Ya, there is overuse and under-devoloped muscles. Your thoracic spine muscles and core muscles may not be developed enough. PT is a good for tuning in on the right exercises for it. Typically pain is at its worse 48 hours after the occurrence and then slowly subsides... this is typical for any muscle pain. Be warned, if you don't work out the problem by developing the correct muscles... it will work its way to you using your intervertebral discs incorrectly and wear them out faster... leading to other problems.

I used to get this a couple of times a year. Turns out that the cause was tightness in my hip flexors and my hamstrings, all of which were pulling on my hips and throwing my back out of whack (I got the same kind of pain you describe). Diligent stretching of my flexors has gotten rid of the problem completely.

YMMV.

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"Go yell at an M&M"

I am 55 and have had chronic back issues & injury, pelvic tilt problems due to overuse activity of (cycling, hockey, waterskiing, running etc.)

Over the past year I have come up with a hybrid stretch that has really worked some small miracles for me. It's a simple but important variation on similar moves in Yoga or from PT's on Youtube. It targets the quads and hip flexors while effectively hitting the Psoas muscle where it interconnects to the lower lumbar region. I wanted to do a video for it because it has been so good. I worked on everything else (core, hamstrings, etc.) and could manage, but the stretch has taken me to pain free and on the road to fixing the pelvic tilt. I think it's important if you are spending a lot of time on the bike, or have a sore back swimming. for example.

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I work on core quite a bit and I don't have hip flexor issues - even now I can easily bring my knees to my shoulders. There is a just a critical degree of angle where the spasm bites in and just about drops me to my knees. If I stay back of that angle I'm okay, if I lean beyond that angle I'm okay. Unfortunately the angle where the pain rears its ugly head is one that practically every motion I make causes me to pass through. Right now my spine looks like one of those right reverse curve signs on the highway.

Could you please describe the stretch you're talking about? I've been in near-constant pain for 3 weeks now, ever since a swim workout I did with some different kicking drills. By the time I was putting on my shoes after showering, I could barely bend over. I've seen my chiro 4-5 times, applied both heat and ice to the area (lower back, but the pain has since radiated to my hip, in front, and now down to my knee), stretched, took time off from working out, etc. Thanks.

I know this will sound stupid and I'm not patronizing you, but indulge me for a sec.

Are you aware of how you bend over with respect to bending from the waist or bending from the hips? There is a distinct difference. I watch everyone all day at how they move and I'd say 90% of the general population bends at the waist which is not what you want to do. It took $50k, 2 operations and a hand full of PT's until someone corrected me on that....it was a huge culprit of continued bad learned movement patterns.

Just make sure you maintain great posture no matter what plane you move in standing or bending. It ain't easy, but it's essential!

Sounds like a back/nerve issue, not muscular. Yes, it is the muscle that spasms, but it is the nerve to the muscle that may be causing it. Get it checked out. I feel for you, been there way too often.

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Team Zoot So Cal

THIS

I couldn't walk for a week in 2013 because of it, I bent over to put my cycling shoes on and got a spasm in my back and was reduced to laying on the floor for a week. Massage did nothing, STRONG pain meds did nothing, laying on the floor did nothing. Stretching is what fixed it.


Sit on the floor with your back against the wall, lets out in front of you. Put your shoulder blades against the wall so your back is straight and it will stretch your hamstrings.

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ishi no ue ni san nen | Perseverance will win in the end. | Blog | @nebmot | Strava | Instagram |

I actually do exercises that work on bending from the waist and bending from the hips. I am sure poor posture is what caused this (how can you have good posture reaching across to the glove box from the driver's seat???). And this event is surely a reminder to maintain good posture and a strong core always. But right now what I need to know is how to undo this. This is the most debilitating pain I have ever experienced and I broke my shoulder in a bike crash in 2008.

I get this once or twice a year. The thing that has helped me the most when it occurs is dry needling. Takes the recovery down to a few days (3 or 4ish).

  
Sure - The mother of all Pelvic tilt annihilators is this modified lunge/hip flexor stretch I came up with because of biking+yoga. Let's call it the freestanding lunge.

The deal here is that the stretch is done standing which keeps the pelvis loaded and more locked into place. You then pry the opposing hip flexors, quads etc against a table top, bench, sofa or chair - anything that is the correct height for your level of flexibility. By having the pelvis locked in place, you can now start to target the shortened muscles that are internally pulling the spine forward at the lumbar and tilting the pelvis. Note that all other lunges I have seen are not done standing with a straight free leg. eg. an upward dog etc does not execute the leverage effect we need to correct the problem tilt.

When I started doing this, it was pretty intense of course and i was supporting myself against a wall or door frame, arms lower or hands about eye level. You can certainly experiment with different angles and heights.

What is illustrated here is what I would call the advanced freestanding lunge. This is pretty beast because it brings the entire chain into play.

One of our employees, young guy, was complaining about a chronic sore back. So I asked him to setup and do this stretch. He could not even get his torso 45 deg to upright using a very low leg level. So obviously needs work. We do so much with our upper legs forward of the hips, working large forces, it's easy to see we need to counterbalance that with something legs back. This stretch will help spades in swimming too. I would add a big dose of side bends to it, it you are doing a lot of kick work, and not balancing off with backstroke.

(sorry for the hack photoshop my laptop just has Gimp. And I've never used it)

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It's not easy to maintain trust me it's a learned movement pattern, but doable. Standing up is but one position we can exhibit good posture and core strength. However, we have to learn how to develop it in various other positions in order to avoid things like you are experiencing. You think it's hard to engage the core sitting down? Try doing it face down in the water! Maybe 2% of adult onset swimmers engage and power from their core. Sorry you are hurting. 2x discectomy here: L4/L5 and L5/S1 rupture from getting hit by a drunk driver. I feel for you.

First thing you need to do is get rid of the severe pain. You won't move correctly until you do. Google or you tube Quadratus Lumborum trigger points. Treat those and see what that does to your pain. Once your pain is under control, you can start looking at the cause.

Thanks for all the good advice. I got in to see a Dr. and a PT. Both said the condition is too acute at the moment to do any manipulation. I came home with Flexeril and T3's. Had one of each last night and feel microscopically better. Tigerpaws, I have not given as much thought as I should to posture and body position throughout daily life so that's something to be mindful of. I think about it (and believe I maintain it) during sbr and when sitting and standing but probably not while doing the mundane life things like reaching for produce at the grocery store. Even though I am a conscientious core-worker my PT says my flexibility trumps my strength and that can lead to problems such as I am experiencing. Lots to think about while in my temporary drug stupor.

If you know how to support yourself in the most common positions then it's just a matter of keeping on your mind and ingraining that into all movements. You will get it now I'd imagine b/c going through a bad bout with the back is a wake up call for most. The good thing is you know why. Most don't and keep on doing the same things over. It's a vicious circle b/c so many with back pain say 'oh I better not do this or that b/c it will aggravate my back'. In so many cases once the initial flare up is over it's the opposite. First learn how to do it properly and then take every opportunity to repeat it and ingrain it so that when you happen to make a sudden movement you do it properly and don't revert to bad movement patterns. Took me ~ 20 years of various PT's and Neuro's b/f I was lucky enough to stumble on a great strength and conditioning coach who helped me see the light.......all right b/f I was about to let a Neuro cut on me for a 3rd time.

Hiya Shark -- I'm dealing with an very unhappy lower flank due to going hard on a new bike config -- anyway I like the look of this stretch but don't quite get it. You get organised in the position above and then do a posterior tilt? Or lunge on the active leg? Many thanks!

This may or may not help.

I've had Nast back pain once with a new bike. When I double checked the measurements the stem was half an inch longer than on my previous bikes. I switched to a shorter stem to get exactly my previous position and no back pain.

I had similar issues from bike fit - seat was too high. Lowered it and back spasms gone

This stretch works great as a "swimmers" stretch. So if you are standing on the right leg you rotate to the right (eg to breathe) as the left hand heads for the sky. It's not really a lunge as the standing leg is kept straight. Rotate and reach straight up, chest out (swim posture)

#2
OK I have also amped up the business with a new massive Full body 360 hip rotational stretch or "Water-skiers stretch" I showed this one to my PT who said I should patent it. I said it's all his for a royalty just make sure you get people to sign the waiver :)

For #2 you need a ceiling hook, water ski handle and fitness ball. Block or have someone hold the ball. You suspend from the handle (at 7 ft min), arms straight, put your heels on the ball or for less intensity a 1/2 ball. Then you SLOWLY, start to rotate to > back/side bend, to side bend, to side bend/front, then finally ending up in a suspended Cobra. Repeat for both sides. Variation use one leg on the ball & the other for some support while rotating.

#2 does an amazing job of getting into and mobilizing the deep pelvic attachments to create greater hip mobility and with it no back pain! When I first did this Full body 360, I could NOT complete the rotation. Now I can no problem, my hips are much freer and back pain almost eliminated. I do this every morning or so.

But be very careful - it's an advanced move, for athletes only - you could easily pull or detach something in the arm, shoulder area for example, if there is a problem there. My young daughter has no problem in executing being a competition swimmer and also track club.

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Had something that sounds the same a couple years ago. After recovery (nothing seemed to speed the recovery), I started a regimen of rowing and stairclimber that helped strengthen core.

Saw this post pop back up and thought I should report - after several chiro visits and lots of back and core stability exercises I was able to run without pain by the end of February. I kept trying to run (against the chiro's advice), thinking if I just ignored the pain and toughed it out everything would sort itself out. Things did not get worse with that approach but they did not get better either. It was only when I limited exercising to short walks and the stability work that I began to improve. I spent March trying to recover lost fitness and began a training program (for an August IM distance race) in April. When you're injured it seems as though it goes on forever. Funny how quickly you forget about it when its over.

Now wait a minute. You did visit a MD and Physical Therapist and you claim both told you the issue is too acute (inflammation/muscle spasms?) to do anything. So, what did they tell you is wrong? Herniated disc? Alignment issues? Have X-Rays been taken? You need to get an exact diagnosis before starting treatment. Good luck.