I just can’t seem to get rid of the lower back pain that I have been having …now it seems to be moving to the outside of the lower back and down the sides of my butt muscles. I know what it is and what it comes from …I have been to the chiro, massage, used Traumeel cream, icing, lots of stretching etc etc etc. I know that my training isn’t helping it …I did try to give it time to heal, but it just won’t go away.
Any tips or suggestions …??
Man, if you figure it out, let me know.
Mine started on my left side, right up next to the spine. Now it’s over my hip bone. I’ve tried all of the stuff I’ve seen online, but no relief.
It used to only hurt when running, but the last time I was on a bike hurt it too (lots of hill climbing).
I’ve gone 10 days w/o any exercise & lots of ibuprofen.
I think maybe today I got a little better (keeping my fingers crossed).
I’ve got a spasm on the left of the my lower back. Affects my glute, TFL and then the dreaded ITB! I get massive quad weakness when cycling, no probs when running. I’m taking a month off cycling and doing loads of core work, massage, chiro etc.
You’ve got to get to the cause.
I tore something in my back a few years ago. MRI showed some bad things, but everything looked like they could be old injuries. It took a year for me to recover ~75%. I still have episodes. All I did back then was lift weights and work on my house. I can’t imagine running is very good for any back problem.
Try physical therapy?
Triathletes are very likely to have a muscle imbalance around the pelvis. You’ve been strengthening the quads without much work on the abs, which can cause lordosis and lead to back pain. A good certified pilates instructor could probably determine if this is the case or not, and get you some exercises to put you back in balance. Your quads may be tight as well. You can try stretching and ab work (and hamstring work), but of course it will take a long time to relieve the problem, if that even is your problem.
Read John Sarno’s books on healing back pain through psychological means. worked like a charm for me with back pain that was a real pain in the a$$ for over 6 months, cured 3 weeks after reading his book. I believe it is called “Healing Back Pain.”
No chiropractor, PT, massage, strengthening, or anything else. I didn’t have to back off on training either. In fact, I was building up my training while the pain gradually lessened until it was completely gone.
Read John Sarno’s books on healing back pain through psychological means. worked like a charm for me with back pain that was a real pain in the a$$ for over 6 months, cured 3 weeks after reading his book. I believe it is called “Healing Back Pain.”
No chiropractor, PT, massage, strengthening, or anything else. I didn’t have to back off on training either. In fact, I was building up my training while the pain gradually lessened until it was completely gone.
Ok, you have read it, what do you do now that you did not do before? Cycling related or " on the bike only" lower back pain is very different from normal back pain, it is caused by the strain associated with pedaling and an imperfect lower back that cannot cope with the strain. A change in pedaling style which eliminates all this strain is the only solution to chronic “on the bike only” lower back pain.
Years of back problems solved in about one year…
How?
It began with Proper original diagnosis.
Followed by proper physical therapy in combination with proper running form evaluation and bike fit.
Followed by going broke… just kidding… but, it did take lots of money (even with good health insurance) and huge amount of time and patiences.
Injury recovery starts with find the right person to get the right diagnosis… it’s not about treating the symptoms first. It’s not what you do that will determine the outcome initially… it’s who you find to get a proper diagnosis. Anything less is just guessing… could be a right guess or could be complicating the problem(s).
I went to the Sports Medicine Clinic of Boulder CO. I was pretty impressed. I also used a local sports medicine physician and 3 different sport specific physical therapist (all athletes themselves). It was expensive and time consuming… but, I only regret was that I didn’t do this earlier.
Currently, I have also gone past the recovery stage (1+ yrs. later)… and, use a tri-athlon coach who has a doctor and understands bio-mechanics.
Well, that’s my story… hope it helps.
FWIW
Joe Moya
As a chiropractor and a triathlete, I work with LBP all day long. Here is the deal as I have seen it over 10 years of practice. 6 out of 10 people will respond very well to manipulation alone, 2 need to develop core strength in order to get by and 2 out of ten is up the creek without a paddle. They will spend their lives in and out of pain. This is usually because the problem is discogenic (“slipped disc”) or a major chronic muscular imbalance.
A few years back I had low back pain and extremely bad sciatic pain - running through my butt and down my leg. I tried manipulation, acupuncture, and a whole host of exercises, to no avail. I ended up getting an MRI which showed a ruptured disc. Despite the advice from just about everyone that I knew who recommend against surgery, I found the best neurosurgeon in Boston and went under the knife. I woke up in the recovery room sick to my stomach form the anesthesia, but grinning from ear to ear because the pain was gone.
Mine seemed to be worsened by tensing up when hitting bumps on the road while riding my bike. The jarring of the bump would hurt, but the involuntary contraction of my muscles (I guess to splint-support myself from the shock) would hurt worse. When I see the bump before I hit it, and raise off of the seat to keep the jarring from shuddering my lower back, the muscles eventually tire and get sore and the pain returns. Interestingly, this is worse on a TT bike than the more upright position I have on a road bike.
I fixed mine by getting on a beam bike. I chose Titan Flex because of it’s utter simplicity and ease of adjusting. Softride should give someone like me the same back-easing ride, though. It’s just personal preference, I guess.
The more upright position on a road bike doesn’t hurt my lower back as much, but, it hurts my neck more…I guess because I stay on the hoods so much my neck sort of gets frozen in place. On the tri-bike, I’m having to move my head around a lot more to look behind me, look up the road, look down, etc. One day, though, I’ll probably get a Titan Flex set up as a pure road geometry. If I’m short of money at the time, I’ll just put a road base-bar on my current Titan Flex and move the seat/boom appropriately for the style of riding I’ll be doing that day. It’s so easy to adjust…
As a physician currently half-way through residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (Physiatry), I have to agree with the above post on getting to the root of the problem. While chiropractic manipulation and massage may have some benefits, if you want long term relief you need to correct the cause of the problem. See an MD or DO and get evaluated. I recommend a physiatrist (though I am somewhat biased). Our training centers on the structural relationships between the body and symptoms. In general we are a conservative specialty which puts surgery last on the list except in a few specific cases. Instead we try to find the problem and then prescribe physical therapy and a home exercise program of stretching and strengthening in an effort to corrent and the prevent the problem.
One other note. Don’t always trust MRI/CAT scan/X-ray results. They definitely have their place but they also have a tendency to have a lot of false positives. In NORMAL adults a significant proportion of people have abnormalities including herniated discs (without pain).
The moral of the story - the internet can be a great place for resources etc but if you want to figure out what is wrong and then get rid of it…see a doctor.
K Stier, MD