Lower back pain when cycling

Back pain off the bike is prevalent with over 80% of individuals experiencing lower back pain at some point of their life and I believe cases on the bike to be higher still.

The tricky thing with any back pain, as with most injuries is they usually result from a variety of issues that need to be managed concurrently.

As a Professional Bike Fitter, when it comes to Lower Back Pain when Cycling, there's often a number of reasons for this:

1. Incorrect bike set up

This is the most frequent reason for back pain when cycling and is usually a result of excessive reach and/or drop that results in excessive bending/rounding through the lower back. This increases stress and strain through the musculature and other tissues including tendons and ligaments. Due to the repetitive nature of cycling and time we spend in the saddle, this often presents as discomfort that comes on after a certain period of time, sometimes short, sometimes long.

2. Weakness of the trunk (core) muscles

The second most common reason I see for lower back pain is rider’s that have insufficient strength of their trunk (aka core) musculature. A lack of muscular endurance and inability to sufficiently activate these muscles, forces and movement that should be resisted by these muscles is passed on to other structures of the spine such as the vertebral joints and discs.

Check out my post (coming soon) on the Mc Gill big 3 and how this can help manage lower back pain both on and off the bike. These 3 exercises are scientifically shown to help manage symptoms of lower back pain for nearly all causes.

3. Riding with excessively low cadence

Mashing vs spinning. Sometimes this is by choice, other times not such as when we're climbing and run out of gears. Regardless of the reason, a lower cadence increases load and sheer force passed to the lower back. If this is by choice, the easiest remedy is to teach yourself to ride with a cadence between 80-90 rpm. For all the athletes I coach, I give them this target range and highlight when cadence drops out of this range.

If you’ve run out of gears, this becomes a little trickier. All you can do is ensure your trunk strength is as good as it can be, think about activating your core and stiffening your trunk to minimise forces that go through your back. Think about showing off a logo on your tee shirt to someone in front of you, this will help you to maintain a tall spine and hopefully a flatter back too.

4. 'Tight hips'

This can be caused for a few reasons including limited hip flexion (knee to chest) at top of the pedal stroke due to hip joint restrictions or significant quad muscles and/or adiposity around the abdominal region (belly).

Regardless of the reason for the limited hip flexion, the result is usually instability or rocking in the saddle, knee tracking that sees the knees coming up and out at the top of the pedal stroke and/or a very subtle ‘nodding’ or tucking of the Sacroiliac joint at the base of the spine. All these factors increase strain through the lower back and load on the ligaments of the Sacroiliac joint, especially one structure known as the Sacrotuberous ligament.

If you have lower back pain, what should you do?

If you’re experiencing discomfort on the bike, there’s a good chance it’s a result of the current setup not being quite right. I previously experienced back pain before I had a Bike Fit many years ago, after which, my symptoms disappeared.

If you haven't had a Bike Fit this is one of the first things I'd advise. Small adjustments can make a big difference, as seen in the images below.

Pre Bike Fit Post Bike Fit

Assessing you both on the bike and off the bike are key and something we do here at Cycling Performance UK as part of our Foundation Bike Fit and 1 Position Bike Fit and 2 Position Bike Fit.

If this has been going on for a while, I also think it would be worthwhile to visit a medical practitioner such as a Physiotherapist or Osteopath to have a thorough clinical assessment.

We hope this has been of some help but if you have any further questions, please Get in touch today.

Let's make your lower back pain a thing of the past!