What Causes Lower Back Pain for Cyclists (& the solutions) 

This bike fitting series is the best thing on the Internet. I work with a lot of clients who have had hip or knee replacements, range of motion at the top of the pedal stroke is a major concern when it comes to lower back pain. As a fitter, one thing that frustrates me to no end is how the bike industry offers one Q-factor for everybody. Every Ultegra crank has the same Q-factor, same with every Look pedal. Yeh, Speedplay offers more lateral adjustment and different spindle lengths, but so few bike fitters have studied FAI, so nobody stocks them.

Thx for sharing your wisdom!!! This channel should have a lot more viewers!!!

It has only been 2 days since I started cycling and I cant even do 30 minutes straight because of this sharp stabbing back pain only on one side and it goes away when I get off the cycle. I'm so glad I found an explanation! This video helps a lot! Thank you! Might need to tilt the seat a bit to help with fixing my posture too.

Thank you for that, you mentioned a few points that are things I do, now I know I'll try and be more conscious of my form

Another excellent video gents - Neill’s bike fitting videos are the best thing on RU-vid 👍👍👍

You guys are killing it! Awesome content!

Really appreciate all the great content! Keep it going 😊

Thank you- Used some pedal washers to resolve my back pain. Couldn’t ride more than 2 hrs and suffered for almost a year. Already had footbeds and cleats all the way back so it was a process of elimination.

By far my favorite online bike fitter!

Once more the importance of a propper bikefit !! Cheers for the interesting topics !!

great content. Thanks for the info...will try some of your ideas out.

Tilting the seat helped me, thanks a lot man

so good to know, just got back from a ride rocking back and forth, i do it when i'm tired

Would love to see Neil go through a core strengthening routine aimed at cycling!

I’ve watched all his videos with Neil featured . I feel like I should send him money for having Neil explaining bike fit information. I’ve tried everything thing he has recommended and it has helped tremendously.

This video really helps me! Thank you so much

Another great video and awesome content from Neil.

Wow this actually explains it all. I have dominant right leg but its shorter. And I always have pain in the back of my right leg and left lower back.

I've been adjusting my handle bar and seat position with no relief, as this is what most people suggest. Even going through an expensive bike fitting didn't help. I've never heard the Q-factor being a cause of back pain, but I looked at my cleats and they were set to the minimum Q-factor (which was actually set by the fitter). I moved them out and immediately could feel that my back is much more relaxed when riding. Thank you so much for this solution!

Awsome as always , hands down to both of yaa

wow Neil really knows his stuff! I put my seat too high so this is a good reminder for me to lower it, the bottom of the stroke is I think a bit too low so I will be rocking side to side to accomodate for that. But also I don't have a strong core so that's also contributing to my lower back pain.

Good video and interesting comments from Neil as always. He mentioned moving both your saddle height down and your cleats further back, is something i did a while ago. Did gradual small changes over a period of time. I found it had a positive effect and did make a difference. But something i've been doing for a long time also, is stretching my hamstrings as well. This for me has had a positive effect on eliminating lower back discomfort too.

Very informative, thank you

This is brilliant! Thanks.

My problem is what you described in the first minute. I have either QL or Glute issue. I have shimmed my left leg due to right LBP. It helped but then my knee hurt just a little bit as though i was too shimmed. Only 2-3 mm. I took out 2 mm. Will see how this works...

Hi Neill, really nice video and info. One question, is it possible that low back pain is being caused by excessive saddle tilt? I am using a -3degre nose down angle. Tks in advance.

Brilliant one :) thanks a lot

Great information 👌🏻

Loved all of these videos with Neill; very informative. My lower back pain seems to be in reverse. When riding there is no pain but when finished, not long after, then there is back pain

Thank you for confirming my bike fitter solution to my chopping pedal stroke while climbing 👍

My SI joint jammed for a year and I've been doing Postural Restoration Institute drills. Hopefully this will solve your asymmetry issues as well.

thanks for this video - will a wider seat like 155mm help to minimize the pelvic rocking?

Great video thanks.

Hello , I have been riding for years in the same position and have made no changes to Bicycle Tom but now I’m riding more miles and I started having lower back pain

Nice. A new started and academic bile channel. Subbed

Neill, can I ask a back related question? I’ve just had a bike fit, which showed that my pelvis doesn’t rotate forwards more than 10-15 degrees from vertical, despite having good hamstring flexibility (I’m able to raise my leg to 80 degrees when lying on my back), and use SQ Lab and SMP saddles on my bikes. I’ve been switched to a more curved saddle to support this more upright pelvic position, but recognise that it’s not an ideal posture for my spine. In your experience, are there reasons why this might be, and can you recommend anything I can do, our any muscles I can target which will enable me to rotate my pelvis further forwards please? Thanks

Great video, finding a saddle that suits also is key. Fizik bull rotates your pelvis due to poor flexibility. I had a serious back injury 36 years ago and that saddle saved me. Massive game changer.

Hi Neil, I struggled with lower back pain for the last several years when riding at high outputs mainly due do the a severely compressed/herniated disc at L5S1. I watched this video and your review of of the SQLab saddle. I went with both the SQLab 512 XL pedal and the 612 saddle and my pain is essentially gone. I’m 6’6”, size 49 shoe, btw, and ride a Specialized Roubaix. Both changes are contributed to increased comfort. Since I did them both at the same time, hard to tell which contributed more. Anyway thanks for the insights, I’m a big fan.

what about hamstring fatigue?! Neil mentioned this in the beginning of the video as co-dependent to lower back pain, but would like to know what's his take on the subject....seat too low?!

I biked/walked around my campus a lot, and I never thought that my bike seat positioning could be the cause. First I thought it was my backpack, but it seems like a combination of both

Exceptionally useful ... but overwhelming. So, many possible causes - hard to find major contributing ones without pro-help!

Hello, I have LBP (more like fatigue feel rather than sharp pain feel) when i stand and dance. And that carries into when i sit on the saddle after that. What is the problem and how do i fix it? Thank you!

Thanks so much for the great content!!

Hi so if I get right sided pain in my lower back it may be a case that it's my left leg causing the issue. I have spaced out my right cleat by 3mm with no improvement. Am I doing it to the wrong shoe?

Thanks for this video. I have lots of lower backpain when mountainbiking. I really noticed a wobble in my hip when riding probably caused by my thud buster (seat suspension) so maybe I have to get rid of it. But in the end you mention a hip impingement. I recently been diagnosed with a fairy large labrum tear. And although it won't hurt when riding a bike it can cause stability issues. Now I am really working on my core but what are the best options when riding with an impingement?

Good stuff

Theoretically interesting however a lack of applied anatomical knowledge limits validity in some areas (as an example, QL is not a spinal stabliser; the CSA is minimal and it has little force generating moment on the lumbar spine). A good point to start though, and some nice practical tips.

This series is amazing! Thanks for sharing all your knowledge Neil! I have a question: Can low cadence (due to low gearing) impact on this? I suffer from back pain when climbing, but i feel it's because I'm doing it on 36(front) 28 (back) and sometimes 60rpm cadence or even low, for long periods (but for me, 10min are enough to start suffering) Can this be related? Thanks! Regards from Portugal!

Im a licensed physio from the philippines and im trying to study up about bike fitting to make it a sideline job, any good sources for discussions like this where kinematics and theory is really used rather than just random rules of thumb? Great vid btw, learned alot

Now I can assume my seatpost is too high and will look forward to adjust it in the next ride. I mainly experience lower back pain on ascents, and prefer using higher cadence, I guess seat height is the reason eh?

Any ideas for back pain that comes on a few hours after a long ride and stays bad for a good week or so? No pain whilst riding, but more a few hours after?

7:41 - any any idea about disc bulging-herniation problem? i have that, right now, and i wonder if i'll ever get back to cycling... i really hope so, since cycling makes me profoundly happy... (last year i managed my personal bests, 15500 kms & 31.2 kph over 200 k solo) best regards, Mircea

I only get back pain (upper) sitting at my dining room table for long periods .

I have the issue that my left knee turns inwards at the top of the stroke because my pelvis is rotated to the front a bit on the left side. Should I try to move the left cleat more backwards? But wouldn't that increase the reach for my left leg? Or move the left cleat to the inside of the shoe to get a slightly wider stance on that side?

In my case the cause of pain is clear: I only have a bike stand for the back wheel. So when I use it as stationary the front is not firm enough like a real stationary bike is. 1. I do not have back pain with a real metal stationary bike 2. I do not want to have to buy an additional stationary bike because of lack of front bike stand to immobilize it completely. 3. Any solutions to this? …

This might heresy for most roadies, but wouldn't a flat pedal alleviate most of this because you naturally adjust on a flat pedal for comfort in real time

So,...theoretically, if my lower back is hurting AND I also get numb toes, is it more probable that the cause is in the cleat position?

I need help. If I do a hard effort on Zwift I get no back pain, if I do the same hard effort outside I get low back pain for that day and usually into the next day. After an hours ride outside I always get lower back pain. I do know my core is very week also... I also rock a bit when I walk...been like this for a long time. And also feels like I have a hip-drop. If being on the trainer is fine, but outside is not...what is going on???

What if you have all of them? Should you just stop riding?

Front wheel drive recumbents are vitually painless.

Old school video! Look at that winspace lol

Did he say core strength is rubbish 🗑 😐I felt this

I get lower back pain all the time when riding. I suspect that the cause is the position of my pelvis on the saddle. I typically end up rotating it backward, as rotating it forward causes the seat to dig into the 'sensitive soft tissues'. With the pelvis rotated back, I'm sitting more comfortably, however, this causes an increased bend in the spine in order to still reach the handlebars. And in consequence, the discs are under additional pressure, as well as the erector spinae muscles are working harder, leading to fatigue. After about an hour or riding, I have to periodically stand in the pedals and push my hips forward, to sort of bend the spine in the opposite direction. Or better yet, stop for a minute to straighten out. (My neck and upper traps typically also feel strained, so stopping helps with that also). I have a stock specialized saddle, which does have that grove down the middle. But perhaps its too small. Maybe a different seat will allow me to rotate my pelvis forward and keep my back straighter. Of course, it could also be the issues mentioned here, so I'll have to check for those. Thanks for your informative videos.

Just about everything then.

The dreaded L5

Normally its hamstring flexibility

I think rubbish core strength is the one for me... 😅

on -off saddle in a climb get rid of this problem

What accent is this? I dont understand certain words.

"their core strength is rubbish.." hayi Neil.

With me I think that it's older age lol

To much hip flexion

My core strength is rubbish, end of story 😂

I find the whole concept of leaning so forward extremely stupid! Watching in movies, professional competitions, etc. I always wondered how they can maintain the same posture without any pain in their back! I would get pain in my back just by looking at them LMFAO!!

You speak too fast its hard to follow the lecture. Slow down

That's A guede question.....because they got rubbish Rubbish RUBBISH Mate!

God.. switch on the air conditioning... he is sweating...

that bike looks too small for him

Let me help you Mr Pro! Why do you always go beating around the bush, and don’t just nail it straight on the head !? WTF is this ? Back pain-is 99.99% caused by the seat being too high! Everything else could be contributing, but, is that 0.1% So annoying when you get “experts” like a F doctor, that either has no idea where the problem is coming from, or they do know, but won’t tell you straight up-God forbid they’ll be wrong.