How to Reduce Mountain Biking Low Back Pain?

Low back pain (or back pain) is never pleasant.

Especially after mountain biking, you can't just stop like you would have given up playing tennis: you should still be able to come back from the trip with the pain you endure!

I will give you some tips on how to avoid pain on your next hike.

Before getting to the heart of the matter, it seems important to me to give you some back reminders to better explain the origin of these cycling pains.

Rear

A man's back is used to make him stand up, and that's just for this... It is not suitable for long-term maintenance in other positions. Plus, we all know that when we lean forward, it's hard to last long. Our muscles tighten and we risk falling forward.

The muscles in our spine fall into two categories:

• Big muscles which are used for turning and tilting to the sides, forward and backward. But these muscles do not hold us in the positions they lead us to. They are strong, but do not keep their back in balance.

• Small muscles which fit along the spine help us to maintain balance when we are standing. They also hold us back when we lean forward, but they are not made for this because they are short.

Therefore, prolonged flexion of the trunk is not physiological. Also, you should be aware that the more you lean forward, the more the lower last floor (called the L5 / Sacrum floor or L5 / S1 floor, that is, the floor where the 5th lumbar spine articulates with the sacrum, the pelvic bone) will be held back.

This is because the floor muscles are too short to support the weight of the upper body in a forward bend.

In addition, the further we go, the more the load on stage L5 / S1 increases. When this load is too great, and the position is too long, small muscles suffer and pain appears.

Mountain biking and stress on the spine

On the bike, holding the handlebars reduces the load on the L5 / S1 and maintains this long anti-flexion torso position throughout the ride.

In most cases, back pain occurs when the cockpit is poorly adjusted (handlebar-stem).

However, when mountain biking, it is also necessary to take into account vibrations, which also increase the load on stage L5 / S1 and therefore increase the risk of pain.

Fig. 1: Load stage L5 / S1 in different positions

As you already understood, if you suffer from lower back pain, you need to reduce the load on the upper floor.

For this, the only solution is to find a physiological position, or at least a semblance (because, of course, on a mountain bike you cannot put your back in the same position as standing).

In the physiological position, the L5 / S1 joint is a plateau that forms an angle of approximately 42 ° with the horizontal line.

Fig. 2 Floor L5 / Sacrum radio

When you lean forward on the bike, this angle approaches 0 °. Therefore, the goal will be to find the position where we get as close as possible to the 42 ° angle.

There are two ways to do this. Either we change the position of L5, decreasing the flexion of the trunk, or we change the position of the sacrum, changing its position of the pelvis. Of course, a combination is possible.

Solutions to reduce back pain

Reduce torso flexion

You have to think about:

Improving the cockpit

You will notice that this advice is especially relevant when you are descending a mountain, because that is when your torso is in its largest forward bend.

This tip should be useful for short people who have to bend a lot to grab the steering wheel. Otherwise, the bike is probably too big for them.

Change the position of your hands

Try to get your hands a little closer to the center of the steering wheel. This will allow you to stand up and relieve the L5 / S1 stage. You can also purchase ergonomic handles or handles (such as spirgrips).

Changing the position of the pelvis

Tilt the saddle forward 10 to 15 °.

It controls the position of the pelvis and locks it. When the saddle is in a neutral position, the pelvis is usually in a retroverted position. To return to the 42 ° angle between L5 / S1 and the horizontal line, the pelvis must tilt towards anteversion (see Fig. 3).

To do this, the front of the saddle should be slightly lower.

Rice. 3: Different positions of the pelvis **

Don't put your saddle too low

Because this leads to pelvic retroversion and increases the load on the L5 / S1. It should be your size.

Choose the MTB that suits your size

Feel free to ask bike retailers for advice on choosing the right mountain bike or posture research.

Reduce vibration

To do this:

• Adjust the suspension of your mountain bike properly for the route you want to ride.
• Wear gloves that are thick enough to absorb vibration (with gel pads if possible).

Conclusion

Finally, in consultation with your doctor, you can take an anti-inflammatory drug if you experience pain while walking. (out of competition of course).

With pain that does not go away despite these few tips, it may happen that in some people the morphology of the spine favors pain.

In this case, do not hesitate to consult a doctor who will tell you about the possible origin of your pain.

Sources:

• Figure 1 Source: Api Attitude
• Source Fig. 2: Principle of manual treatment APP D. BONNEAU Service de Gynéco-Obstetrique – CHU Carémeau and Biodigital human