Psoas I was saying, relax that back

There are a pair of muscles connected to each side of the spine and down through the quads, called psoas muscles. I got to know about them for the first time this week. They can tense up after a lot of miles riding low in the drops, and can refuse to relax once you straighten up in the saddle to end the ride.

I know. That little fun fact just happened to me!

When the psoas muscles get tensed up tight, you guessed it, they prevent your lower back muscles from relaxing. And when you straighten up on the bike after a long ride bent forward, you get a serious jab of lower back pain and stiffness.

I took a ride a few days ago, the third of the week, and worked on maximizing my speed throughout the 51-mile ride.

I banged hard the whole way, and continued all the way back to my house at a fast clip. I had been low on the drops for most of the ride. When I pulled upright to stop and punch in my time, at 2 hours, 50 minutes or so, my lower back muscles shot pain to my brain. ARRRRGH, MY BACK!!!

It was weird because my back felt fine for the whole ride. But as one back doctor put it on a video I recently watched, the psoas muscles, when used in a certain way over a long period of time, as in a ride sitting low and forward for hours on the bike, can essentially lock in to that position. This can also happen from sitting or walking for long periods of time. But when you change out of out of those long held positions, the psoas muscles can stay locked in, and pretty much don’t release the connected muscles. That’s where the lower back pain comes in.

I gingerly put the bike away, and took a couple of gelcaps with a glass of water. I sat in a massage chair to loosen up the lower back muscles. That helped a little. The next day, after my routine of leg and core stretches, it was better. But it still felt tense. The pain wasn’t all gone.

So I did some research and learned about the psoas muscles and discovered what can be done to relax them.

There are several effective remedies to loosen up these muscles, but this one, explained by Jody Mello, I think, is as good or better than any. It’s probably a good idea to do her suggested routine every day to keep lower back pain from long rides or other activity, at bay.

Check it out…

Til next time, remember to put on a helmet every time you get on the bike. Then keep the rubber side down, ride safely and have a blast.

-- Mark Eric Larson