{"id":2779,"date":"2020-07-05T12:58:07","date_gmt":"2020-07-05T11:58:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movementandwellbeingclinic.co.uk\/?p=2779"},"modified":"2022-05-13T09:44:58","modified_gmt":"2022-05-13T08:44:58","slug":"how-to-prevent-cycling-injuries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movementandwellbeingclinic.co.uk\/how-to-prevent-cycling-injuries\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Prevent Cycling Injuries"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Cycling is a fun, healthy and competitive sport, with around 6% of the UK<\/a> population riding their bike at least once a week. The stats<\/a> show that 50-60% of professional and recreational cyclists develop an overuse injury while cycling, which means that there is a strong possibility of you developing an issue. Due to this, it is no wonder that 67% of recreational cyclist<\/a>s <\/a>continue to ride while in pain. With this in mind, you\u2019re probably wondering how you can prevent cycling injuries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an expert in musculoskeletal injuries, I will simply be talking about how to prevent overuse injuries, rather than falls or accidents. I\u2019m not trained in bike\/body fitting, so although I will mention this significant aspect in this blog, I refer patients who require this service to an expert bike fitter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This blog is written for the benefit of those who currently have an injury, or who want to reduce the likelihood of developing an injury. The best way to approach this topic is by explaining why cycling injuries occur, identifying the common injuries and explaining how to resolve and avoid them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the most common cycling injuries?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As with all injuries, everyone is affected in a different way. In order to know how to prevent cycling injuries you will need to know which injuries are most common. Some people are able to tolerate more stress than others. Despite this, knee injuries are the most common injuries among cyclists<\/a>, so this is where our focus will be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ITB syndrome<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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ITB (Iliotibial band) syndrome is a problem that plagues a lot of cyclists, with it being the third most common injury seen in cyclists. The pain is located in the area that houses a pad of fat on the outside of the knee, and it is caused by a<\/s> the dominance of the iliotibial band (a band of tough tissue that runs down the outside of the leg). For more information on this, please visit out blog https:\/\/movementandwellbeingclinic.co.uk\/itb-syndrome-resolve-runners-knee\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can this be prevented and resolved? The ITB derives from the frontal hip muscles and becomes tight if the hip muscles are imbalanced. This imbalance occurs due to a weakness in the gluteus medius. This is significant because the gluteus medius is key to hip alignment and is commonly known as the hip stabiliser muscle<\/a>. The answer is; by stabilising the hip by working on the gluteal muscles. The following rehab exercises will work for those who have ITB syndrome, and for those who want to prevent it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please complete 3 sets of exercises, twice a day for 4 weeks until you reach 80% fatigue in the side hip muscle:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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