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Upper back pain / bike size

Hello,

I've had quite bad upper back pain for around 2-3 months now that has included one serious spasm when I went for a run. Aside from medical advice, I have been wondering if it is because the size of my bike is wrong. I visited one bike shop who suggested to me that the distance between my saddle and handlebars was too short, and gave me a longer stem. However, the difference was slight and it didn't feel right. In fact, it felt like I was more crouched than before. So I went back, and now I have an adjustable stem as I felt like the handlebars may be too low - something I've felt for some time. 

Please could someone have a look at the picture of me below on my bike and let me know what they think. Right now I'm too poor for a proper bike fit.
Thanks!
 

http://s1255.photobucket.com/user/Jamie_Furlong/media/IMG_4943%202_zps2omtr77a.jpg.html

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12 comments

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Nixster | 7 years ago
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You have upper back pain because there isn't enough strength in your lower/mid back and core muscles to support the weight of your upper body, hence it is all coming on to your arms and shoulders.  This is also  leading to you riding with locked out elbows.  Bike fit is not your problem and a more stretched riding position will only make things worse until you deal with the underlying physical causes.

The road.cc yoga for cyclists videos are excellent and you could put together a routine from them that will address the issue incorporating both strength and flexibility.  As you are short of time I would emphasise the back extensions, leg raises and stretches (cat and child positions) plus some bridges and the ever popular plank.

Realistically you don't have long enough to eliminate your issue but doing the exercises will relieve the symptoms.  Good luck!

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bike_food | 7 years ago
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I'd also advocate a stretching routine, I too have suffered from upper and  lower back pain and it generally conincdes with forgetting to stretch or missing land training/resistance training sessions.

Make sure you're warm before stretching too far, you can also do some basic stretching while riding, helps to improve no handed technique and relieves tension, clealy only do this in quiet areas.

There's a load of yoga for cyclists videos on this site too http://road.cc/content/news/181616-yoga-cyclists-part-1-introduction

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dottigirl | 7 years ago
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Was expecting to see you on a road bike!

But, will echo the above comments, in particular handlebar width, seat angle (can't see it, but it could be tilted too far either way, which'd put pressure on your back), and lack of stabilisation using your core muscles. You look a little hunched, which may not also help.

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Kadenz | 7 years ago
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It's a very upright commuter position. Perhaps the reach to the handlebars is rather short, but I'd be surprised if that was the problem on a hybrid bike.

Handlebars that are much too wide for your shoulder width could cause upper back strain (as I know from personal experience).

But it could be that your upper back problem is caused by something not related to your bike (shoulder tension? A hunched position while using a computer at work?) and is just manifested (more) while you cycle.

A cycle fit or a visit to a good Physio might well help provide the answer.

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Carton | 7 years ago
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I find a little negative saddle tilt (saddle pointed down about 9°) helps with (lower) back pain for me, but YMMV wildly. Other than that as has been said that's a pretty bog standard upright commuter position. I wouldn't think there's much you can do to make it any less stressful, and I wouldn't worry about areo until you clear up your back issues. On an different note I'd suggest bar-ends, just for another hand position on a long ride. If your budget is tight I'm sure you could get a cheap pair secondhand for pennies.

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pockstone | 7 years ago
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There is a bikefit app available that is easy to use and improved my riding position and comfort on the bike. Probably not  a match for a proper bike fit, and may take a bit of   tweaking. I recall it was reviewed by Road CC .

It's called Roadie RBF 2.1 on my phone screen. A quick search should find it.

Good luck.

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jfurlong | 7 years ago
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Ahh that's interesting, as I plan to ride a 700km route on it starting next week. That's why I'm panicking so much. I understand that road bikes are better for longer rides as the position is more crouched and energy creation is not solely in the legs. But sadly I can't get a road bike right now and there'll be a little off-roading so the hybrid it is.

 

I don't do other training. What would you recommend? I'd be keen to improve my overall fitness as I cycle a lot on my bike (10-15 miles a day average) and have legs like tree trunks and the rest of me doesn't seem to be too strong.

Thanks,

Jamie

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CXR94Di2 replied to jfurlong | 7 years ago
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jfurlong wrote:

Ahh that's interesting, as I plan to ride a 700km route on it starting next week. That's why I'm panicking so much. I understand that road bikes are better for longer rides as the position is more crouched and energy creation is not solely in the legs. But sadly I can't get a road bike right now and there'll be a little off-roading so the hybrid it is.

 

I don't do other training. What would you recommend? I'd be keen to improve my overall fitness as I cycle a lot on my bike (10-15 miles a day average) and have legs like tree trunks and the rest of me doesn't seem to be too strong.

Thanks,

Jamie

Good luck with the challenge, very short notice to improve core muscles.

General exercises to start with. Squats-only body weight. Hold good form and tense stomach.

Press ups or kneeling press ups. Stengthens core, back, shoulders, chest and arms.

The plank- great stomach and back strength builder.
Try pull ups or cable bar pull downs- stretch and strengthen back and shoulders

Casual cycling is great for fitness, but you need strength all over for serious distances.
You mention saddle change coinciding with discomfort. Check seat height and angle, a few mm of adjustment can improve matters. Btw saddles don't have to be soft to be comfy. I progressed to a harder saddle and it far more comfy than my original soft saddle.

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CXR94Di2 | 7 years ago
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Your riding position looks like commuter/ short ride. There is nothing wrong with it. Do you do overall fitness training with weights or body weight exercise? May be worth some training if you don't.

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jfurlong | 7 years ago
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Thanks for the advice.

I tried the stem for a few days, but from what I was feeling and from reading several articles online, I went for trying to raise the handlebars instead. A lot of articles suggest that typically lower back pain calls for longer stem and upper back pain shorter. Though, like you said I look quite upright.

It feels to me like there are no definitive answers and the only thing I can do is to play around with the stem length, height and saddle to see what combinations cause more problems. I've now given back the long stem in exchange for the shorter, adjustable one!

It might be worth noting that I've been on the bike for 4 years and until recently hadn't felt any serious back pain. It seemed to coincide with me changing the saddle to one a little more padded but I don't see how that could cause so much pain.

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Mr. Sheep replied to jfurlong | 7 years ago
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jfurlong wrote:

It might be worth noting that I've been on the bike for 4 years and until recently hadn't felt any serious back pain. It seemed to coincide with me changing the saddle to one a little more padded but I don't see how that could cause so much pain.

I find that as little as 1-2mm differences in saddle height and/or front-back position can cause me to get uncomfortable (I'm a total princess-and-the-pea when it comes to these things) - it might be worth slightly tweaking the saddle position (remember that the height of the top of the saddle may be subtley different when you change saddles, even if the seatpost height is the same).

But, as with all things bike fit, adjust one thing a small amount then ride it for a decent time to get used to it and see if it helps, unless it's obviously way out / hurting.

 

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Mr. Sheep | 7 years ago
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I'm no expert on bike fit, far from it, but you do look very upright to me. How long did you try the longer stem for? Changes to bike fit can take a little while to get used to, so it might be worth perservering with it for a bit longer if you weren't in any pain. Obviously, some people ride bikes sat bolt upright (hello pretty much the entire of the Netherlands), but normally you'd expect to be a bit more angled down.

Extending the stem will make you feel more stretched out, but you should get used to that fairly quickly - you could also look for a stem which is longer but also has a higher angle, as another possibility to try to keep yourself more upright, if that's what you want. I don't know if that would help with your back pain though.

As far as the height of the handlebars go, I'm not sure for a flat bar, but for drop bars you'd typically have, at the very highest, the bars and saddle about level - most people would typically have the bars somewhat below the saddle. I don't know if that translates to flat bars.

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