Anyone use a back brace

I hurt my lower back about 1.5 years ago which is healed now but I have mid back pain. It hurts after sitting or riding the bike for hours. Does anyone use any kind of support for longer rides?

I use a Back-A-Line for longer rides. It helps me a lot.

for long ride, I use this belt
https://www.bering.fr/ceinture-lombaire.html
under my back protection

https://www.dafy-moto.com/boutique/produit/dorsale-nucleon-kr-1-protector-alpinestars-3901727

for daily ride, I use only the back protection

I assume you've tried altering your seating stance?

I have a weak back (even weaker than the rest of me). I find that riding is more comfortable than any other type of sitting, and after pulling my back (which I've done more than once, including slipping a disc), riding gives more relief than any other activity.

So no, I don't wear a back brace, riding is my back brace.

I sit well forward on the (lower positioned) seat, the boys comfortably pressing on the tank, back arched slightly backwards, no weight on my hands. I don't have risers, my bars are in the rear position. I tend to lightly grip the tank with my thighs. Everything done to keep the load on my back to a minimum.

Of course stature can make quite a difference to your posture on a bike, I am relatively small by US standards, 5' 8.5" , maybe 145 lbs. My knees can remain in the necessarily bent position indefinitely. (In spite of my 73 years of abuse.)

I ride the FJR because of a bad back. I couldn't go more than a couple of hours on my 1800 Goldwing without a back brace. But I never needed one on the ZRX, and I put some serious mileage on it as well. I determined that the bolt-upright seating position of the 'wing hurt my back while the forward position of the ZRX does not. So I bought the FJR, which has a similar seating position to the ZRX, and haven't used one since.

I used a Mueller like this one. I still carry it, just in case, but I've not worn it on a bike since buying the FJR three years ago.

So, with all that said, mcatrophy could be right. Maybe you could just change your posture / riding position and get some relief.

I carry one, but rarely use it. The Physical Therapist I worked with looked at me while sitting on my bike and stated that she couldn't recommend any better therapy than riding in that position.

https://www.motosport.com/product?psreferrer=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.google.com%252F&pssource=true&segment=badger&key=Fox-Racing-2016-Turbo-Kidney-Belt&cc=us&adpos=1o2&creative=93575775025&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=Cj0KEQjw94-6BRDkk568hcyg3-YBEiQAnmuwki0VtYixTFAnGTBLHv8QNO1q2l-PIFAkHBoMI_jBWlUaAolz8P8HAQ

^^^ This is the one I wear most of the time. Light weight and low profile. Don't even know I have it on really.

rogdeb said:

https://www.motosport.com/product?psreferrer=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.google.com%252F&pssource=true&segment=badger&key=Fox-Racing-2016-Turbo-Kidney-Belt&cc=us&adpos=1o2&creative=93575775025&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=Cj0KEQjw94-6BRDkk568hcyg3-YBEiQAnmuwki0VtYixTFAnGTBLHv8QNO1q2l-PIFAkHBoMI_jBWlUaAolz8P8HAQ

^^^ This is the one I wear most of the time. Light weight and low profile. Don't even know I have it on really.

Click to expand...

+1 I bought it to wear on the dirtbikes when my daughter and I would go out. It worked so well I tried it on the FJR on a ride I went on with my pa n law......then he made fun of me for having it! Lol....Anyway like said super comfy and lightweight!

Thanks for the suggestions. I will have to give one a try

bigjohnsd said:

I carry one, but rarely use it. The Physical Therapist I worked with looked at me while sitting on my bike and stated that she couldn't recommend any better therapy than riding in that position.

Click to expand...

This. I don't use a brace but have pretty significant issues with my spine. When I'm "out", if I can tolerate it, riding is actually the best therapy because of the perfect posture you have on the bike. I'll often come back in better shape than when I left.

That said, I don't claim that will apply to everyone. If you don't have the core strength due to lower back issues, then I would think a brace would be beneficial.

I left on a week-long trip a few years ago with a back hurting so badly I had to be helped off and on the bike. I was fine by the end of the first day

I've started doing planks twice a day, and it may be wishful thinking, but I swear my back doesn't bother me so much since I started. Other back exercises seemed to make it worse, but the planks seem to be helping. If interested you can Google "plank exercises."

I usually hit the gym up several times a week and usually do abs and core on every trip so thats not an issue really. I read some on mid back pain and one of the reasons for it is an injured disk in the lower back. When I hurt my lower back I couldnt walk for a few days and it took a few weeks to decently recover. Stubborn me never went to the doctor so who knows whats wrong.

Yeah. I had other issues and had some X-Rays done a few years back, and the doctor said "When did you compress that disk?" I said "Huh? I didn't know I did." He said "When you did this you knew it; I promise you." I couldn't figure it out. I came home and told my wife, and she said "That's probably when you crashed at Leroy's track; you couldn't walk for days."

If I could get home under my own steam I didn't figure I needed doctors.

I do still sometimes get back spasms so bad I can barely move. Ironically, sitting is the worst thing I can do, but sometimes it's the only think I can do.

But since I've started the planks I've not had a spasm. My fear is that I'll get hundreds of miles from home on a motorcycle when it goes out on me sometime.

If I had a bike with FJR ergonomics, I could probably ride without one. I have a lower back issue and despite working out regularly to keep my core muscles in shape, I can't go more than a couple of hours on my bike without my Back-A-Line belt. With it, I can ride all day.