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Its quite known that we abuse our bodies riding mountain bikes. As we age it becomes harder to recover and increasingly more difficult to move the way we used to when we were younger. Crashing seems to hurt more as the ground appears to come at you faster and harder. I am constantly reading books and doing research either online or with my doctors and and those who I train with to better myself and learn to cope with my aging body. Although it has never truly helped me with an issue that has plagued many of my rides, and that is lower back pain. Unfortunalty low back pain is a mystery to those that have never had it. In fact I was in denial for the first few years, and in my late 20′s caught myself saying “I am too young for this to be happening” as I have always tried to move, sit and lift properly. My wife even looked at me funny at first when I had major back spells. On one day during a trip to the local shopping mall as we were walking back to the car I collapsed to my knees in utter pain and disbelief. I was carrying nothing and had not done anything strenuous that day or even a few days prior. Yet there I lay on the hot summer Las Vegas asphalt in near tears as my wife looks at me with the look of “ok stop playing around” … I wasn’t. What simply was just a pinched nerve completely disabled me for the better part of 10-15 min until I could make it back to the car. And the pain would last from there for weeks. Over the years I suffered from migraine headaches and still do from time to time. I have also had a few more crumbling falls that were unsolicited and pain accompanying it lasting from a few days to several weeks.
However there are two things that I can say have truly helped me and I am so grateful. So I feel it only right to share it with you.
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My wife is always concerned with my health and well being as she has since seen what appears to be a some what fit and healthy young looking 38 year old stopped dead in his tracks. I struggled with chiropractors as no matter how loose they were able to get me I would still tense up knowing the “Crack” was coming. As a result sometimes I ended up leaving in more pain than when I arrived (this is with MANY MANY different chiropractors). All until my wife was watching that DOCTORS show and came across a technique called NUCCA. This type of chiropractic work is extremely non evasive and VERY gentle. Several exrays and measurements then a subtle push on the base of your skull. At times I would leave in complete awe with how well I felt afterwards. One day I told the receptionist I felt like running a marathon afterwards. If you don’t believe me look into it for yourself. It truly is amazing how much better you will feel after several visits with a NUCCA Chiropractor. Below is a link to see more detailed information on the procedure along with videos to better explain it.
CLICK THIS LINK FOR MORE DETAILED INFORMATION ON NUCCA
Image may be NSFW.
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Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Another thing that has helped me is one seriously focused guy. That name is James Wilson of BikeJames.com and MTB Strength Training System. I have followed James for the last few years now and have gained an appreciation for his knowledge. A few years ago I picked up his MTB DB Combos 12 Week Program. Recently I have acquired his latest version that has a few more tweaks and added things he has learned over the years. A set of dumbbells or kettlebells are all you need for his program. Whats great about James is he breaks everything down to a how and why, all while he keeps it guided to riding bikes and becoming a better rider. Recently he posted on Facebook what should be his next article for his Decline Magazine spot. Several great ideas came about and he had picked mine on lower back pain. As I eagerly await my next issue of Decline in anticipation to see what brilliant drills he has for me to improve my situation, I stumble across his YouTube channel featuring his ultimate stretches to fight that low back pain. Well the Decline issue has arrived and I have spent nearly each day performing these stretches and I must say they work, and well. Here is a recent post and video from his site with these very drills.
Low back pain is a common problem with mountain bikers. Here is a simple 5 exercise routine I use to loosen up the hips and upper back so that the body can move freely at the hips and take the stress off the lower back.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Here is the routine:
- Hip Flexor Stretch X 5 reps
- Tactical Frog Stretch
- ½ Kneeling Ankle MOBS X 20 & T-Spine Twist X 12
- Arm Bar
- Touch the Wall Deadlifts X 10-20 reps
If you currently have low back pain try doing this routine daily for a couple weeks, at which point you can cut back to once or twice a week for maintenance. This routine makes a great warm up for strength training, especially if you have deadlifts or swings in your workout.
-James Wilson-
For more information on the Nucca procedure and James Wilson visit these sites
www.nucca.org
www.bikejames.com
