I’ve had the worst back pain now for a week. I haven’t done anything unusual or out of the ordinary. All I can think of would be a few practice sessions on the uni. I didn’t make any radical UPD’s. I did have a few quick twisting motions immediately after the mount to try and “catch it” and start riding. Maybe the twists hurt the lower back that isn’t used to this. Anyway, the pain wasn’t immediate but gradually developed from a “tinge” in certain movements to full blown “OMG there’s a knife in my back”. I had something similar when I first started to get back into unicycling and just chalked it up to lack of riding. I guess it takes longer to ease into it than I thought.
dude thats really weird i have the exact same thing but i got mine from doing jumps wrong or something but i know how you feel it hurts so bad. go to the doctor and hopefully the will prescribe you ultracet that medecine rocks. cuase thats what they did for me
POW
Even with the occasional back pains, I think unicycling has been good for my overall posture. I used to have a lot more back pain before I was unicycling. Have you tried stretching before riding?
Stretch your back before you ride. did you do hop any gaps sideways cause that will thrash your back if you havent stretched.
Back destruction
Don’t worry:( be happy:D You haven’t destroyed your back, most likely! Just tweaked it a bit I’m guessing. You’ve been compensating and overprotecting it and that just makes it hurt worse.
While I would avoid unicycling for a little while, more than anything else, you need a regular program of back strengthening and range of motion exercises.
Many chiropracters are good at prescribing effective exercise routines. This sounds like a case where chiropractic makes good sense. If you go the pain med. route, be determined to make it for the (very) short term, or you’ll end up like the drug-seekers I see in the ER every time I work.(pathetic)
Re: Back destruction
Ice it.
Actually, I don’t know if that’ll help, that’s just what I always do when I twinge something. And it sometimes helps.
I agree about stretching before you ride, that does help quite a bit.
Try stretching your entire body a lot.
Also, try riding more muni - I find that it puts me in all kinds of contortions that stretch and work the muscles more evenly.
Finally, learn to hop using the other hand - and alternate when appropriate.
These are things that helped me ease up on my lower back.
a friend of mine who is a M.D. thinks that Uniing is actually good for your back
well he wasn’t talking about intense muni but just about uni practice, he thinks the constant moves of the pelvis makes your muscles strong for the support of your backbone.
This said I twitched my back once (trying to bounce) and went to a chiropractor who found that I my backbone had been twisted by about 15 degrees for a long time
so he did something and all of a sudden I was able to touch my toes ! ( a feat I hadn’t performed since I was a baby!
)
bear
My back was effed up pretty bad last spring. Whenever I did anything that stretched my back (like stand up or turn my body to look at something) I would get a sharp pain in my back. It lasted about 3 months. I never went to a doctor. I figure I pulled something.
Anyways, to the point of my post. I noticed that the day after unicycling my back would feel tons better. I think all of the small corrections you do help limber up your whole body.
That kinda sounds where I’m at now. Leaning way over or bending to put on socks sends a little reminder that “Hey, you better watch it, I’m not playing here!”. I haven’t done the meds route other than some aspirin type pain relievers at first. I want to know what motions cause the pain and avoid them for now to speed up the healing. I’m in week two right now and it’s definitely better. I’ll just have to be more careful on the wheel. I haven’t done any jumping or hopping etc. and I think I’m reasonably fit for an old guy (40). I guess I just have old back. LOL I bought the uni to help stay in shape!
If you are insured, I recommend going to your doctor and seeing what he tells you. Mine started feeling better after a few weeks, but then it got a lot worse, and lasted another few months. Do yourself a favor and get it taken care of. It can get really really bad.
Another thing: Even when it’s gone take it easy for a month or so. Mine “went away” so I figured I was OK to play football. Then I pulled it making a cut and it was twice as bad as before.
Edit: Oh and I don’t think unicycling caused mine. Not sure what I did. I’m 18 and in good shape.
Re: Re: Back destruction
Ice is only good for the first 72 hours after an injury. Its good to alternate ice with heat when applied. After 72 hours, heat followed by gentle stretching (if it can be done without pain) is good therapy.
If you’re particularly worried about your health, see a chiropractor. A typical medical doctor will give you a prescription and shoo you out of their office; I believe this is not proper treatment. A good chiropractor knows your muscles and bones well and will physically put you back into shape.
Avoiding injury to your back takes work. Cross-training with an exercise that strengthens the back (yoga, swimming, okay, maybe Muni too) plus a regimen of stretching before and after riding will prevent most injuries.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery!
Re: Re: Back destruction
Whao, don’t ice it. You want to put heat on it, heat stimulates the blood flow allowing more blood to pump in that area helping you heal faster, and it also sooths the pain.
Ice is generally used to reduce swelling, while heat increases blood flow. If you have a lot of swelling, ice is good. You can also use an anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen to reduce swelling.
dood i think i been having the same problems my back has been killing me
Ditto. got major lower spinal/back pains this morning. squated for the first time in my weightlifting class. went straight to 215lbs. was easy but i think i musta done it wrong even though i had my back straight, wore a belt, and lifted with my legs. i cant even look down. I feel ya man.
Even though mine feels much better it’s still slightly sore and tight and that first half hour in the morning I move pretty slow! I need to get into a stretching routing.
I would strongly suggest IcyHot before you go to bed (or Bengay, but it’s not nearly as Icy or Hot). It really makes it feel better.
The Bengay patch rules!!! Lasts for 6 hours.