Ouch, My Back!

For the past three weeks, I've been waking up a few times a night, with a painful mid and lower back. It's actually mostly fine during the day, but as soon as I lay prone for a couple of hours, it gets stiff as a board and sore.

As it turns out, I did something to my back, specifically the spinal erectors and quadratus lumborum, likely from poor bike fit on the cross bike (saddle was too high and saddle was tipped down in front), poor posture working at a computer all day long, and just straining some core muscles too much, too fast. I'm sure I didn't help things much by my crash on Labor Day in my first cross race. It was quite a whack. My crash earlier in the season on the track may have precipitated my current state, as well. Everything labeled in this picture is where it hurts:


That said, I found a great chiropractor, Gentry McGrath, who also happens to race cyclocross, so not only is he speaking my language, but he's very motivated to see me recover so I can race healthy.

For the past week, he's been adjusting my well out-of-whack spine and working out those muscles. He told me he was sorry to tell me that at age 34 I am showing signs of arthritis, but since my x-rays are virtually unchanged since the first time Bree and I saw a chiropractor in 2001, I'm neither surprised, nor overly concerned. Not yet, anyway!

I'll see if I can get a picture of the x-ray so I can post it - my back really is kinda nuts...

So, for the past week I've been really ramping up on the core exercises, something I have gotten out of the habit of doing (other than abs) since I was ending my rock climber days a year ago in the spring. It's amazing how much better my back feels just by doing these exercises. Hopefully I will be waking up pain free by the end of next week. This morning was the best in days, and I actually slept soundly until 5 AM, versus waking every two hour or so, and needing to stretch out and attempt to find a position that doesn't immediately lock me up.

I went to the cross workout on Wednesday, and while I was sore and tight afterward, even before my back was injured I would have been sore and tight after two hours of cross practice at Marymoor. Riding there is like having your back pounded by a jackhammer, as the grass is so potholed and uneven.

I've got the go-ahead from Gentry to race on Sunday, so I am stoked. I've been taking this week pretty light on training, so I will either suck (more), or be really fresh.

I went for a run yesterday and it reminded me how much I like running. I gotta get back into the habit of running at least twice a week - good for cross, and good for a change of sport after a long, long season on the bike.