After years of being completley free of LBP I've started to suffer from it again. On my last couple of short rides (~2hrs) the pain kicked in after about half an hour. I've had two days off and here's what I'm going to do .
1. Check my bike set up - it's ok
2. Raise my stem
3. Start stretching
4. Possibly accompany the girlfriend to pilates classes
5. Stick to spinning moderate gears
Any other recommendations?
Lower Back Pain: A Checklist
16 posts
• Page 1 of 2 • 1, 2
Lower Back Pain: A Checklist
by Toks » Thu Sep 20, 2007 7:22 pm
- Toks
- lives on this board 24/7!!!
- Posts: 4107
- Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2003 10:17 pm
- Location: Highbury, North London
by Marek » Thu Sep 20, 2007 7:40 pm
Yep, abdominal exercises coupled with some lower back exercises to strenghten the core.
A good one to try is The Plank. Do three times for 60 seconds every day and this will help to strenghten your core.
'Planks - facing chest down to the floor, balancing on elbows and then raising the hips off the ground and holding that position for a matter of time'
I read somewhere that this was the most effective use of time in relation to what you should do if you want to do one exercise to help improve your strength. This uses a lot of muscles in the body, but is good for the abs and the lower back in my opinion. Try it out for a week and see how you get on. I copied the instruction from a website, but the other thing to try and do is to keep your palms flat to the floor and pull in your stomach (this makes it harder), as if you were trying to fit into a pair of trousers that were too small.
Hope that helps.
cheers
Marek....
A good one to try is The Plank. Do three times for 60 seconds every day and this will help to strenghten your core.
'Planks - facing chest down to the floor, balancing on elbows and then raising the hips off the ground and holding that position for a matter of time'
I read somewhere that this was the most effective use of time in relation to what you should do if you want to do one exercise to help improve your strength. This uses a lot of muscles in the body, but is good for the abs and the lower back in my opinion. Try it out for a week and see how you get on. I copied the instruction from a website, but the other thing to try and do is to keep your palms flat to the floor and pull in your stomach (this makes it harder), as if you were trying to fit into a pair of trousers that were too small.
Hope that helps.
cheers
Marek....
- Marek
- lives on this board 24/7!!!
- Posts: 1969
- Joined: Sat May 03, 2003 4:21 pm
by Toks » Thu Sep 20, 2007 8:07 pm
[quote="Ian Munnery"]Retire mate, you're obviously getting too old.
Thanks Ian best laugh I've had all day. Nearly as funny as the Spurs fan I met who thinks they're gonna get ex chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.
Cheers Marek believe or not I did a few plank exercises a few weeks ago when my bike was getting its MOT!
- Toks
- lives on this board 24/7!!!
- Posts: 4107
- Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2003 10:17 pm
- Location: Highbury, North London
by Andrew G » Thu Sep 20, 2007 8:25 pm
Odd that it has only just started, and so early on in a ride. Have you changed anything at all on your bike? Even pedals could alter "stack" height so the saddle may need adjusting. I'd try the pilates, stretching and exercises for a couple of weeks before playing with the stem on anything else. You may cure the problem or find the solution, and changing your set up could lead to other problems. You then may not know what is fixing what and end up chasing problems.
If you've changed nothing, and even if you have, it may be an idea to get an MOT from the doctor just to play safe. Ask if your surgery has one that knows something about sports or is more specialised in physiology, approach with a winning smile, and say "please look at my body and give me a good once over".
If you've changed nothing, and even if you have, it may be an idea to get an MOT from the doctor just to play safe. Ask if your surgery has one that knows something about sports or is more specialised in physiology, approach with a winning smile, and say "please look at my body and give me a good once over".
- Andrew G
- lives on this board 24/7!!!
- Posts: 10477
- Joined: Tue Oct 04, 2005 6:47 pm
- Location: Selsdon
by Toks » Thu Sep 20, 2007 9:34 pm
[quote="Andrew G"]Odd that it has only just started, and so early on in a ride. Have you changed anything at all on your bike? Even pedals could alter "stack" height so the saddle may need adjusting. I'd try the pilates, stretching and exercises for a couple of weeks before playing with the stem on anything else. You may cure the problem or find the solution, and changing your set up could lead to other problems. You then may not know what is fixing what and end up chasing problems.
Cheers Andrew, I did put on a shorter stem a couple of weeks back because I've stopped proper training till at least Nov. But would that still make a difference negatively speaking?- Toks
- lives on this board 24/7!!!
- Posts: 4107
- Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2003 10:17 pm
- Location: Highbury, North London
by Andrew G » Thu Sep 20, 2007 10:05 pm
[quote="Toks"][quote="Andrew G"]Odd that it has only just started, and so early on in a ride. Have you changed anything at all on your bike? Even pedals could alter "stack" height so the saddle may need adjusting. I'd try the pilates, stretching and exercises for a couple of weeks before playing with the stem on anything else. You may cure the problem or find the solution, and changing your set up could lead to other problems. You then may not know what is fixing what and end up chasing problems.
Cheers Andrew, I did put on a shorter stem a couple of weeks back because I've stopped proper training till at least Nov. But would that still make a difference negatively speaking?By giving you a shorter reach it would alter your position. It could have effectively "rolled" your position back making you slightly more upright and possibly therefore using different muscles in a different way than they are used to.
Why did you switch it if you were happy with your existing position? You shouldn't alter your set up, if you have more than one bike they should all be set up the same. I always try and make sure all bikes have the same (or really, really close) measurement for the following:
1) Saddle height - From bottom bracket (you should have the same size cranks on each bike and assuming the same pedals) to top of saddle where the seatpost would pass through
2) Saddle to steerer - Distance from tip of saddle (along a level line) to above, and in line with, centre of cap on top of the steerer. A couple of long spirit levels are handy for this so you can hold one vertically from the steerer and one from the tip of the saddle. Where they cross take the measurement from the horizontal spirit level or get a mate to use a tape measure.
3) Reach and drop - An easy way to check this is first to make sure your brake/gear hoods are level (another one for the long level
). Then measure from the tip of the saddle to the furthest point on the top of the hood. When checking the distance also make sure both measurements are the same. By doing this you are "creating a triangle" and it makes sure that both levers are positioned the same. i.e. you don't have one angled in/out more than the other.
Take all measurements with the bike held perfectly vertical.
If you do this now you may find some slight anomolies which can be tidied up. When you solve the back problem and have the bike set up correctly make sure you take all the above and keep a safe note of them. Then any time you have to set up a new / different bike, or rebuild yours after a flight, you can get the set up done a lot quicker and know it's how you want it.
- Andrew G
- lives on this board 24/7!!!
- Posts: 10477
- Joined: Tue Oct 04, 2005 6:47 pm
- Location: Selsdon
