Question about Pain.

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Hello everyone, I'm Sean and I'm from Louisville, Ky. Let me say that I am sorry in advance if the question I am asking here has been asked a million times before, but I would like some type of input.
I spent many, many years lifting weights, and I was addicted to power cleans specifically- I trained for power because I have competed in a full-contact martial art for over twenty years.
I know that there is some type of play in the vert of my lower back- I can feel movement down there sometimes. I also have Psioratic Arthritis. I live in alot of pain from the sport I have done, and from living a seriously hard life- I am currently 39.
I started riding a road bike about a year ago, and -as everyone knows- it is addictive in the extreme. I own an old Cannondale which I bought used. It is a bit too big for me. I am 5'4" and I carry alot of extra muscle.
Here's the deal, sometimes when I ride I get pain in my legs that is so bad I almost black out and fall off the bike. I can climb sometimes and sometimes I can't, or I can start a ride off with some bunny hills and then, all of a sudden, I will approach another hill and I am overcome by pain and stiffness that is almost frightening. It's like my legs feel 'pumped' to such a degree that they start to feel like solid wood- it's bizarre.
I know i will never be a true cyclist- I use the bike to train for martial arts. However, I am starting to become addicted, and now I am saving up for an Italian bike. I need to go faster.
Anyone ever hear of this type of thing happening? Is it the play in my lower back?
Any input would be greatly appreciated. God bless and have a great day!!
-SeanG

I also have had serious sciatic pain for years. Recently (6 mos) I have started taking osteo bi-flex along with bromelain. At the same time, I read up on "TMS", and I am virtually pain free. I was, and still am, very skeptical of these homeopathic remedies, but hey, all I know is something worked, so I'll keep on it. Good Luck!

First thing to note is that pain is your body's way of telling you something is wrong. Pain of that intensity means something is seriously wrong. It may all be associated with your back, but I would suggest a visit to your doctor to check it out.

Also, if you have back problems and are riding hard on a bike that isn't the correct size for you, then you will not be adopting the best and most efficient riding position and may in fact be aggravating the existing back problem and causing further damage.

As I've already suggested, go see a doc and get yourself checked out, you may also benefit from some sessions with a physiotherapist. If you want to continue riding, it is important that you get yourself on a properly fitted bike as soon as you can.

First thing to note is that pain is your body's way of telling you something is wrong. ... I would suggest a visit to your doctor to check it out. Well said, serious pain is a warning sign that you can ignore or heed.

Having said that, you haven't told us much about what you were doing up to the point of the "wooden" feeling in your legs. Are you crushing huge gears over those bunny hills or are you riding a sustainable pace? Is your tongue dragging prior to these episodes or did you feel like you could have gone all day and suddenly everything seizes up?

If it's the former (pounding at max speed prior to wooden legs) then spend some time in the training section of this website. Fast racer's don't get that way by crushing huge gears on every ride. As they say, you've got to learn to ride slow to race fast. The bulk of a solid training program, especially in the early going, is pretty moderate and builds the base needed for really hard and fast efforts.

If it's the latter (cruisin' along and suddenly everything seizes up) you'd definitely better get a good checkup with a doctor on the lookout for pinched nerves, herniated disks or other serious issues with your central nervous system. I've been an EMT and ski patroller for a while and have seen several cases of folks walking around, doing their sports and leading pretty normal lives with broken backs and necks. They usually are just fine until they turn just the wrong way and can't walk anymore. Saw one guy during an ER rotation that fell off a ladder installing Christmas lights, refused treatment when his wife called the paramedics, walked into the ER the following day with two broken vertebrae, and both up high where they really count. Don't ignore unexplainable pain!

I've had my legs seize up in early season crits or track races when I just wasn't fit enough but I'd also been maxing out my heart rate and knew I was in way over my head. If that's the case then build a solid and sensible training plan that starts with building base. Don't worry you'll get plenty fast on that kind of plan, it just takes a while....

Good luck,
Dave

>Having said that, you haven't told us much about what you were doing up to the point of the "wooden" feeling in your legs.

I will try to describe this situation in greater detail later. Please stay tuned.

Yes, it definitely is my lower back. Stretching is helping. Next I talk to my bone cracker. Thanks for the help.

First thing is i would like to say is like everyone has pain is sign that you need to get checked out by your doctor. If you truly have movement that is beyond the normal amount due to a true spinal ligamentous injury it is very important that you get that checked out and that feeling of dead wood concerns me enough to tell you to make an apointment asap. No bowel or bladder changes I hope? If so then get to a hospital. I dont want to be an alarmist but just so you know. I have posted a few articles on pezcycling news on lowback pain that may also help with some questions just do a search on lowback pain.

As per the others, get it checked out by the doctor.

I have an injured shoulder and never went to the doctor until 2 years after I injured it, as it kept getting better and then it would get worst again. Doctor sent me to shoulder specialist, who knew exactly what was wrong with it and now I dropped some of the exercise I was doing (mainly boxercise) and have added / modified my weight training and added some yoga. If I had been sensible, I would of gone to the doctor much earlier.

I will see to this asap- early next week. I have lived with chronic pain for almost ten years now due to combat-related injuries. However, I have learned to distinguish between injury and milage-related pain. My right elbow is currently toasted due to using equipment that was a bit too heavy for me.
This is all part of the Way of the Warrior.
I took a 15 mile ride today after a few days off (bike was in the shop). While climbing a street that is a steep three blocks I could feel the process happen. Legs get pumped and start the natural process of "burn". Then there is a spread of the pump from my legs to my glutes and then to my lower back. At some point, the pump creates an impingement that causes enough pain that I cannot work through the basic pain that -I assume- happens in all climbing. I hope this makes sense. The pain then shoots from this impingement throughout the region, and my legs start to slow down. I cannot overcome this feeling, and I have been beaten every which way but loose for 25 years. I am a very tough guy, but the problem I am talking about creates a process where the pump in my legs and glutes starts to aggravate a place in my lower back, and this situation sends a clear message to my legs to simply stop....and they do.
I am usually fine on flats, even when stomping big gears. The problem is that this process starts when I lay on a certain level of effort, and instead of overcoming fatigue I hit a wall of nerve impingement.
Oh, and by-the-way...after hanging out with serious lifters and martial artists for most of my life, I have come to the conclusion that serious cyclists are the meanest, toughest athletes on the planet Earth. I can't believe the fitness and strength that some of you must have. It's amazing, and it's sad that the average American does not understand just what winning the Tour really means, ya know?