Common Cycling Injuries and How to Avoid Them

Article featured on CORE Othopedics & Sports Medicine

Don’t let common cycling injuries keep your feet off the pedals this spring and summer. Our guide on how to avoid bicycle injuries helps identify what those injuries look like, how to prevent them, and when best to reach out to a doctor.

How To Avoid a Cycling Injury

Avoiding common cycling injuries can be broken down into two categories: on-bike work and off-bike work.

On-bike work

On-bike work includes everything related to the cycle itself, including your gear and posture.

Proper Bike Fit: When buying a bicycle, don’t just grab the first one you like. One of the easiest ways to avoid common cycling injuries is to fit your bike correctly.

The best way to be fitted for a bike is to visit a professional cycle shop as numerous factors go into fit.

For example, the type of bike you want (road, mountain, or hybrid) affects the standover height.

That also changes how you’ll sit on the bike and the type of seat you’ll need. Unless you are a professional cyclist, reaching out to someone experienced can save you money while preventing needless injuries.

Correct Your Posture: After purchasing a well-fitted bike, the next thing you need to think about when avoiding common cycling injuries is the posture you hold during your ride.

Experts suggest: “Optimal posture in cycling involves mild lumbar and thoracic flexion with mild cervical extension. No section should be at the end of range, and there should be no excessive directional changes at any segment that could result in disc compression or nerve entrapment. Indicators of suboptimal posture could include: a vertical or near-vertical pelvis and lumbar angle (posterior pelvic tilt), excessive flexion in segments of the lumbar or thoracic spine (thoracic kyphosis, or hunched back), excessive extension in the cervical spine (cervical lordosis or kinked neck), rounded or hunched shoulders (protracted or elevated scapula), or a forward head position.”

While getting your bike fitted, ask the assistant to guide you through proper cycling posture. Protect your back and body from common cycling injuries by perfecting your bicycle posture.

Wear The Right Gear: A helmet is a must for every bicycle rider, but what about the rest of your gear?

For footwear, if you are someone who rides regularly, it will behoove you to purchase a pair of shoes dedicated to cycling. Featuring stiffer soles, your choice in shoes depends on how often and where you ride. A cycling shoe dedicated to off-road riding will be different from one meant for casual bike riding.

One of the biggest reasons for foot numbness while cycling is ill-fitting footwear. As you sweat, your feet swell, and suddenly the shoes are too tight, thus causing numbness. Work with a trained cycling shoe provider to guarantee the right fit to avoid common cycling injuries.

Bicycle gloves are a must-purchase if you’re struggling with wrist pain or finger numbness. Make sure your bike is fitted correctly, and if you’re still experiencing this pain, a pair of foam-padded cycling gloves might relieve the pressure on your nerves enough to curb the numbness.

Be aware that some padding actually increases the risk of numbness and pain if not fitted properly. Confused? Local bicycle shops have a variety of options and can fit you correctly.

Off-bike work

Off-bike work is preparatory work before and after your bike ride, including stretching and massages.

Stretching: Cyclists aren’t often thought of as the most flexible athletes.

There are a variety of stretching techniques that we’ll go over below that focus on hip flexors, hamstrings, glutes, and quads. Regularly practicing yoga has a positive effect on your cycling flexibility as well.

The most important thing to remember about stretching for cycling is that you should do it before and after every ride. Set up a different pre and post-cycle routine and avoid pesky common cycling injuries.

Massage: If you’re a frequent cyclist, you should look for a sport-specific massage therapist to loosen your muscles. While any massage parlor can deliver results, a cycling massage identifies the key areas and works on them.

For at-home, foam rollers and massage guns are your friends. Foam rollers come in at various price points and allow you to alleviate soreness, reduce inflammation, and help injury prevention.

Massage guns are more expensive, but they increase blood flow, relieve muscle stress, and are fantastic for pre/post-injury relief.

A sports masseuse and daily foam rolling and/or massage gun usage allow you to take care of your body before and after every bicycle ride.

What Are Common Cycling Injuries?

While scrapes and bruises aren’t uncommon if you take a bicycle spill, you should know about some of the other common cycling injuries to make sure you stay on two wheels this spring.

Neck pain

Neck pain is also caused by a poor bike fit (which ties into poor posture). Holding one cycling position (in the wrong way) for an extended period lends itself nicely to neck stiffness, leading to chronic neck pain.

Lower back pain

Another casualty of poor bicycle posture is your lower back. Hours hunched over your handlebars with little relief will cause stress to your lower back and pain later on.

If you find yourself flexing more with your spine, you will likely have or will soon experience lower back pain.

Knee pain

There are four main areas of knee pain: anterior knee pain, posterior knee pain, medial and lateral knee pain, and iliotibial band syndrome. Each area of knee pain is caused by different cycling elements and requires specific pre-treatment exercises.

Seat height has a direct impact on your knee pain. If the seat is too low, the peddling motion will “cause stress on your knees, specifically the patella/kneecap.” Similarly, the same goes for the tilt of your cycling seat which makes finding the right fit for your bike an essential part of avoiding common cycling injuries.

Wrist pain

Wrist pain during a bike ride is not normal and could be an early indication of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Common amongst high-mileage cyclists, wrist pain is frequently associated with “the nerves in your hands being compressed by gripping the handlebars.” You may also put unnecessary strain on your wrist by leaning forward too much.

What Should I Do If I Have a Cycling Injury?

You’ve done everything right but still, end up with a sore neck or lower back pain after an afternoon bike ride. While the pain certainly hurts, there are still plenty of ways to treat yourself at home before spending time at a doctor’s office.

Rest

This might sound obvious, but you need to stop if you’re riding your bike and feel pain. At least for a little while.

Whatever pain you might be experiencing isn’t serious. Still, if you continue to overstress a muscle or suffer from foot numbness, the injury will be serious.

If you’re feeling pain from a common cycling injury, the best thing to do is to just put your bike away for the next couple of days. If you come back to it and you’re still in pain, it’s time to see a doctor.

Otherwise, rest and relaxation are the first steps toward healing a cycling injury.

Ice/Heat

Ice packs and heat pads go a long way toward relieving pain from common cycling injuries. But which one should you use?

Ice should be used on acute injuries (new) and reduce swelling. Keep the ice on for around 10-15 minutes to avoid skin irritation.

Heat “increases blood flow and can loosen stiff, sore tissues…This tends to be more helpful for chronic injuries.” You can keep the heat on for around 20 minutes before worrying about overdoing it.

Choosing which method to use (ice or heat) is as crucial to your recovery as rest, so make sure you keep both options available at home.

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