Possible post-crash misalignment?

[Fletcher]

Hi all.
In November last year I tried something remarkably foolish. A wheelie on my road bike after a couple of beers. I'm not 12, I'm a 43 year old idiot. So naturally I overcooked it on the second attempt, went over backwards landing hard on my ar$e - still clipped in, no hands out to break my fall with quite a few kgs of backpack on. It really hurt. The point of impact hurt, but my lower back hurt more. I took a couple of days off work mostly in bed. I saw a dr who said I hadn't broken anything and sent me on my way.

Almost three months on, I find it impossible to sleep on my back, I can only sleep on my side. I have a long commute, 31km each way, and find after about 20km my lower back starts to ache, leading me to stand on the pedals and arch my back as much as possible to relieve it. The relief lasts about five mins before the ache returns. I'm careful not to apply full power in big gears while seated, so as not to aggravate my back.

I know I need to see someone about it, I just don't know who. Physiotherapist? Osteopath? Chiropractor? I don't know. Any advice would be appreciated.

[trailgumby]

Go to a sports medico and let him/her guide you. Most likely an ultrasound scan first (cheaper and bulk billed) and then a MRI for greater detail.

Sounds a bit like you've done something to soft tissue like discs or SIJ that won't show up on x ray.

Without an accurate diagnosis you can not only fail to fix the problem but make it worse.

Get it diagnosed properly first.

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[foo on patrol]

Yep what Gumby said.

Foo

[Duck!]

Something has certainly been knocked out of whack. I did a similar thing about 12 years ago - dropped the bike on a slippery corner, landing heavily on my right shoulder. Didn't break anything, but the impact knocked the collarbone/spine intersection out of whack a bit, resulting in a pinched nerve that effectively immobilised the upper left side of my back and entire left arm with excruciating pain. I've had it properly assessed, but to this day it's still a bit sensitive if I sleep on it the wrong way.

Go & get CT/MRI or whatever appropriate soft-tissue scans (x-ray won't show anything beyond bone misalignmemt or damage), then seek appropriate treatment.

[TheBikeShed]

Sorry that you're dealing with this! I definitely agree with what's been said here—you never really know what could have happened there. Hopefully it's nothing major, and it can be solved with a bit of physiotherapy or proper stretching or something like that. Having had some really amazing physiotherapists, that's always my first recommendation. Mine helped me solve some major issues that involved a number of related problems with different muscle groups all effecting each other, so I can definitely say that if it's a muscular thing, a physio will likely be able to help you out. Whatever you do, get it checked out soon, and if you're not getting the information you need, check in with someone else.

[Fletcher]

Thanks very much for the input. I'm going to see a physio about it in the next week or two. Someone who knows sports stuff.

[trailgumby]

Physios can also order scans, so this is a good start.

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