[ram1kv]

Back Pain and Bike Rides

Dear fellow BHPians,

This is my attempt at chronicling an annoying and widespread problem amongst the middle-aged population. Unfortunately, it rears its head when we attempt to do something that we really love like riding, driving etc. Sometimes it can be so debilitating that we end up in pain; bed-bound, for weeks. Rarely, it affects the functioning of the muscles of arms, legs, bladder or bowels, in which case a specialist surgical consultation and procedures might be the only option.

Thankfully in the majority of cases, however bad the initial pain, regular disciplined exercises, posture correction and being mindful of bad habits is all that is required to keep the problem under control. The human body has an amazing capacity to ignore or overcome such issues provided we do not let the wayward mind demonise our back pain and end up being permanently miserable. Seeking help early and sticking with a routine which works for you is of paramount importance in dealing with this issue.

I have tried to keep the language as free of medical jargon as much as possible. Please ask if any of this information does not make sense and I shall clarify. So let us delve into the matter at hand!


Basic Anatomy of the natural curves of spine in different areas.





What is Back Pain?

Pain experienced in and around the spine is generally referred to as back pain. There are different types of back pain. This can be due to mechanical problems in the back or a dangerous manifestation of a serious illness.


Types of Back Pain & Useful Tips

Local Problems:

• Direct injury to the back: e.g., fall, assault, sprain, accident etc. where the back is injured.

• Repeated stress injury: due to posture (commonest cause) or profession involving stress to the back.

• Arthritis, Infection or Degeneration: of the muscles, ligaments, cartilages or bones of the spinal column


Referred Pain:

Pain experienced due to a problem from a different structure or organ. Some examples are given below.

• Kidney trouble e.g., infections, stones etc

• Gall Bladder trouble e.g., infections, stones etc

• Other internal organs/structures related problems


My Condition:

I have structural problems to the back from a very young age which made me prone to severe back pain from my mid-twenties. Now they have progressed to disc protrusions in neck and lower back as well as arthritis in the mid thoracic (middle of upper back) region.

These result in:

• right sided Sciatica (radiating pain down the lower back, buttocks and legs)

• chronic pain in mid back with occasional spasms

• severe pain and spasms in the neck with radiation to the arms (mostly left)

I have attempted Posture Correction, Swimming, Rowing, Yoga, Tai Chi, Physiotherapy, Panchakarma, Acupuncture, Reiki, Osteopathy, Marma and Spinal Surgery consultation for my problems at varying times.

What I am regularly using now are:

1. Rowing

2. Posture Correction

3. Physiotherapy Exercises

4. Yoga & Meditation

5. Annual Panchakarma Rx for 2 weeks

6. Osteopathy

As always, interventions to illnesses are best when guided or performed with expert consultation. For e.g. I’ve had good and bad advice/intervention from experts from many of the above fields. Each person’s condition can be different to others but as a medical professional and patient what I have realised can be summarised into these dictums for back pain:

• Sitting in one posture for a long time is bad for the back.

• Being or becoming overweight, is not good for one’s back.

• Too much of rest weakens the muscles so bedrest is good only when the problem is new/severe.

• Regular exercise and posture correction is a must especially when you are pain free.

• A strong mind and positive attitude are as good or sometimes even better than most treatments.

• Pain killers should be used only during acute flare ups.

• Constipation worsens the pain.

• You have to strengthen other weight bearing columns of the body to take load away from the spinal column (back & neck muscles, abdominal muscles and muscles of the pelvis & hip).

Why Riding makes Back Pain worse?

Amongst the things discussed above which are to be avoided, many are regular insults to the back when one rides a bike. Let us look into some mechanics of riding and driving when it comes to our spinal columns.
You will realise how heavy certain parts of our body are if you do this simple test. Try to keep your arm stretched up for 10 minutes or doing the same with your head by lifting it off the pillow for just 5 minutes continuously. This will tell you that these are heavy objects and the muscles holding them can get tired pretty easily. But we tend to ignore this fact when it comes to maintaining the muscle strength to prevent injuries of the neck and back.

In an unfit body, more than 90 percent of the weight of the upper body is carried down the lower part of the spinal column when sitting without support or standing upright. Over a period of time, this results in back problems. So, like we service our vehicles regularly, looking after the continuously weight bearing parts of our body is very important.
While driving, ensuring that the back is stretched according to each one’s body shape and comfort by keeping the head, neck and back constantly rested along the seat will reduce the weight that is being transmitted down the spinal column. You could use lumbar and neck support. Leaning forward and driving with most of the weight being transmitted down the back all the time, can obviously give you back strain which if uncorrected could lead on to sprain and injury.

Taking a break every two hours should become a habit while driving as it gives the back a rest and improves our concentration. Getting nourishment, hydration, emptying bladder/bowel, breathing fresh air, reducing eye strain, letting the engine, tyres cool down etc. are other added benefits.


Now let’s come to RIDING! All the corrective measures suggested above while driving with a seat to take some of your axial weight away cannot be done while riding a two-wheeler. So, I was expecting trouble when embarking on a journey to buy a bike after more than two decades (giving up on my much-loved KB125 in the early 2000’s). I was older and was a “certified disc degenerated person” with severe back and neck pain. You can read up on that journey at the beginning of this thread (Honda CB350 Review | Getting back on a motorcycle after 2 decades).


The first intervention I did was to double up on the back strengthening exercises and read up on biomechanics of riding in TBHP and other sources. There is an informative thread on Severe back pain and driving here (Severe back pain and driving!). Secondly, I researched available options that are appropriate for my particular situation. My heart said RE Meteor. Long distance testing was a disaster due to the cruising posture with all the weight going down the spine and no chance to do posture correction or stretches while riding. The suspension, slightly forward riding posture (70 degrees vs cruiser style of 90 degrees) for a 5 11’ frame, riding triangle, weight of the bike and weight distribution were all considered.


Assumptions:

• While riding there is axial loading of the spinal column and additional weight from the helmet. Adding a backpack will worsen this. Correct

• Bad suspension means bad strain to the back. Correct

• The only way to take some weight of the back is to transmit some through the arms to the handlebar (This is not advised by riding gurus). Correct

• Hugging the tank with your thighs should improve muscle tone and help with back pain. Correct

• Wind buffeting will prevent you from doing mindful posture correction. Correct

• Flexing the back should be completely avoided while riding. Incorrect!


Interventions:

• Got the right bike at that time = Honda CB 350. (now thinking of Adv Models, will write about it another time )

• Built up strength prior to purchase through exercise (always advisable)

• Chose less bumpy routes.

• Standing up and riding on really bad patches of road.

• Avoiding Off-Roading, Jumps and Stunts.

• Keeping the bike well maintained all the time.

• Regular breaks (stretch break every 90 minutes for a minimum of 5 - 10 minutes)

• Started off with no pillion or luggage.

• Accessorised the bike with top box, wind screen to be free of further challenges to the back.

• Avoid fast jerky turns of the head and twists of the back.

• Anticipatory riding, avoiding sudden braking and missed humps/potholes!

• Riding at a maximum speed of 90kmph even in clear and long stretches.

• Remembering to breath normally and evenly all the time! (very effective and often overlooked)

• Adequate hydration before and during the rides

• Starting all long rides after emptying bowels completely!

• Doing neck exercises while riding and adjusting helmet if neck starts to stiffen. Do not WAIT for the pain!

• Doing anterior tilt of the pelvis every 15 to 20 minutes

• Doing gentle flexion and hyper extension of the lower back for 5 seconds each alternatively as a set of 3 every half an hour) when it is safe to do so. This should not be attempted at high speed or in heavy traffic! I gear down to 40 kmph even in an empty highway while doing this. Traffic lights are great places to do exercises when stopped with both feet planted.

• Last but not the least, relax your shoulder muscles consciously especially the trapezius.

These interventions might sound too much to do altogether. But adding each one to your riding habit over a period of time consciously, creates an active back strengthening program while you are performing a task which is not advised by the healthcare professionals for patients with back issues.
Once it becomes part of your routine you don’t even notice that the mind and body are doing it, and you get off the bike more refreshed than when you got on it. Hope this clarifies my ludicrous statement before about having less back and neck pain after a long bike ride than otherwise. Long rides are now my cocoon of mindfulness where the mind, the body and the bike are one being and there is supreme relaxation!

Below are some images showing exercises described above:

Starting with basic steps, here is a gentle Right Turn of the neck.





Gentle Left Turn of the neck.





Stretching the Left side of the neck





Stretching the Right side of the neck





Extending the neck, please ensure the eyes are always on the road while doing these exercises.





Neutral position of the neck for reference






The lazy riding style with knees wide out. This can be occassionally attempted as a stretch for inner thigh muscles, but should never be the default position!





This should be the default position thighs hugging the tank. Easier to do in some bikes compared to others.





Knees out and not advisable.




Best position of legs and should be default, thighs hugging the tank.





Side view of a neutral neck position




Retraction of the neck, excellent exercise to increase the tone and strength of neck muscles and has reduced my neck pain significantly.





Same exercises with helmet on, below is neutral neck position.





And neck retraction with helmet on




Straight Back and neutral pelvic position





Anterior Pelvic Tilting while on a bike. Excellent exercise for lower back stiffness




For people with lower back issues this is a very useful exercise and can be easily done while riding at low speeds when traffic allows. Below a is a YouTube Video link as it is difficult to appreciate the same in photos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlzYz7SQns4

Stretching the back





Bending the lower back forward, this reduces axial weight load on spine and releases strain when attempted intermittently. Should not be default as it induces shoulder / elbow / wrist pain.





Avoiding the impact of a small bump or pot hole.





Bad or NO Road Situations: kindly wear good footwear and ensure safe stance on your footpegs before attempting this posture.





Hope this write up is helpful for you. We can have a discussion of any of the above assertions or assumptions but please do not turn this into a personal consultation thread for your specific ailments. A doctor who can examine you directly is any day better than a distant one! Looking forward to inputs and tips from other riders about the same topic.

[ajay0612]

Originally Posted by ram1kv

Back Pain and Bike Rides

Interventions:

• Got the right bike at that time = Honda CB 350. (now thinking of Adv Models, will write about it another time )

Very detailed and genuine post. Quite helpful.
Regarding 'right bike', would you consider ADVs better than commuters or cruisers for Indian roads?
Specifically Himalayan 450/T400x Vs CB 350/x440?

Thanks.

[hikozaru]

Excellent post ram1kv. As another person lower back pain with a supersport dream I need to add a lot of this is doable even on a machine with committed ergos like the R15 (except for the full standing up and riding on bad roads).

My routine is a 20min stretch as soon as I wake up in the morning. That way I don't have to faff around just before riding my bike. Some overlooked parts are ankles (helps a lot with sudden urges to ride spiritedly and put some more lean down), fingers and wrists. A few side planks and bird dogs ensures good torsional stability when leaning.

If you have bad roads near you, its also worth adjusting the clutch lever and angle it down so it forms a straight line when you are half standing up. Consider removing the rubber on the pegs if you often stand up and ride in wet weather as most pegs offer terrible grip when its wet. Most nakeds can take potholes and speed breakers at good speed with these methods without any rim damage and once you get a taste of this and start overtaking slowing cars on speed bumps, its hard to go back.

Overweight people and fellow supersport dreamers, please consider swimming. Even standing in water reduces the weight your knees and spine has to support (excellent for decompression). Just basics like floating has you do the pelvic tilt (exact opposite of tucking in), which is great as posture correction. All forms of swimming work great for building core strength, and some forms are excellent at teaching you how to keep your arms stretched without tensing up your shoulders which is how you want to hold the bars. Overall, this is a lot less boring than holding planks for minutes on end and its usually better than other dynamic core exercises which focus more on strength than the ability to support the spine.

[ram1kv]

Originally Posted by ajay0612

Very detailed and genuine post. Quite helpful.
Regarding 'right bike', would you consider ADVs better than commuters or cruisers for Indian roads?
Specifically Himalayan 450/T400x Vs CB 350/x440?

Thanks.

Thank you Ajay!
Adventures are better for the back as long as you're not doing too much 'adventure' with them. We all have to realise what we can and cannot do with our specific health issues. the body posture on a cruiser puts too much stress on the spinal column. I am thinking in adventure tourer terms to reduce the impact on the back during more than 6 hours riding. The search is on and will update when it unfurls. As there are some awesome choices in the market, will take my time and do mutliple test rides to check if it is worth a switch/upgrade.

Originally Posted by hikozaru

Excellent post ram1kv. As another person lower back pain with a supersport dream I need to add a lot of this is doable even on a machine with committed ergos like the R15 (except for the full standing up and riding on bad roads).

All forms of swimming work great for building core strength, and some forms are excellent at teaching you how to keep your arms stretched without tensing up your shoulders which is how you want to hold the bars. Overall, this is a lot less boring than holding planks for minutes on end and its usually better than other dynamic core exercises which focus more on strength than the ability to support the spine.

Could'nt agree more Hikozaru. Regular exercises like the ones you've suggested increasing strength and tone incrementally does the trick. Thank you for adding a few more exercises to my routine list

[Aditya]

Back Pain and Bike Rides - Posts moved to a new thread.

[click]

This is really a helpful thread. I might have to change the suspensions on classic 350, as frequency of strain back has increased even for rides under an hour.

[Rev2Serenity]

This post reminded me of how much I used to do bike rides before I had a L4-L5 disc prolapse in 2017. I had to unwillingly stop going on long bike trips which I loved so much after this injury. On the other hand, my driving increased after that for sure.

With right diet, exercise / yoga and good driving etiquette like having good posture, enough breaks on a long trip, more intake of fluids and with additional lower back support as need be, one can drive comfortably even with a slip disc.

Riding a bike should be avoided as much as possible if there is a herniated disc IMHO. Strengthening the core muscles and stretching the spine is a must and will help a lot to ease out the pressure on the disc if at all one is unable to avoid riding bikes.

Ride Safe!

[ike]

Originally Posted by ram1kv

While driving, ensuring that the back is stretched according to each one’s body shape and comfort by keeping the head, neck and back constantly rested along the seat will reduce the weight that is being transmitted down the spinal column.

Thanks a ton for this informative writeup!


I have a very laidback driving position but find that the neck compensates for the seat recline and often end up driving with my upper back and neck unsupported. Is this still OK since the lower back is rested along the seat or do I have to modify my posture? I started driving a lot more recently and no drive about 2500KMS every month. And yes I'm unhealthy and had a sore back too last week.

[ram1kv]

Originally Posted by ike

I have a very laidback driving position but find that the neck compensates for the seat recline and often end up driving with my upper back and neck unsupported. Is this still OK or do I have to modify my posture?

Thank you Ike, bad posture always catches up with us and it is better to get the whole of the back supported while driving by bringing the seat angled closer to your spine.

Originally Posted by Rev2Serenity

Riding a bike should be avoided as much as possible if there is a herniated disc IMHO. Ride Safe!

Totally agree Rev2Serenity, riding with acute disc herniation is not a good idea.

Originally Posted by click

This is really a helpful thread. I might have to change the suspensions on classic 350, as frequency of strain back has increased even for rides under an hour.

Nothing like a good suspension on our uneven roads to protect the spine!

[Kkumar]

A great and informative article. These steps should be followed by everyone and not just those with back pain. As the saying goes “Prevention is better than cure”. All the best and keep on munching miles.

[raptor_diwan]

Great article! Thanks for sharing lots of helpful tips. Back pain is becoming more pronounced as I age.

I've transitioned from biking to using a car because of this.

I appreciate the precautions.

[ravradha]

https://youtu.be/e_hVwp5qEjY?si=7hBNtDQc98s9wi7d

The above video offers a bit of help to alleviate back pain to an extent for scooter riders by changing their sitting posture.

[kaizengadi]

Great Thread, also linking another thread I had come across from reddit which explains about good riding ergonomics for reduced discomfort during long rides.
Master Yoda's Riding Position