6 Common Cycling Injuries and What You Can Do To Recover
Odds are that if you are a cyclist, sooner or later, you will have some form of injury. While there are a wide variety of injuries that affect cyclists, the nature of the sport lends itself to some injuries happening more than others.
I want to highlight common injuries, and explain some general solutions to getting you back on the bike—pain free. This article will keep things relatively simple, but you can click on the link at each injury for a more in-depth read! These more specific articles will include some exercise recommendations which is what many of you are looking for.
Please understand that every injury is different due to each patient’s:
Body proportions
Strengths and weaknesses
Flexibility
Time since onset
Manner of onset
Riding style and/or training plan
Previous injury history
General Physical Therapy Solutions Can Help Cyclists Recover Quickly
But, our best recommendation is to work with a physical therapist to get a formal diagnosis as well as determine what specific impairments are causing your issue as opposed to taking the shotgun approach. If you are interested in getting more specific, you can request an appointment today to get a thorough examination to determine a proper diagnosis and plan to rehab your injury.
Did you know that an improper bike fit can contribute to many injuries? A physical therapist will be able to help you determine if your injury is more due to physical causes, or due to problems with your bike fit. For now, we will make the assumption that your bike fit is proper and you are comfortable in the position you have been fit to. We will also only discuss pain felt while cycling or caused by cycling.
1. Low Back Pain and/or Sciatica
While there are many potential causes of low back pain, cyclists tend to demonstrate a few patterns. The nature of the sport puts us in a position where the back can be strained or irritated if we are not strong or flexible enough to ride. The lower back is one of the most common areas of pain and injury in cyclists because of this. Luckily, there are a few considerations that can help us all out.
Hip and Hamstring Flexibility
Think of the back and hips as one unit as opposed to two separate body parts. If one does not move as much as it needs to, the other will have to move more to compensate. The hamstrings are one of the prime culprits for stiff hips. Stretching can be effective in some cases, but in most cases, working on deep lunges, deep squats, and deadlifts with good form will give you more flexibility from your hips than stretching ever could.
Core Strength
We all knew this one! The core is a fancy word for all of the muscles between your pelvis and the bottom of your rib cage. In some cases, the hip muscles are included, but in this article, we will separate them. The main job of the core is to transfer force between the lower and upper body as well as hold you up. when your upper body is outside your center of gravity. Cycling involves both of these functions, and requires you to be strong in the core for the duration of your ride.
Adductor, Glute, and Hamstring Strength
All three of these muscles are in charge of pushing DOWN on your pedals. Even though you pedal in circles, the downstroke is the most powerful by an overwhelming majority. Going back to the hips and lower back being one unit, if there are weaknesses in the hips, the lower back will eventually compensate. The biggest issue I see as a physical therapist is cyclists performing far too easy exercises for strengthening, especially at the hips. You can focus on isolation, or use strong movements like squats, reverse lunges, lateral lunges, and deadlifts to work the whole hip as a unit the same way it performs on a bike.
Riding Beyond Your Limits
From my experience, the lower back is one of the first body parts to fatigue when you hit that forsaken wall. Our legs lose their energy and we begin to pedal with our backs, rocking on the seat. Make sure to ride within limits, especially if you have some weak links in the chain.
2. Buttock Pain
Buttock pain in cyclists is most frequently caused by pain radiating from the lower back. Buttock pain is most often blamed on the piriformis muscle by patients, but this is an incredibly rare occurrence. Instead, below are the most common causes.
Hamstring Flexibility
Having tight hamstrings changes the way that the hip and lower back have to move during your pedal stroke. This is frequently a cause of the lower back radiating pain into the buttock, or changing the way that the pelvis and hip work on the saddle. Romanian deadlifts are the best bang for your butt exercise when it comes to lengthening your hamstrings.
Adductor Strength
In the slight chance that your buttock pain is caused by the hip external rotators—such as the piriformis—strengthening the muscles that pull your knees together is what will fix that imbalance. Lateral lunging and Copenhagen side planks are your best bets.
Hip Abductor Strength
Along with your groin strength, the muscles on the outside of your hip can usually use some work. These muscles are not always worked with cycling, so training them off of the bike is paramount. Side planks and single-leg deadlifts can do the trick.
3. Front of Knee Pain
Quad Flexibility
One of your four quadriceps, the Rectus Femoris, has a tendency to become tight in cyclists due to the position we spend so much time in while riding. This can lead to increased compression of the knee cap against the femur and eventually become painful. A combination of stretching your quad while lying on your belly and, surprisingly strengthening your core can help remedy this.
Quad Strength
You may think that riding a bike would be enough to get strong quads, but endurance training isn’t always enough for you to get strong. The simple knee extension machine at the gym is phenomenal for improving quad strength. Strong muscles allow your joints to handle more activity and decrease how much force goes through them. Starting with light weights and slowly progressing to heavier weights over time is the best approach.
Hamstring and Hip Flexibility
Are you noticing a theme here? Hip stiffness may impact your ability to pedal fluidly or apply power at multiple angles. Eventually, this can lead to compensation straining the front of the knee.
Core, and Hip Extension Strength
Yet another theme. Your quads and hip extensors (adductors, glutes, hamstrings) work together on the downstroke of your pedal stroke. If the hip extensors are weak, the quad and front of your knee may get overused!
4. INNER KNEE PAIN
Two of your four hamstrings attach at the inside of your knee, and can be a victim of an overuse injury if the other muscles are not doing their job. This can be more prevalent when pedaling at higher powers where you may find yourself pulling through the bottom of the pedal stroke.
Adductor, Quad, and Glute strength
As explained above, the adductors, glutes, quads, and hamstrings work together on the downstroke of the pedal stroke.
5. Groin or Front of Hip Pain
This area can be a bit tricky to reduce down to simple advice. The three most common causes of pain in this area are hip labral tears, hip arthritis, and adductor tendinitis. All three of these diagnoses would require very different treatments, but working on the issues listed below is a great start to address them.
Pelvic Position on Seat/Core Strength
Your abdominal muscles control the position of the pelvis on your seat. The position of your pelvis will dictate how much range of motion is available at the hip. Repeated end-range motions at the hip can contribute to labral injuries and hip arthritis. Lower abdominal strength can be crucial in improving pain with either of these diagnoses.
Adductor Strength
Cyclists tend to have good glute strength, but the adductors are often forgotten. They are the 2nd largest muscle group in the leg and are important for hip joint health, especially in cycling. This muscle group is prone to overuse causing tendonitis in cyclists with weak abdominals or weak adductors.
6. Neck Pain/Numbness in Hands
Upper body pain and injury is not as common in cyclists, but does happen from time to time. While position and weight distribution on the bike are largely determined by bike fit, you do have to have the endurance and strength to hold yourself in this position for as long as you ride.
Core Strength
As previously mentioned, the core is the link between the upper and lower body. Weakness here can lead to overcompensation and increased tension in the upper body while cycling.
Deep Neck Extensor/Flexor Strength
Just like there is a core in your mid-section, there is a core of your neck. It consists of the deep neck flexors and extensors. These muscles have to have the endurance required for you to finish your ride. Planks with a focus on keeping your face away from the ground are awesome for training this muscle group
Serratus Strength
This muscle is located under your shoulder blade and performs the last 5% of a push-up when you push away from the floor. Pushups are a great way to train this muscle group and prepare you to tolerate weight-bearing on your arms during cycling.
I’m Still in Pain, and I Need Help!
If you’re having trouble managing your pain and recovering from an injury, request an appointment today with one of our highly trained physical therapists. At Summit Physical Therapy, you are always evaluated and treated by a licensed physical therapist which means the highest quality care and treatment for your injury—to get you back to doing what you love.
DISCLAIMER: This information does not substitute for medical advice.