Common injuries and pain from biking & how to adjust your bike
Written by Jude.
Biking is a fun activity that many people engage in during the summer. However, this fun activity can lead to a lot of injuries but fortunately many of them can be fixed with proper treatment and by adjusting your bike.
Impact Injury:
An impact injury occurs when some force acts on the body causing damage. These injuries usually occur when falling off a bike. Commonly these injuries come in form of bleeding, broken bones and muscle strains. Minor bleeding injuries can be treated at home but major ones that pose a risk to health should be taken to the hospital. As for broken bones the most common one is the clavicle. A bone that runs along the length of you shoulder to mid chest. With proper treatment and recovery, it will heal in approximately 6 weeks. Finally, muscle strains occur when a muscle is overstretched or torn. In turn a muscle strain can be caused by or cause an overuse muscle injury. Side effects are not apparent at first, but the oncoming pain will cause great discomfort and more sever future injuries. Luckily a check-in with a Physiotherapist and some good exercise will be able to reset the muscle and allow you to go back to biking.
Lower Back Pain (LBP):
Constant bad posture such as a curved or hunched back will lead to lower back pain. If your work requires to sit in a chair all day this can further encourage a bad posture that increases LBP. LBP if not treated can lead to other muscles compensating for stability leading to overuse injuries as well. For example, the piriformis muscle begins at the lower back and stretches to the upper thigh. Irritation of this muscle due to bad posture will lead hip and leg pain similar to a sciatica. The easiest way to correct LBP is simple posture fixes and stretches performed before and after bike rides.
Seeing your physiotherapist should also relieve your pain and give you guidance about what exercises you should do.
Knee Pain:
Knee pain is associated from constant use of the knee improperly during cycling motions. Massaging the knee and allowing to rest will fix the problem but it will present itself again if the cycling motion is not corrected. Fortunately, the region where the knee pain presents itself can indicate the adjustment needed for your bike.
- Anterior (Front) Knee Pain: Saddle/Seat is too low à Raise it
- Posterior (Back) Knee Pain: Saddle/Seat is too high à Lower it
- Lateral/Medial (Side) Knee Pain: Foot Placement is incorrect à Maintain a neutral foot
As always, if pain and stiffness continue, call in for a physio or massage treatment!
Wrist, Arm, Hand and Neck Pain:
When biking, most of the body’s load will be on the lower body at the seat and the remaining pressure should be supported by the arm on the handlebars. However, if too much pressure is placed on the wrist and hands by the body an aching sensation will begin to form leading to pain. Usually this is caused due to handlebars that are too low causing the arm to go into extension and elbow not bearing any weight or pressure. In addition, lower handlebars will force the back to curve and in order to see ahead the neck will have to extend causing neck pain. All Wrist, Arm, Hand and Neck Pains can cause nerve pinching leading to tingling and numb sensations. Having proper arm and handlebar position will alleviate all this pain.
Foot Pain:
The foot plays an important role in cycling. The foot is under fluctuating pressure and improper footwear can cause severe pain. Tight footwear will stop circulation and squeeze nerve running the along the base of the foot. To prevent this, footwear needs to be loose enough to allow circulation but tight enough to keep the foot in a good position to pedal. To ease the pain after bike rides, placing a tennis ball or small foam roll under the foot and rolling it around will loosen tightness caused by shoe compression.
Note that these tips may not apply to everyone. If the pain persists, call us for a physiotherapy appointment or book online!
Resources:
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/fitness/common-cycling-injuries-349671
Proper Biking Posture https://images.app.goo.gl/q7rU6d4YWonBr3879
Piriformis Stretch https://images.app.goo.gl/rZsEDFPQstZxQuUx9
Recent Comments