Bicycle Back Pain

A Fitting Problem

Q: For over two years I have cycled with lower-back pain. I can cycle for about 30 minutes before it starts to develop, but after 45 minutes, I'm in excruciating pain. If I get off the bike, the pain is alleviated immediately.

After stretching, I can get back on my bike and ride another 15 or 20 minutes before it starts all over again. I have done 100-mile bike rides, getting off the bike every 15 to 20 miles, and have cycled over 6,000 miles with this problem.

I have tried chiropractic treatments and massage therapy. I went to a sports medicine orthopedic doctor who put me on a physical therapy program that I have followed for seven months. All of the scans have shown my discs and vertebrae to be normal. I stretch every day and do abdominal strengthening exercises.

I went to a bike coach to check my positioning on the bike, which I built from the ground up, starting with the frame. In fact, I've changed the stem length six times, from short to long, which extends my back over the top tube. Instead of keeping my back rounded, I'm more flat across. All the pros suggest this.

The doctor says he will inject my back with cortisone only if all else fails. The last two years at work have been very stressful. Do you believe that stress causes chronic pain in certain parts of the body? Is there anything you think we might have missed? I love cycling and what it does for me. I don't want to give it up, but it's hard to keep suffering in silence.

L.A.
Harwich, MA

A: Stress can be a contributing factor in many diseases, including lower-back pain. However, in your case the back pain only comes when you are doing one activity - cycling - and is relieved immediately when you stop and stretch. This would indicate the problem is biomechanical.

How can you deal with this problem?

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