Staying Healthy Throughout Your Cycling Season

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TAI Cyclist It is the time of year when many cyclists start to look forward to increasing their time on the bike. Many of us ride for fitness while others have specific goals, like riding Cycle Oregon or the Washington Bicycle Ride. Regardless of the cyclist’s goals, it is extremely frustrating to be held back due to discomfort or injury. Cycling is a wonderful activity if we can stay healthy on the bike. As a professional bike fitter for the past 15 years, I have seen a significant amount of injures on the bike. Most of the injuries were preventable and can be lumped into three categories: knee pain, low back pain, and wrist/hand numbness and pain.

Simple stretching and strengthening exercises can help prevent discomfort and allow for an enjoyable cycling season. Quadridceps, psoas, and Iliotiibial band (ITB) are key areas to stretch to help prevent knee and hip pain while cycling. Hamstring stretching and core stabilization exercises are helpful in reducing the incidence of low back pain while cycling.

A few quick fixes to the bike can help reduce hand and upper extremity discomfort. Hand numbness can often be reduced by double wrapping the top of the handlebars with bar tape and/or wearing gel gloves. Cyclists that spend a lot of time riding with their hands on the brake hoods can experience wrist pain due to poor tendon alignment. Aligning the brake hoods to be in line with the tendons on the thumb side of the hand can help reduce wrist pain.

If you have good flexibility and strength and are still having discomfort on your bike, visit your physical therapist. Physical therapists are biomechanical experts and have many ways to help you do the activities you love.

Bridge

Lie supine with feet flat on floor. Tighten abdominal muscles and elevate hips. Extend lower leg. Hold 5 seconds. Perform three sets of five on each side.

Quadriceps and Psoas

Stand with foot over chair. Tighten your abdominals and glut muscle. Perform a mini squat with opposite leg until a moderate stretch is felt across hip and thigh. Hold for 20 seconds. Repeat 5 times each side.

Hamstring

This is a low load, long duration stretch. With knee straight, place heel on doorframe. Slide toward doorframe until a moderate stretch is felt behind thigh. Hold for one minute. Repeat three times on each side.