BEAT BACK PAIN

Making his first tentative steps back onto the bike after months out with back trouble, CW’s James Shrubsall declares war on cycling’s number-one ride-spoiler

- James Shrubsall

At the time of writing, the defending Tour de France champion Egan Bernal has just abandoned the race with back pain. I may be twice his age, and barely champion of my own bike shed, but I know how he feels... sort of. Whether it’s a dull ache that sets in towards the end of a ride, the odd twinge getting in and out of the chair at the coffee stop, or a raging sciatica that prevents cycling altogether, many of us have experienced some form of back issue. And the sad truth is, these problems often seem to be brought on – or at least exacerbated – by riding a bike.

You might be frustrated; you might be in pain; but one thing you certainly won’t be is alone. The UK Health & Safety Executive put the number of workdays lost to back pain at 2.8 million in 12 months across 2018-19. More seriously, it’s not unreasonable to estimate that the number of bike rides missed runs to seven figures, or at least not far off.

Cyclists seem to get a raw deal in the back pain stakes. A Norwegian study of 116 pro cyclists found low back pain (LBP) to be the most prevalent overuse injury in the group, with 49 cyclists reporting the issue. This was backed up by a study of 111 Swiss national team cyclists, which found one in three had some back pain and poor core strength.