided almost immediatley and has been gone ever since. Happy days you would have thought, that was until this weekend when it came back after the trails.

Even more history: I went to the doctors about the pain whilst i had the fiesta, He discovered a lump in my lower back and i had it xrayed, he told me It was benign (not sure of spelling) and that i could have it removed but it may return OR i could leave it and put up with it flairing up once in a while. I opted for the latter. He did say the commute wouldnt help it and was probably the cause of the flair up.

My question is, what is causing it to flair up when im on the trails? The lump hasnt returned but I got the very same uncomforatble pain. Not nice at all, i takes the fun out of what i love doing very much

Any advice much appreciated

L60N

jobless

It could be:

Body position - Too stretched?
Running too big a gear when riding?
Saddle too high?
Carrying a heavy bag?
Too much boing on the full suss
Too little boing on the HT
Suspension seat post?

I used to have similar problems
Changed the car
Changed all bikes (Steel HT, Steel road bike)
Worked on the my body position
Changed the gearing I used.
Problem solved.

Without knowing anymore about your bike(s) I cannot help any further.

BUT it could always be the original problem. I had a herniated disc and that took years to go as I wanted to avoid surgery. But careful consideration to the above cured the poblems I was having and allowed me to carry on.

I have to be carefull about stretching before and after too.

hope that helps

L60N

Body position - Too stretched - I wouldnt have thought so
Running too big a gear when riding - Possible
Saddle - Medium to low for my height (see my signature)
Carrying a heavy bag - Only a tiny camelbak
Too much boing on the full suss - Set to propedal (minimal bounce)
Too little boing on the HT - NA
Suspension seat post - NA

Still at a loss, I suppose im going to have to fiddle and see if i can minimise the impact :roll:

Anonymous

erm, why would too much boing bring about back problems?

mbukfan

changes the bike angles so can shift your weight in odd ways (I think the most change you get is under breaking). I'm not sure if your back would suffer from that but other bits can

Anonymous

I still don't get it, your body position shouldn't actually have to change, I mean, the contact points, handlebars, sadle, and pedals stay in the same place, relative to one another, on a full suss (unless, god forbid, it's a URT design)

If you need full sus, your weight is going to be shifting around much more just from the effects of riding off road than from suspension movement, surely?

Panhandling Prince

Age?

It is affecting me, I tell you that for sure....

andyturner28

I used to get the same pain as you, which i cured by swapping my 90mm stem for a 40mm. Bit drastic i know, but i have now got used to the realy fast steering and stopped wondering up steep hills, and no more back pain. I also have a wee back condition too where i get muscle spasms(sp) around several vertabre in my lower back (T3-T5 i think) caused by them not separate properly, but it sounds very similar to your problem.

HTH,

Andy.