4 Ways to Prevent Lower Back Pain from Cycling

Lower back pain from cycling is one of the most common injuries among triathletes. Being bent over on that bike for hours and hours on end does a number on the spine and all its adjoining/surrounding muscles. This article will show you some different ways to approach this problem so it doesn’t take any more time away from your training.

Cycling Lower Back Pain: Why It Happens

Our bikes put us into an awkward position. They were designed for us but we were not designed for them. The low back is particularly compromised because of the loads it has to sustain while sitting on the saddle, and the amplification of those loads the more we bend over into an aero position. It basically acts as a fulcrum between your upper and lower body while riding. 

Lumbar disc pressures as a percentage of standing/sitting in various postures. Notice the bent over postures in figure A, particularly the seated ones. (Image credit: From A Nachemson 1976 The lumbar spine: an orthopaedic challenge. Spine 1:59–71)

When your lumbar spine (low back) approaches maximum flexion, especially when held for long periods, the body changes from using muscles for support to using ligaments. This means that when your torso passes the angle of 45°, the body preferentially uses the ligaments in your back for support as a form of energy conservation.

Healthy individuals have been shown to display up to a 78% reduction in back muscle activity while in forward flexion. People with chronic lower back pain, however, did not display the same relaxation effect. This is perhaps due to the body trying to protect the injured area by keeping the muscles tight to discourage movement.

This phenomenon is a likely contributor to cycling lower back pain in triathletes because of the prolonged seated and flexed forward positions they endure while on the bike. It’s extremely important in this circumstance that the lower back is strong enough to handle these loads, and that the core muscles are adequately trained to provide support to the lumbar spine.

The Lateral System

The Lateral System. (1) Adductors. (2) Gluteus medius/minimus. (3) Quadratus lumborum. (4) Red dotted line showing counter forces created by each leg’s muscles to produce stabilization of the pelvis and consequently the lumbar spine. (Image credit: Adobe Stock w/edits)

The lateral system is a working relationship between the adductors and gluteus medius/minimus of the stance leg on one side and the opposing side’s quadratus lumborum in activities like walking up stairs. Dysfunction of this system likely contributes to low back pain in triathletes for the reasons detailed below.

Refer to the man in the picture above and use the following descriptions to understand each muscle and what it is doing:

1. Adductors: Inner thigh (groin) muscles that are helping to stabilize the pelvis on the man’s right leg.
2. Gluteus Medius/Minimus: Two muscles on the outside of your butt that stabilize the pelvis by preventing it from dropping on the man’s right side.
3. Quadratus Lumborum: Deep back muscle that is helping to stabilize the lumbar spine and also elevate the left hip of the man pictured above.

Lateral System in action: As he steps up with his left leg, his body has to stabilize onto the right leg. This forces contraction of the right adductors (1) and gluteus medius/minimus muscles (2) to stabilize the pelvis. This happens in concert with the left quadratus lumborum (3) contracting, which lifts the pelvis to allow space for the free swinging left leg to step up.

On a bike, your legs are still moving up and down without the hips having to stabilize the pelvis (because it is being stabilized by the saddle). This is confusing to the body, because it is distorting the timing of the lateral system and training it improperly, at best minimally, or perhaps not at all. This may contribute to lower back pain in the following way.

When the lateral system fatigues, the body is progressively forced to rely on passive supports, such as ligaments and discs, in the leg and spine. Because it is not functioning properly while on the bike, your back and hips are being subjected to large amounts of movement without adequate muscular support, which could lead to overuse, pain, and injury in those passive structures.

When running, this system needs to be finely tuned to stabilize the legs, pelvis, and low back. Because triathlon requires you to immediately transition to running after biking, the lateral system likely has a hard time adjusting. These are just some of the reasons why training the lateral system may be an important part of low back pain rehabilitation in triathletes.

Tight Hip Flexors and Low Back Pain

Another important contributor to low back pain from cycling is tightness in the hip flexor muscles. When we say hip flexors, we’re talking mainly about three muscles, rectus femoris, iliacus, and psoas (iliacus and psoas are together referred to as, iliopsoas). These muscles tend to get very tight on people who do a lot of cycling, here’s why.

Our hips go through a lot of flexion and extension while pedaling, but they never reach full extension. This means they’re always partially flexed, and so the associated muscles in the hip are always in a semi-shortened position. When you chronically shorten a muscle, it tends to hold its resting tone in a shorter position. This is called adaptive muscle shortening.

Short, tight hip flexors contributes to low back pain mainly because of the psoas’s attachment to the lumbar spine. It is connected to all five lumbar vertebrae. When this muscle shortens, it pulls on the lumbar spine and arches it excessively, this also tilts the pelvis forward. This excessive strain on the low back can cause wear, tear, ache, and pain over time. 

Solutions for Lower Back Pain from Cycling

Below you’ll find some excellent starting points for making the back more durable and harder to injure. They’ll also help address some of the things we’ve mentioned above. If you’re looking for more strength training, mobility, and injury prevention designed specifically for triathletes, you’ll love what we have here at Dynamic Triathlete! Try us for 7-days free by clicking here!

Train the Lower Back

Dumbbell good morning exercise. (Image credit: Dynamic Triathlete)

One of the best ways to combat cycling lower back pain is to train the lower back. While this may seem obvious, it is something that gets lost on triathletes because of the nature of their sport. Keeping up with your swimming, cycling, and running is a lot of work, and it’s easy to convince yourself that it’s a well-rounded exercise regimen. But the truth is, it isn’t.

The low back is a perfect example of an area that just isn’t adequately challenged through participation in those activities. We need to load these tissues properly so that they are prepared to create postural support and withstand the compromised positions we hold them in while cycling.

A dumbbell good morning (pictured above) is an excellent exercise to build up the lower back in concert with the glutes and hamstrings. Be sure to keep a slight bend in the knee as well as a flat back. Lower your torso by hinging at the hips until it’s just above parallel with the ground, or as far as your hamstring flexibility allows. Perform for 10-15 reps. 3-4 sets.

Train the Transversus Abdominis

Bird dog exercise. (Image credit: Dynamic Triathlete)

Research has shown that one of the biggest differences between cyclists with back pain and cyclists without back pain is the thickness of their transversus abdominis (TVA) muscle. The healthy cyclists have a noticeably thicker TVA, which makes sense when you start to understand this muscle's importance when it comes to lower back stability. 

This is a big topic, but in short, the TVA is your deepest abdominal muscle, and it wraps around the body like a corset. It has an intimate relationship with the diaphragm, pelvic floor muscles, and multifidus (primary lumbar spine stabilizer). If the TVA is working properly, it helps create what is called intra-abdominal pressure, which protects your low back from injury.

Cyclists need to have good function and resting tone in their TVA’s. One exercise to help get it working is called the bird dog exercise (pictured above). Starting in the 4-point position, you take a breath in, then pull the belly button towards the spine (this activates the TVA). You then extend one arm and the opposite leg while maintaining this core position. 10-15 reps. 3-4 sets.

Strengthen the Lateral System

Single-leg deadlift w/knee raise exercise. (Image credit: Dynamic Triathlete)

Referring to the discussion above, training the lateral system may be particularly important for triathletes because of the inhibiting effect cycling has on it, coupled with the demands of running that immediately follow the bike in a triathlon. Training the lateral system also has several other benefits when it comes to resolving back pain, such as strengthening the core and hips.

One of the most crucial parts of any athlete’s training routine is that it accounts for weaknesses and imbalances not properly addressed in their sport. We can pick and choose exercises to help balance us out and create a body that is less likely to get injured and more likely to perform at a high level. We can even pick exercises that address multiple problems at once.

The single-leg deadlift with a knee raise (above) is a prime example of this kind of exercise. You train the lateral system, low back, hip flexors, glutes, hamstrings, and core…all with one complex movement. Stand on one leg, draw your belly in, hinge until your torso is above parallel, come up into a knee raise on the same leg. 10-15 reps per side. 3-4 sets.

Stretch the Hip Flexors

Modified pigeon stretch and low-lunge stretch, respectively. (Image credit: Dynamic Triathlete)

Adding in the right corrective stretches pre and post-cycling sessions can make a big difference in the resting position of those muscles. If the hip flexors are tight, you can stretch them prior to hopping on the bike so they’re a bit more relaxed and less likely to be overused while pedaling. This can alleviate some strain on the lower back if it is indeed one of the contributing causes.

In a sport like cycling, where the hip flexors tend to get overused, it creates a distorted recruitment pattern that bleeds into the other triathlon disciplines of running and swimming. In simple terms, the more you use the hip flexors, the more likely they are to try and overtake your stride while running, and your kick while swimming.

Simple stretches like the ones above are great variations you can start incorporating into your training. The modified pigeon (picture 1) is a gentler stretch, and the low-lunge (picture 2) is a bit more intense. Try them both to see what feels good. Be sure not to arch the lower back. Try holding for 30-60+ seconds per leg prior to riding, pre/post workout, and on off days.

Written by Eric Lister – Certified Personal Trainer & Corrective Exercise Specialist