Cycling UK Forum

I'm in the dumps a little this week because of a recurrent back injury. Always the same area, lower right lumbar but with different degrees of severity. It's usually gone in a week, and this week I'm able to walk about, but getting into bed/dressed/toilet is very painful and requires lots of slow, calculated movement. Sometimes it can be as little as lifting the bike the wrong way will trigger it. Fortunately it only happens once every other year or so.

Occasionally it is so bad that I'm totally bed bound, which I realise now is the worst thing possible for a reasonably fast recovery. Active recovery,as recommended by my specialist is what I practice. What are others experience of recurrent back pain?
Because of it I've become very wary of doing any heavy lifting at all (but often get roped into removals, even helped shift a piano this year!) I find it's silly to get paranoid about it, and am generally quite strong in my core.

IME you need to find the right exercises, then do them regularly. 'Treat your own back' by Robin McKenzie was an important part of that journey for me, but 2 different physios (of quite I few that I consulted) also had significant inputs in different ways.
Good luck with your quest.

+1 What Squeaker said.

You need to do Pilates style exercises and stretches and regularity is the key. Even when your back feels fine you have to keep doing them.

Can you recommend any online resources?

NHS: "Back pain":
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/back-pain/

Links to several resources on exercises.

Jonathan

Had chronic, albeit intermittent, shoulder and hip issues (largely tightness) for years. I started doing more or less daily yoga at the start of the year and since then both issues have been much, much, improved. Overall, my flexibilty and strength is also vastly improved. I noticed a difference relatively quickly - within a few weeks.

I agree with the advice to see a physio. You probably don't need very many visits to establish what's needed. Failing that, I would recommend something 'whole body' that works your core, such as yoga, pilates, tai chi, etc.

You could see if there is a community interest near you that does low cost or donation only courses.

This sort of thing https://www.yoga4all.co/community

Or an on-line course https://www.taichiforbetterhealth.co/

The hard part about such things is doing the exercises when you feel well.

My Mrs swears by the little book. Treat your own back by Mckenzie

Al

Join the club damaged my back in 1989, had an laminectomy in hospital nearly 6 months came out incontinent, some years later had another operation for spinal stenosis cured the incontinence after a while.
Since then I get loads of pain lasting up to 3 weeks of more, I have to take Co-codamol and just take it easy, the last one was a few weeks back and still not right as yet.

I've had recurring back pan for ~30 years. It's not an ache, it's a sudden violent pain in the sacrum area that strikes without warning like a bolt of lightning, and then repeats every time I move or flinch. It took me a decade or more to realise that it's triggered by getting too cold. I had a jolt from it this morning to warn me that it's time to stop wandering around in shorts, t-shirt, and bare feet.

When my lower back goes, the doc I saw about it told me that all the muscles in the affected area had spasmed up almost solid.
The worse this happens, then the worse the pain is.
He told me that the use of a "hot water bottle" on the affected area can help relax the muscles.
Didn't think much until I tried it.
I found definitely found it helps on my back with both the severity and the length of time I'm in pain.

YMMV ..........