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| Cause Of Lower Back Pain Questions |
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Question:
I'm relatively new to tmountain (less than two years), but I love it, and I
have been riding a couple of times per week ever since I took it up.
Unfortunately, after riding I've experienced a fair amount of lower back
pain, and appear to have herniated a disc.
It has occurred to me that I may have a problem with top tube/stem length,
seat height, stem rise, or some other fit parameter. What is the most common
cause of lower back pain as it relates to the setup of the bike?
Or is my main problem one of technique? Is there something about my pedal
stroke or positioning that is a common cause of this problem?
The doctors say that I am off the bike for a couple of months at least, and
a candidate for surgery, but that I should make a full recovery and be back
on the trail after that. I love this sport too much to give it up, but would
like to reduce the stress on my lower back as much as possible, even if it
comes at the expense of bike handling.
Answer:
I've had lower back problems on and off for the last 10-15 years
so I symphasize. I started
having heart problems, lost weight and rediscovered mountain biking to
keep it off and it's mostly gone away. One thing
to consider is that studies have indicated that surgery typically has no
long term advantages over simple therapy, so I would get a 2nd opinion
before going under the knife. And, heat and a gram or two of aspirin
work great for short term relief.
At first, I found that I was leaning / straightening a lot and this was
causing muscles in my lower back that I didn't use much to get
stressed. After realizing that it was muscles and not the back itself I
was able to manage that until the muscles got over it. Also, when these
muscles get stressed they don't support the back as well which does lead
to spine issues.
Now, I find that an upright position forces more of the impact bumps to
be absorbed by my back as opposed to by the muscles that support the
back. If I lean-over hard for bumpy terrain at least for the parts
where technique permits it , my stomach muscles take the impacts and I
don't have the lower back problems. An alternative to leaning hard is
to lift off the seat which I'm sure that you do for control anyway
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