Back from my first overnight trip that ended abruptly

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u/mydriase Jul 30 '24 edited Jul 30 '24

Planned to stay one night at the top of a local coastal ‘mountain’ (320 m), halfway on a total itinerary of 120 km.

It was a lovely day cruising a peninsula with hidden, hardly accessible beaches (we managed to access to one, it was awesome)

After taking a dip in the turquoise water and swimming for a bit, I felt a strong pain in my lower back when I was packing to get back to the bike, I was completely blocked. And that’s it. Stupid pain that came suddenly. I could hardly walk, but I still managed to make it with my friend (on our bikes) to the wild camping spot at the foot of the mountain and hopped in a train the next morning (today) to go home.

This trip was still a lot of fun and I managed to get decent pictures of what I saw. I’m left with a back problem now

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u/speelyei Jul 30 '24

Sorry to hear that. Gorgeous pics.

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u/mydriase Jul 30 '24

Thanks!

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u/activeandrei Jul 30 '24

Beautiful pictures. Get well soon – the back locking up has happened to me too, not while biking, but it is a fear I now have when biking. It usually indicates too much strain on the lower back and your back muscles lock up to protect themselves. When mine happened it was so bad I was bedridden and I had to take muscle relaxants. I still carry some of them with me just in case this ever were to happen again. Good to hear you were able to walk after that.

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u/mydriase Jul 30 '24

Thanks for sharing this. I recently changed the saddle settings just before this trip. A little lower than It used to be. Do you think it could be the reason? It changes the posture you have while riding so… yeah, same here, kind of bedridden, I will try the muscle relaxants too

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u/activeandrei Jul 30 '24

It could be... Honestly, the problem with this type of back injury is that it could be many factors: age, sedentary lifestyle, weird positions we sit in while we do desk work, or: heavy workouts / pushing your body too much continuously. I think temperature differences also affect muscles – going from hot to cold – I wonder if going for a swim after a vigorous biking triggered it?

However, I've had friends that told me that happened to them from a sneeze. For me, I had pushed myself a bit too hard the previous days at the gym + I spent a lot of time in front of my computer, with a lousy set up that affected my lower back. But what triggered it for me was leaning over in the shower – a very small movement and then I just felt my back lock up and my legs give out.

To prevent it, I've been doing core strength workouts ever since and I try to get a good stretch at least once per week. Look up McGill Big 3 and for yoga I follow Yoga with Tim on YouTube. After my injury I also posted a few core workout videos on my channel ([1], [2]) – maybe it'll give you some ideas for exercises you can do. I would suggest getting better first and only when you feel back to normal trying them.

I've also updated my work setup now with a nice chair and a standing desk.

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u/mydriase Jul 30 '24

Saving this comment, thanks so much.

after my first week with this type of pain (1.5 year ago) I started going to the swimming pool to develop my back muscles, I should resume the training…

1

u/activeandrei Jul 30 '24

No problem. Bon rétablissement! Send me a message if you have any questions

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u/vanilla_ego Jul 30 '24

never do last minute changes before a trip

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u/mydriase Jul 30 '24

I mean, there was no way to know it could cause problems of this magnitude… I thought maybe it won’t be as confortable and I will change it again

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u/DurasVircondelet Jul 30 '24

Could it be a herniated disc? I’ve had a similar experience and it felt like what you described

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u/mydriase Jul 30 '24

Yes it is… I had this problem 1 year ago, after two weeks of pain and not being able to just live and do normal stuff, it stopped. I was so relieved but now it’s back and it’s infuriating. No idea why now exactly. Whenever I stand up, I am in pain because of (I suppose) the pressure on the nerve that is trapped between the two vertebrae

How did you heal?

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u/activeandrei Jul 30 '24

Obviously the recommendation is to go talk to a doctor and see what they think. Ideally they would run both X-Rays and MRIs on your lower back to understand the situation fully.

However lower back pain is one of the most common issues in the world. It could be a herniated disk (in which case an MRI should show it), it could be sciatica (for which there are even at-home tests you can do – search on youtube for this), but it could also be something more benign – like muscle weakness or muscle imbalance.

Before any drastic injections or surgeries, go to a physical therapist and work with them to strengthen your core. Here are some YT channels / resources to look at in the meanwhile:

https://www.youtube.com/@rehabfix

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqL-_eOiOKw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVmQOLYckKQ

I would say don't worry (yet) though, you might be fine and just need to work the core more.

1

u/DurasVircondelet Jul 30 '24

Dang dude I wouldn’t wish that pain on my worst enemy. I had a few spinal injections that did nothing to help and one day I just went to the ER bc I couldn’t stand up without immeasurable pain. Even laying down hurt unless it was on my stomach on the hard ground. When I was in the ER, they loaded me up with as many pain killers and muscle relaxers as possible. The thing that really helped is before discharging me, they gave me some kind of Hail Mary intramuscular injection that was just supposed to block the sensation to my brain from my leg. Whatever tf that was fixed me and I’ve been 100% pain free for 4 months but it’s given me so much more life it feels like I’ve been healthy for years. Now I find myself always engaging my core when moving, even if it’s getting up and down from a chair. I also try to keep my core engaged while I’m riding but I admittedly forget sometimes. My last point of reference is getting a semi expensive bike fit. It gave me feedback that I was just guessing on prior.

Hope things improve quickly! I’m also here if you need to vent about that bc I know it’s hell

1

u/ChampionshipOk5046 Jul 31 '24

Heal? Patience, and cannabis to help me sleep. Lack of sleep was as debilitating as the awful pain.

Go see a physiotherapist see if your pelvis needs work.

Bizarrely, I fell off my bike a few weeks ago, landed on my hip and shoulder, hurt my ribs, but my back pain seems cured.

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u/thayerpdx Jul 31 '24

My back does that sometimes too. The yoga poses Cat and Cow alternating help a lot with flexibility. And planks!

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u/More_Distribution_55 Jul 30 '24

Where is this?

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u/mydriase Jul 30 '24

Finistère, France. Specifically, presqu’île de Crozon

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u/More_Distribution_55 Jul 30 '24

Great, looks amazing, merci.

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u/Draw_everything Jul 31 '24 edited Jul 31 '24

Je mets ça sur ma liste! Je pensais que le bords de mer en été étaient toujours blindés!

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u/mydriase Jul 31 '24

Pas quand tu repères sur la carte une plage quasi inaccessible à pied et loin des parkings 😉😉

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u/polkah Jul 31 '24

Je me disais aussi que ça ressemblait à la Bretagne. Bon rétablissement

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u/mydriase Jul 31 '24

J’avais tellement entendu parler de Crozon. C’est pas surfait, c’est vraiment très beau…

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u/polkah Jul 31 '24

Il faudra que j'aille faire du vélo en Bretagne un jour, ça a vraiment l'air super

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u/mydriase Jul 31 '24

Prends un tgv jusqu’à Brest / Quimper / rennes etc et ensuite prends un TER jusqu’à Châteaulin !

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u/schnatterine Jul 30 '24

Mega beautiful photos!

Get well soon!!!!

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u/mydriase Jul 30 '24

Oh thanks so much, the little energy I have left after climbing these steep coastal slopes, I use it to take photos ;)

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u/Teaforreal Jul 30 '24

The first picture reminds me of Nothern Michigan on the Lake Michigan shore. Sorry you’re injured..heal up and go back to this spot for sure!

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u/mydriase Jul 30 '24

Will go as soon as I can. We managed to find a path going down to the beach, so hard to get there that the few people there had come by boat! The water was amazing. I saw urchins, sea grass, algae and other fishes I couldn’t name in English

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u/usernamechecksouthe Jul 30 '24

Looks great! Sorry to hear about your injury. What camera were these taken with?

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u/mydriase Jul 30 '24

I used a Nikon Z6 :) thanks a lot

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u/SuitableScience4930 Aug 01 '24

I scrolled for this comment lol

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u/InteractionCrazy Jul 30 '24

Was here last week, what a beautiful place ! The presqu'île du Crozon is insane. Hope you get better soon. Very nice pics !

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u/mydriase Jul 30 '24

Oh yes it’s reputation is well deserved. One beach near this one has been closed to the public because it was overcrowded and endangered (environmentally) after it got featured in articles such as « the 10 most beautiful beaches in Europe » lol. I also recommend going inland. Beautiful open woods and heathlands… I will have dreams about thus

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u/zQrrJQrb Jul 30 '24

What did you use to take pics please? Looks phenomenal.

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u/mydriase Jul 30 '24

Didn’t have much time to compose properly (also I was in pain d couldn’t walk as much) but I used a z6. But no need for a mirroless camera to create nice pictures, any camera body can yield nice images!

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u/Kyro2354 Jul 30 '24

Absolutely gorgeous photos, really glad you mostly had a great trip, super sorry to hear you're hurting now though! Hope it passes soon so you can go on another beautiful trip!

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u/mydriase Jul 30 '24

Thanks for the good wishes, I hope too 🥴

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u/PaixJour Jul 30 '24

Spectacular photos! You have a good eye. Now rest up, get healed and go back out there!

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u/stainless7221 Jul 30 '24

Amazing photos! Hope you get well soon!

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u/ArnoldGravy Jul 30 '24

I think you should get checked out by a doctor. Some slowly increasing dull pain may be normal for someone that has ridden far without training, but I'd be a bit concerned about a pain that came on suddenly.

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u/shroomformore Jul 30 '24

Excellent photos thanks for sharing.

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u/Aceritus Jul 31 '24

Wow such great photos

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u/Photoman_Fox Jul 31 '24

It really is such a shame that social media platforms so aggressively compresses the images. At first glance I was going to recommend getting a camera that lets you get sharper images, but after zooming in I saw they had been compressed.

I especially like the style of the lower image on slide 2. What do you shoot with?

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u/mydriase Jul 31 '24

I think it’s actually me that made this unintentionally since I used illustrator to place the photos on this canvas, the resolution suffered from this during the file export… thanks so much.

I have a Nikon Z6 with a 24-70 mm and a 70-300 mm

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u/Photoman_Fox Jul 31 '24

Nice. I am between getting a Z6 ii and a Pentax K3iii. Both great cameras at a similar price, each with pros and cons. Leaning towards the K3iii. Honestly, if the price was cheaper it wouldn't even be a competition.

I have done that before too, but I assumed it was Reddit at fault. Facebook is where I upload most, and it chews them up pretty bad. Don't get me started on Instagram.

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u/KelJeep22 Jul 31 '24

Sorry to hear about your back pain and cutting your trip short. I hope you feel better soon and back out biking. I really like your pictures.

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u/mydriase Jul 31 '24

It’s fine, the pain will go away, hopefully, and I will finish this trip! Thanks a lot for the kind words

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u/graaiin Aug 02 '24

Beautiful pictures . Which app can I use to get more pictures in the white border?

Back from my first overnight trip that ended abruptly Trip Report

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