Serious back/rump problems

[lonerider]

I have just about had enough pain to last a life time. Two weeks ago went for a short cold weather ride and enjoyed it much, however two days later my back and rump have been giving me serious pain to the point of hardly able to stand, and sitting is absolute torture once I get up.

After some research I have isolated the muscle group giving me the problem. Glluteus Medius seems to be the one. Have been stretching it which helps considerably, plus doing the same yoga and pilates that have been keeping my back strong for 20+ years after injuring it while racing.

Anyone out there have some ideas for me? If this can't be resolved I don't see how my riding can continue. Really am desperate! Canceled plans to build a new frame until this can be cleared up. Help!

[windrath]

Lonerider -

Alot of back and rump issues also stem from overly tight hamstrings.  If you have not included hamstring stretching in your daily routine, I think you will find it helps in all aspects of riding.

Good luck!

[John Nelson]

If you have recently begun riding or increased your mileage, there's a pretty good chance this will resolve itself. Most new riders experience these pains for the first few weeks or months.

In addition to stretching, strengthing your core can also help ease the transition. The other important thing to do is to visit a bike shop and have them make sure your bike fits you. They will likely charge for this service, but it's worth it.

If the problem persists, visit a sports medicine clinic in your area for help.

[lonerider]

This problem first occurred this past spring and has flared up again on the snow ride. I typically ride 2-4k per year and have done so for several decades. I ride a custom built frame that is 8 years old with about 20k miles on it. It is the only bike that does not give me serious back pain. All the off the shelf bikes I own give me problems with back strain. The rump muscle problem is new and I do not know how to deal with it. Seriously thinking that my days on the bike are coming to a close. Perhaps I have ridden all the miles I am allowed to ride in my life time. Will seek out a sports med guy, did not think of it before.

[bogiesan]

Recumbent. Problems solved. Great fun, entirely new riding experience for you.

After you find a sports medicine specialist who understands bicycling as well as he or she understands football, you want a referral for a bike-aware physical therapist. My guy is a tri and bike racer who kids me about my recumbents but cannot ignore I put about twice the miles on my 'bent as many of his other biking clients.

Just guessing: you are going to be prescribed a thrice-daily stretching and motion-improvement routine for the next 30 to 90 days. Then you will be expected to do the sets at least once a day for the rest of your life. Assuming you have no serious injuries or underlying musco-skeletal issues, you will be back on your bike--and probably enjoying it much more--in a few months. But it's serious work.

david boise ID

[lonerider]

Oddly enough, bents give me a lot a back pain and I cannot ride them. Only one that I test rode years ago worked well and that was a Longbikes. Below seat steering seems to be better on my body than above seat, and the mesh backs do not offer enough support to my lower lumbar region to work well for my body.

Just to update you all, I started doing the exercises last night, same ones used over 20 years ago to rehab my lower back from injury when racing and it seems to be working on such short notice. Bogiesan you are likely correct in the prescribed routine as I have done 4 sets of the exercises plus walking routine in the past 18 hours. Am feeling better now, but in no way cured. This will be a long rehab cycle and I get discouraged easily when unable to ride. No endorphin high to keep me happy.

Bugger is the problem with sitting. Can't do it for long, maybe 20 minutes, and then it is bothersome. When it comes time to stand it is real painful. Gotta take a 4 hour flight to California in the next 2 weeks, hope I can get better soon!

[FeetFirstFella]

Lonerider, have you tried the recumbent euro-style seats, such as M5, Bacchetta's Euromesh, or RANS Hoagie?  Much better lumbar support, and the stiffness you are looking for is there.  I ride a Euromesh on two of my bikes and love them.  Just a thought....

[lonerider]

Will give a bent another shot come spring if I can get this sitting down problem resolved. Cruisers seem to be the least offensive for me, can one tour on a cruiser?

[reed523]

I know three people that tour on Crank forward bikes and they seem to do fine.  SLOW but fine.  Good luck in your search.

[driftlessregion]

I second the suggestion of getting a professional bike fit. Best $100 you'll spend on your bike-if you go to a pro.

[litespeed]

Here is an exercise (crunches) you might try: Lie on your back on the floor and lift your knees so that your legs and floor form an equilateral triangle. Put your hands behind your head. Slowly bend up and touch your right elbow to your left knee. Slowly back down then left elbow to right knee. Do it at a normal breathing pace, inhaling while rising and exhaling while descending. It's tougher than it sounds but you should be up to 100 within three days or so. I used to do 100 of these crunches every morning and it totally eliminated the backaches that have plagued me all my life.

[lonerider]

Litespeed, thanks for the tip on crunches.

Driftessregion, professional fittings in my neck of the woods are $200 and seem to be a bargain at that. Takes at least 3 hours and then set up of the bike after. Very involved, and I had one done when I built the custom frame I now ride. They use a Serotta Size Cycle, strain guage and a Compu Trainer, plus drafting of a new frame. In addition to all that there is a pre session interview, body flexibility measurements, cleat set up, and saddle tryout. There is no way I would purchase a bike with out a pro fitting.

A few shops in town call their fittings professional, but from what I was shown, they are hardly professional or trained in bio mechanics. Their idea is to take the bike you want and adapt it to your body with adjustable fittings and then sell you a stem to make it work OK. Seems half-assed to me. A complete analysis of rider for physical limitations seems much more logical and would yield more reliable results. Drafting a bike will ensure that the off the shelf bike you select will fall within parameters of the fit. Opposite of selecting a bike and then deciding how to make the body fit.

Guess I am an advocate of pro fittings being done correctly, not cheaply.

Reed523, tried a crank forward and found it completely unacceptable for speed and comfort. I think they are more for individuals that need to be flat footed on the ground when stopped without having to get off the seat. I know guys that tour on bents and boy do they struggle in the hills and mountains!

After all this dialog, the diagnosis from the sports med guy is tendinitis in my hip area (don't know the technical jargon). Resting and stretching are the cure. No cycling, but walking is encouraged. Yes, I have very good insurance which allows me to see a doc when it is needed. No waiting list!

[driftlessregion]

Here we go slightly off topic again, but...
OK, I paid more than $100 last year I admit it.  There are however two ways to get fit professionally. One involves machinery lonerider refers to. The other way is with a professional that understands physiology and has been trained to look at the body on the bike and make the adjustments from experience not just what a machine says. I have no doubt that the operator also watches and uses his/her judgment, don't get me wrong on that. Pros trained by people like Andy Pruitt (http://www.ultracycling.com/equipment/bikefit.html) (http://bch.org/sportsmedicine/default-sports-medicine.aspx) do not need the Serotta. The key here is that your shop may not have either expertise in which case you should look further if you are having physical problems and want the best fit possible. Which is to say, that I agree with lonerider.

[lonerider]

Serious topic drift occurring, but I must comment that I have met Andy, and the fitter I use teaches for BG Fit along side Andy. For my fitter, Dale Phelps, the Serotta Size Cycle is an essential piece of equipment in creating a proper fit, without it gains in performance in relationship to comfort cannot be measured. It is reassuring to see another cyclist understand the importance of fitting when it comes to cycling. It is the one thing that has allowed me to remain in cycling for this long.

Back on topic...thinking about the ailments I have it seems to have started when I got back into mountain biking this past spring after a 20 year break from it. Wonder if the constant on again - off again power cycles have something to do with it.

[paddleboy17]

I think mountain biking is just tough on the body.  Think about it for a minute.  On the road, you can ride so that you stay in an aerobic zone.  I don't think you can do that while riding a mountain bike off road on challenging terraine.  I am now 52, and my mountain biking inclination is pretty cowardly in comparisson to what I used to do.

I too have had professional fittings.  Left out of these discussions is getting a fitting in touch with how you want to ride. 

I bought my mountain bike from a store that catered to racers.  That is how they fitted me to the bike, and in retrospect, the ride position that chose was more agressive than what I really wanted.  I have been able to scale it back some with a shorter stem, but I still have a more agressive ride posture than what I really want.

My touring bike came from a store that had a small touring clientelle.  The guy that fitted me toured, so he did some magic in how he fitted the bike to me.  Some of the fit was accepted biomechanics, and some of the fit was knowing me and what my body will do.