Back Problem...Any Thoughts?...Experiences?

[sspielman]

This monday I am going to the orthopedist. For 5 years, I have been dealing with a back problem. I am good for about 1-1.5 hours of hard riding, but then the lower back pain starts. I stiffen up, my form degenerates, and I cannot ride with nearly the force with which I used to be able. I am not nearly the rider I was before. Every year, I go back to my GP, sometimes I go through another round of "physical therapy"..or I just go to a chiropractor...none of this has relieved the problem. The MRI report revealed a focal bulge at L5-S1...and that the "surgery was not indicated at this time". My problem is this: I would like to get this resolved as I am rather tired of dealing with it. I have something broken that no amount of physical training will fix. Does anybody here have a success story from a similar situation?...any advice?

[stevep]

nothing like the obvious. shorter stem and a little more elevation?
when i was 35 i used a 12...
45 an 11...
55 a 10...
by the time im 80 ill have a mt bike with the bar ends sitting vertically like your average dwi bike.


stiffer and older.
try that. might help.

[CalfeeFly]

Come to Pittsburgh...I ride with a broken back...without the doctor I have I would be in bed moaning 24/7. His specialty is back pain, which is very different from an orthopedist that approaches your problem quite differently. I will never forget the excellent one I had that told me to live with my pain. RIGHT! Fortunately, I had the right contacts to find the right person. To give you an idea of his level of success...he is completing his own surgical suite and radiology center so he does not have to depend on other facilities.

Best yet...he is a cyclist so he can relate to your problem and how it affects your pain. As far as I am concerned, he is a genius, compassionate, and extremely caring which is not easy to find these days.

Drop me a note if you are interested. We are only about 3 hours away. His approach to your pain and its alleviation will differ due to your problem.

My chiropractor is a great person but my problems were beyond his abilities. I still see him for muscle related issues. As my doctor said as I told him, my story of painful woe..."You didn't really expect sympathy from surgeon did you?"

Good luck...I came to the conclusion that the person who added excruciating to our vocabulary had severe back problems.

[kgrooney]

This monday I am going to the orthopedist. For 5 years, I have been dealing with a back problem. I am good for about 1-1.5 hours of hard riding, but then the lower back pain starts. I stiffen up, my form degenerates, and I cannot ride with nearly the force with which I used to be able. I am not nearly the rider I was before. Every year, I go back to my GP, sometimes I go through another round of "physical therapy"..or I just go to a chiropractor...none of this has relieved the problem. The MRI report revealed a focal bulge at L5-S1...and that the "surgery was not indicated at this time". My problem is this: I would like to get this resolved as I am rather tired of dealing with it. I have something broken that no amount of physical training will fix. Does anybody here have a success story from a similar situation?...any advice?

Went to an orthopedic several years ago and was diagnosed with arthritis in the lower back and have been stretching the area and strengthining the abs ever since with no issues.

[Ti Designs]

nothing like the obvious. shorter stem and a little more elevation?

Maybe, maybe not. I blew out a disk while weight training when I was young, spent about 6 months unable to walk. I've been called an 80 year old man walking around but a 20 year old kid on the bike. My position is way lower than most, it's a form of decompression of the damaged disk, where sitting up more just makes it worse. My point isn't that you should adopt a super low position, it's that the obvious solution isn't always the right one...


stiffer and older.
try that. might help.

Downeast is now selling Viagra???

[sspielman]

Maybe, maybe not. I blew out a disk while weight training when I was young, spent about 6 months unable to walk. I've been called an 80 year old man walking around but a 20 year old kid on the bike. My position is way lower than most, it's a form of decompression of the damaged disk, where sitting up more just makes it worse. My point isn't that you should adopt a super low position, it's that the obvious solution isn't always the right one...




Downeast is now selling Viagra???

Agreed. It all seems to depend on where the nerve is pinched. I seem to be fine in a relatively low position...and it seems to relieve the situation some....actually, I cannot sleep in a prone position because it compresses the nerves...

[67-59]

Ditto what TiDesigns and sspielman said. I injured some discs in my lower back from years of running. When I switched to biking, I assumed that I'd be better off with a more upright style bike to accomodate my injury, but quickly learned that I actually feel better on a road bike with its lower position. It all depends on the specifics of your injury.

I'd also echo what CalfeeFly said about finding the right doc. Lots of docs take the position of "if it hurts when you do X, then don't do X." Probably not bad advice from a purely medical standpoint, but of course it doesn't always get you where you want to go. If you can find someone who has the knowledge to treat that type of injury, and also is an athlete and/or regularly treats athletes, you'll be far more likely to get the kind of advice you need. Even better still if the doc is actually a cyclist. By analogy to CalfeeFly's experience, when I still ran, I had a persistent foot injury that most docs couldn't fix (or their solution was simply "don't run"). Then, I found a local podiatrist who also is a runner and has treated other runners for years. Next thing you know, I'm back to running, sans the foot problem.

[Fat Robert]

you have to do what your back tells you it can do. I ruptured my L5 when I was 28. I didn't have surgery, because my back guy said that 95% of people who have it end up with a recurrance of pain and nerve issues within three years. Since I was young and an athlete, his prescription was a couple of epidural cortisones and then stretch, strengthen, and change my position on the bike by raising my stem.

12 years on, I still have issues when I don't let my back tell me what I can and can't do on the bike -- I recently dropped my bars (to 11.5cm of drop), but numbness in my left leg brought them back up in the last couple of days(to 10cm). I have to accept that I can't get a flat upper back without some elbow bend -- and I can't get flat from hips to shoulders like I could when I was 27 -- to get my lower back flat, I roll onto my perineum, which, you know, is a bad thing. So I've resigned myself to dealing with 20mm+ of spacer on my Ridley, even though that is MP, rather than be hampered with a mad painful disk.

No one here can give you any answers. Niether can your therapist, unless he or she really knows cycling. Time, trial and error, and if you're lucky -- which I'm not, because there isn't anyone within six hours of here I would let move my seat or bars around -- you'll find someone who truly understands how a human body interacts with a bicycle, and not simply a limb-bob and laser shop guy who paints by the numbers.

Good luck with your journey. I've been able to ride enough to train and race with a blown disk, and you can eventually find the right solution that will allow ou to ride as much as you like.

[catulle]

Come to Pittsburgh...I ride with a broken back...without the doctor I have I would be in bed moaning 24/7. His specialty is back pain, which is very different from an orthopedist that approaches your problem quite differently. .

I firmly believe the one doctor makes all the difference in the world. Being there done that many, many times. There is a great deal of difference between doctors. Few are great and will likely solve your problem; most know a great deal about the stock exchange.

In 1975 in Madrid, I had a spill on my Bultaco and broke the radius on my left arm. Went to a "specialist" who told me I would loose all movement of my left elbow as a result, and to come back the next day for surgery. Left his office and went to the English-American Hospital where Dr. Ferrer saw my arm, walked me to a window where he showed me his most beautiful MV Augusta on the parking lot, called two very pretty blonde English nurses to take me to surgery, and fixed my arm right there and then. To this day my left elbow works like new. And he wouldn't charge me for his work. Prefessional courtesy because we both rode motorcycles, he said.

The same with my left shoulder. Seven years and some ten different doctors, including department heads at Georgetown University Hospital, would just look down on me and my x-rays and MRIs, and tell me to take a few pills and go home. I could not sleep at night from the pain. I finally found an orthopedist who works with professional baseball players, he made a half-inch incision on the shoulder, messed with the bone a little, and fixed the problem. It took me seven years to find the person with the talent to solve the problem.

I am a Cynic, but I am very cynical when it comes to doctors, atmo. I wish you the best. Pain in MP, atmo.

[sspielman]

Thanks for all of the input. It never ceases to amaze me how all of the data points-no matter how small- add up to a great body of knowledge....I appreciate all of the input greatly...

[kelly9]

Something that is very simple and often overlooked is the float in your pedals. In other words get rid of it. I have been battling debilitating lower back pain for years. Western doctors always gave me the disc this disc that routine.

I have had huge success with the following:
1. Accupuncture
2. Locking pedals out so they are fixed
3. Resistance Flexibility Training (search author Bob Cooley)

The key to my problem is that the float in my pedals causes the hip flexors and more specifically the Tensor Fascaie Lateralis and Vastus Lateralis to become overly tight along with the hamstring.

With float something has to keep your knee/leg tracking straight and for most it is these muscles.

Pedals are now locked and am well into a proper stretching program--living and riding pain free.
-Kelly9

[GregL]

I've suffered from bulged and/or herniated lumbar discs three times in my life. The first time at age 24, I recovered in a few days with nothing more than rest. The second time at 34 required several months of PT to get pain free, although I was able to ride after 3-4 weeks.

The last time was five weeks ago. This was the big enchilada in terms of pain. I was totally non-functional for the first week, doped up on naproxen, skelaxin, and valium. I had to sleep on the floor and stand up at my desk at work. Once the swelling died down, I started PT with a back specialist. The results have been remarkable. I am working with a McKenzie Institute board member (http://www.mckenziemdt.org/). He has had me working very, very hard to both place the disc back into its correct orientation and gain lots of core strength. I'd say I'm 90% of the way back to full health in four short weeks of PT. I'm riding (up to 8 hours at a shot) with no pain and only mild stiffness. The only thing I have not yet tried is a race or time trial. I'm going to do my first training race after work this evening, TT early next month.

I recommend seeking out the best back PT specialist you can find. If surgery is not indicated, PT can have amazing effects.

Regards,
Greg

[ti_boi]

This will help. Try it -- with physician approval
Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog).