Cycling Pain & Injuries

No matter if you are training for a triathlon or just a cycling commuter to and from work, most cyclists fear of injury comes from falling off your bike. However it is the repetitive cycling injuries that cause most cyclists pain unnecessarily often due to poor or incorrect bike set-up or technique. These types of injuries can be avoided through different ways which will be covered in this article.

Riding Position and Bike Set-up

A comfortable and efficient riding position is vital for all riders. This is the basis of all riders being able to set-up your body in a position that it is most effective using muscles in their most optimal position. This may be different depending on the purpose and goals of the rider. For example, a Sprint track rider may require an increase in saddle angle compared to a road rider allowing their larger leg muscles more time through their power phase for increase speed through their sprint.

These are the things that must be considered when looking at a rider’s set-up on their bike.

• Foot Position
• Saddle Position
• Saddle Front/Back Adjustment
• Stem and Handlebar Height/Size
• Reach

Cycling Biomechanics

As seen in the picture above, cycling incorporates all major lower limb muscle groups through the entire cycle of ride. Riders experiencing pain through certain phases of their cycling cadence may be caused by a musculature imbalance in their major leg muscles. Physiotherapy can help identify these musculature imbalances before pain turns into muscle strains or damage.

Off-Bike Conditioning

Most cyclists are guilty of spending too much time in the saddle and not enough time training their body off the bike. Strengthening and conditioning your body so that your muscles are ready for the forces that cycling puts on them is vital in avoiding overuse injuries that may occur in cycling. Physiotherapy techniques such as Pilates and Core stability training may be beneficial to the cause.

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