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Cycling - preventing injury

J

jentec

Guest
Cycling - preventing injury


Cycling is an activity that people of all ages can enjoy. Whether you cycle as leisurely activity with the family, race in a cycling competition, or Commute to work on a bike, its a great way to enjoy your surrounds it can also improve both your physical and also your mental health. However, bicycle injuries can and do occur.

Although you are much more likely more likely to get injured by falling off your bike or hitting a stationary object. Other cycling-related injuries can happen due to incorrect riding postures, demanding too much of your body, and faulty equipment.

Common bicycling injuries:

  • Lower back pain
  • Numb toes or burning feet
  • Hand damage
  • Shoulder pain
  • Knee damage.
Lower back pain
For many riders the back can become quite weak as Cyclists develop strong leg muscles but don’t put as much time into developing the upper torso strength taht offers the support and assistances to resist the force from the legs.The added force from developed legs makes the back to overwork which causes rapid fatigue.

Preventing back pain:
  • Riding with a straight back,don't hunch over. Work on strenghing your abdominal mucles. This will add support to your back and ease the lower back pain
Numb toes or burning feet
Numbness or burning of the feet is most commonly caused by compression of the nerves. The most common causes are:. tight shoes, road vibration or too much climbing (which puts continuous pressure on the feet).

Prevention tips:
  • moving your cleats 2 - 3 mm towards the rear of your shoe
  • loosening your foot straps
  • a different insole (either thinner if your shoe is too tight or more cushioned if you have room in the shoe)or custom footbed
  • a different sock (same comments as for the insole)
  • examine your shoe for irregular seams or straps/buckles that might be pressing against the outer edge of the forefoot
  • a wider (in the forefoot) pair of shoes or have a cobbler stretch
Hand injury, Shoulder pain
The earliest sign of a hand injury is tingling or numbness in the palm or thumb and index fingers.
Shoulder pain happens during long rides.due to the posture that you ride in,placing too much weight on the hands, and riding with straight elbows

Prevention tips:

  • Use a firm but relaxed grip on the bar
  • Change hand positions frequently
  • Try padded gloves or cushy handlebar tape
  • Concentrate on keeping your wrists straight (bar ends on mountain bikes and aero bars on a road bike keep the wrists in a more neutral position)
  • Alter your position on the bike to stay more upright (a higher stem or more spacers in the headset)
  • Keep the elbows slightly flexed to stop the ‘road shock’ transferring to the arms and upper body. This will reduce the risk of shoulder injury.

Knee injury
Cycling, done properly, is much less stressful to the knees than many other aerobic activities, since there's no impact involved. Nevertheless, knee injuries do occur, usually as a result of overuse and when cyclist try to do too much too soon.

Prevention tips:
  • A seat that is too high will cause pain in the back of the knee.
  • A seat too high will also cause your hips to rock side to side, which may cause discomfort.
  • A seat that is too low or too far forward may cause pain in the front of the knee.
  • Improper foot position on the pedal (or improper cleat alignment) can cause pain on the inside or outside of your knees.
  • Try to use a gear that allows you to pedal quickly
 
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