I am sorry to hear you had all this trouble. I am on my second IUD - thankfully with no problems. I have not heard of the extensive pain syndrome you are talking about occurring with and IUD. Have you had another recent pelvic exam or ultrasound to make sure there are no other concerns. The other thing I would suggest is seeing a physical therapist. Not that you want one more medical provider, but PT's are experts in musculoskeletal pain. It might help rebalance your body to be able to go hard again!

Good luck and take care!

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Don't Just Live, Thrive!
Thrive Kinematics Physical Therapy - http://www.facebook.com/...8178667572974?ref=hl

I agree with tridana. Get in to see a gyno and be aggressive about getting checked out with an ultrasound or scan. Something clearly is wrong and it might be fixable.

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

While it's possible, even likely, you have some internal damage from the IUD, I doubt it's the cause of the low back and psoas pain. That's more likely related to weak glutes after years and years of moving forward but not laterally.

Strengthen your gluteus medius muscles and see if that helps. This is my hip routine. I also suffer from psoas pain.

Clamshell
Lay on your side with your knees bent – the angle between your abdomen and your hips should be about 135 degrees. Keeping your heels together, use your glutes to lift the top knee (like a shell opening). I do sets of 20. You may have to fool around with the abdomen/hip angle to feel the right muscle but it will make your glutes burn. Note – though heels are together, your top foot will rotate up as well.
When this gets too easy, tie a resistance band around your thighs just above your knees.

A similar exercise here is the abduction machine at the gym – the one on which you sit and spread your legs.

Hip Hikes
Stand sideways on a stair or chair on one foot. The other foot needs to hang over the edge. You will move your pelvis up and down as if you were bellydancing. The glute of the leg ON the stair does the work as the pelvis rotates up/down. Again sets of 20, working up to 100 on each side.

Bridges
Lay on your back with your heels up against your butt (knees up). Contract the glutes to raise the pelvis. Arms can be along your side or out at 90*. To make it harder, hands can be “streamlined” behind the head or perpendicular to the floor.
Next challenge: single leg bridges. The foot is using the HEEL only as otherwise you’ll push too much with your calves.

Weird wall thing
This one is hard to explain. You need a rolled up towel or medicine ball or kickball (something that size to put between your legs).
Lay with your knees up, feet on the wall, butt pretty close to the wall. Plant feet on the wall; raise hips. Remember you have a rolled up towel between your thighs. Using one glute, rotate the pelvis up slightly – it’s a slight motion – so the foot on that side slides up the wall a tiny bit.
Next challenge is to lift the foot slightly off the wall rather than sliding it.
Keep squeezing the towel between your legs as you do this.

Dynamic exercises
These are all lateral movement. We spend so much time moving forward that sideways = good sometimes! You can
Walk sideways, grapevine ( leg crosses over in back, then front), increase speed of grapevine, do squats as you walk sideways (step, squat, step back up, repeat).
Tie a resistance band around your ankles (“monster walk.”). Take a diagonal step backward, squatting a bit so you’re low to the ground. Continue to step backward diagonally. I think stepping backward is harder than going forward. You can do it forward too.

Donkey Kicks
This one is a “hip extension” like the machine at the gym but done w/o machine. You can add ankle weights if it becomes too easy. Get on all fours. Lift one leg up behind you keeping the knee bent.
To make it more challenging: “Fire Hydrants.” Lift the leg to the side (abduction) like a dog peeing on a fire hydrant.
Combination of the two: with leg in fire hydrant position, straighten it back before returning it to the ground.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Thanks for the responses. I haven't seen a doctor yet, mostly because before I get to that point I want some idea of what might be the issue. My experience with doctors is that unless you show up in their office with something more precise "I have lower back pain", they wave you away with a prescription for an anti-inflammatory and stupid advice like "Don't bike anymore." I've done the slow burn in more than one appointment when a doctor decides to spend the whole time lecturing me about how bad marathons are on the human body.

Tigerchik - thanks for the exercises.I've never heard of anything like these and I'll definitely be trying them out. I've always thought that yoga cured everything, but that's all stretching and not a lot of strengthening.

I have had the Paraguard IUD for almost 4 years and have had the same symptoms. The back pain started out mild about 2 years ago and has become unbearable the last several months. My doctor denies that it has anything to do with the IUD, but I'm convinced it has everything to do with it. I have felt that I am suffering from chronic inflammation throughout my body. It began in my hands and fingers. I thought this was due to my increased volume on the bike. I also bought a new bike and thought maybe it was the shifters. I then started having trouble with my shoulders and knees, and finally my back and lower back. The pain is now so severe that I can't stand for long periods of time. I don't have pain while on the bike, but after a hard ride or a lot of climbing I really suffer. But like you, I am unwilling to give up riding. I am scheduled to have my removed this Monday. Did you have yours removed and did it help?

Yes, I had it removed, and it made all the difference in the world. Within 24 hours the headache and sluggishness I had had for at least a year was gone. The back pain left within a week or two and since then I've been able to stay on the aerobars as I used to. Some inflammation had done permanent damage, but I had had the IUD for years. The doctor said it was common for women on their second or third IUD to experience this sort of reaction to it, even if the first had gone well, but he said he had no explanation for that.

I'm just glad to be back riding! Good luck!

I have had the same thing. I got the IUD put in March of 2008. It has been in for four year. The first year it wasnt painful. On year two I recieved many cists and stomach pains. The last year I have had unexplainable back pain and cramps. About a month ago I began getting unbearable lower back pain. It takes me a long time to stand up because im in so much pain. Some days it feels ok and others I am unable to move. I have told the doctors and have gotten xrays, ultrasounds, and catscans. It pain I cant explain and much worse than pulling your back out. I am planning on getting my IUD removed this week due to the research and large amounts of information I have found online about IUDs and back pain. Thanks everyone for posting about this it may bring me answers to my pain I cant figure out.