Video: 3 Exercises to Relieve Low Back Tightness
Low back tightness and pain can and has plagued so many of us riders. There are many different types of low back pain. This article is going to go over a type of back pain that comes on slowly during or after riding. It is centrally in your back not extending down into your buttock or legs. This type is typically from tighter larger muscles in your low back and lack of use of stability muscles in your back and in your abdomen. A study performed on cyclists, with low back pain, showed an altered motor control of the lower lumbar spine.(1) These altered motor control patterns begin to restrict all lumbar (low back) movement including bending over and bending backward by an over activation of larger muscles not designed for a stability job.
The exercises below are going to show you how to use the stability muscles and how to re-learn the motor control that you need. These are base exercises and you will need to increase them as you get better and back to feeling great.
Your back has several muscles that support the spine, your stability muscles. Some are located in the back and some surround your body, these muscles are otherwise known as your "core". These muscles include but are not limited to:
Your Multifidus – Your Obliques and Transverse Abdominus – Your Pelvic Floor – Your Diaphragm
Your Trunk Cylinder
All of these muscles come together to form a cylinder, your trunk. If we do not use all of these muscles, then your body will use mostly all larger back muscles. This can lead to that over activation mentioned above.
Another thing that can lead to over activation is pain coming from your spine joints. This will cause your muscles around it to guard, or aka activate in a no-functional manor. This guarding also limits movement and can make the tightness that you feel.
This leads us into the main exercises that I would recommend for muscle tightness pain in the low back. These exercises relax your back muscles and activate your other muscles in the cylinder, listed above.
***Another aspect to low back tightness/pain can be the type, size, and geometry of your bike***
Exercise #1: Base Core Exercise
Objective
- To understand how to use your core and to relax your low back muscles
Perform:
- Directly before performing the following exercises
- When you feel tightness in your low back during the day
- To understand how to move your pelvis separate from your upper trunk
Things to Note:
- Do not use your butt during this exercise or draw your knees inward
Exercise #2: Hands and knees Arm lifts
Objective:
- To stabilize against rotational forces for trunk control and to activate obliques and multifidus
Perform:
- 2 times a day
- 2 sets 20 reps
- As needed to reduce low back tightness
Things to Note:
- To make harder move more into a plank, but make sure that you don't raise your feet or use your butt
Exercise #3: Bent Knee Fall Out
Objective:
- Trunk Control with Hip Mobility
Perform:
- 2-4 times a day
- 2 sets 10-30 reps each side
Things to Note:
- When this becomes easy, you can add a band around your knees and perform the exercise the same. It will then activate the butt muscles once the band is added.
About the Author:
Liz Koch, PT, DPT is a physical therapist that knows exactly what it is like to have pain. She has been to many PTs over her life, which directed her to becoming one. She has been a mountain biker since she was a kid and has recently opened up her own clinic in Western North Carolina, Blue Ridge BioMechanics. She wants to share the knowledge that you don’t have to be in pain when riding and you don’t have to stop riding to get out of pain. She has focused this mission to Rad Mountain Biking Ladies on Facebook and through her online business, The Ride Life.
Let me know if you have questions in the comments.
*If you have pain please consult with a doctor or physical therapist for further evaluation, Liz Koch and companies are without liability if you injure yourself while performing these exercises*
1. Burnett AF, Cornelius MW, Dankaerts W. O’Sullivan PB. Spinal kinematics and trunk muscle activity in cyclists: a comparison between healthy controls and non-specific chronic low back pain subjects-a pilot investigation. Man Ther. 2004;9:211-9.
MENTIONS: @theridelife
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(P.S. Great vid Liz - my lower back certainly tightens after a few rides)
I really do like your format of short instructions paired with explanations of how the body works, when to do the exercises and all that. Really practical and still enough background to put it in context. Thanks!
These exercises won’t be your help but just keeping moving will, but don’t force the stretch... nice a easy.
And I’m glad you like my format
Or neck bridges (more probe for injuries)
Yeah when riding tight woods sections it is often either the helmet, shoulder or arms which take a hit when I ride a corner too tight. Most of it doesn't really bother me but I do want to steer clear of back/neck/brain injuries as much as possible. The stiff neck usually loosens up fairly quick indeed. Just wanted to be sure whether there is anything else I should do. But I suppose it should all be good then. Cheers!
And the best way to do that is doing heavy deadlifts and squats. It sounds almost counterintuitive but with proper technique (and that’s even more critical if you have back pain already) it makes a massive difference.
I totally cured mine in about 6 weeks.
I think something in the PT realm that exists that I'm not sure that PT's acknowledge (or maybe they do), is that sometimes it's hard to believe that an exercise with such low weight and intensity will actually benefit. It probably stems from the want and need to be better NOW and so when I see and hear such "easy" exercises (admittedly even before trying them
"Will this really help me?" "Will I even be able to "fix" myself?" "This won't work for someone like me, who's had a spinal curve imbalance for as long as I can remember."
I'm starting to but in the work, especially in the lower back flexibility realm, but the long road at times has be likely discriminating unduly on lesser intensity exercises that for someone don't seem to appeal. I'm also attending pyschotherapy groups to address this flawed thinking hahaha
These exercises are also called motor control exercises. You need strength but before you can strengthen something, you need to be able to have improved firing of that muscle... right?
These are a starting point... not your middle step or your ending point exercises. I hope that makes sense.
It is hard to put out such small exercises for people, but I know they will be helpful. Thanks for your thoughts, I’m sure others were thinking it too
These exercises are for timing and activation. Small movements. The exercises are meant to be performed slowly. If you don’t feel like you get anything from that one move more into a plank and then lift one arm then the other whole keeping your body still. It is a rotational stability which will activate and trigger the small muscles in your back called the multifidus. They are small rotators.
Try it out. Rotational stability is key for Mtn biking