OH dear. Spine injuries are the [I]worst[/I]. My mum has had two back surgeries, and I’m already feeling the early signs of what’s to come for me, and I’m only 18!
Carla, it sounds a bit like your ‘trigger’ for inflaming the nerves is similar to mine; sitting too much on your tail bone. When I watch movies on my computer I tend to lean back, which aggravates the nerve, and then quite a bit latter I will do something as simple as stand with my weight on one foot, and get the oh-so-unwelcome horrific pain.
You should stop biking for several weeks, and see how you feel. Be very aware of how you sit other times too, always makes sure you have proper bottom AND back support (I had to put one of those removable chair pads on the back of my desk chair, and it helped a [I]lot[/I] in keeping my posture correct). If someone like bending over to pick up that ball of yarn that rolled away makes your back twinge, it is [I]very[/I] unlikely to be the cause of the pain, just one straw too many on the camels back, so to speak. Think back to what you were doing the last several days. Like, for my mum, driving one of our old cars would mess with her, because of how far her leg had to be extended, the seats, and it was a stick shift. I also found that the way my big warm winter boots were making me stand was messing with me, so I had to stop wearing them.
Once you got it worked out what causes the inflammation, you can work on getting around it. Like if possible, use one of those very large, super padded bike seats, which offers much more support and comfort than regular bike seats. Oh and STRETCH often! Find a stretch that loosens your lower back. I can’t really suggest anything here, because I’m yet to find one that works for me, but ask someone who knows a lot about which stretches effect which muscles.
Trust me, you don’t want to just take pain pills and hope it goes away. Back injuries are very serious, and I know that if I don’t take care of my temperamental spine, I will end up needing surgeries, like my mum, and her mum, and probably many others on that side of the family. And like Bailsmom said, we know it’s no laughing matter.
Oh and even if it seems like it’s your butt that hurts, it’s really your spine, and the nerves and such. The pain might be butt pain, but it’s a lot more complicated than that. I’m guessing when it’s really bad, the pain extends down your leg as well? This same thing happened to a friend of the family, and no one would take her seriously because she just said her bottom hurt (but she used a possibly censor-able word), so everyone just laughed at her, and doctors didn’t care all that much. Once my mum told her it was inflamed nerves, she actually got help though.
