Surely at some point you have experienced neck pain, lower back pain, or numbness in your hands and feet when riding a bike. These discomforts, which can lead to muscle or joint injuries, are often the result of adopting a poor posture on the bicycle. When we go out pedaling on the road or in the mountains, we spend a lot of time doing physical exercise, and this puts stress on our muscles and joints, which is aggravated if the bike is not adjusted correctly for our body measurements. For this reason, it is very important to choose the correct bike size based on our height, leg length, and other factors. But we must also not neglect the adjustment of other elements, such as the saddle height, the handlebar height, or knowing the crank length we need. Riding a bike with incorrect adjustments is a source of injuries that can be prevented. We have compiled the most common injuries caused by poor posture on the bike, their causes, and what to do to avoid them.
Numbness of hands and feet
It is quite common that after long hours on the bike, the cyclist begins to feel tingling and weakness in their hands or feet, as a result of strong compression with the handlebars or with the clipless pedals. This condition is called paresthesia and is nothing more than the numbness of a part of the body due to nerve compression or poor blood circulation. To avoid numbness in your hands and feet, part of the solution is to make the support surface for hands and feet more comfortable. An effective solution for the hands is to wear cycling gloves with gel inserts or to change the handlebar grips for softer and more cushioned ones. To know which to choose, we recommend our guide to mountain bike handlebar grip types. As for the feet, it is possible that the pedal tension is too tight and does not allow for some lateral movement to relieve muscles and tendons. Or that the shoe is too tight and you need to loosen the laces or the adjustment wheel a bit—in the case of cycling shoes with a Boa closure. Also, try stretching your arms and legs every 10-15 minutes while riding, moving your wrists and fingers. Likewise, check how to adjust the cleats on your shoes to avoid straining the muscles and joints in your feet.
Overtraining also carries the risk of suffering from contractures or cramps in the thighs and calves
Knee pain
The knee is the essential joint for pedaling and the one that is subjected to the most wear. That’s why it is crucial to adopt a good posture on the bike that allows for proper knee flexion while pedaling. And this fundamentally depends on having the saddle at the correct height and well-leveled with respect to the horizontal of the ground. The most common knee injury due to poor posture is patellar tendinopathy or knee tendinitis. According to physiotherapy specialist Jordi Soriano, the most frequent symptoms that may indicate the onset of tendinitis in the knee are a sharp, localized pain in the lower part of the kneecap, which can become more intense at rest. It is highly recommended to treat patellar tendinitis with a doctor or physio from its onset, as it is an injury that is at high risk of becoming chronic if not stopped in time. 2017/09/dolor-de-espalda.jpg">
Cervical pain
Although it is not as involved in cycling, problems also often appear in the superior part of the body, such as cervical discomfort. These are located in the neck or trapezius area. And they can be due to a posture that is too inclined or also too upright when sitting on the bike. A good choice of the correct bike size that ensures the right distance between saddle and handlebars can prevent this type of injury. Likewise, if you haven’t found the right bike size, you can make adjustments to components such as the stem (by installing a shorter or longer one) or by moving the saddle back and lengthening it horizontally (using the rails). On the other hand, make sure the saddle is level and not tilted forward, as this will make you position yourself too far over the handlebars and both your neck, shoulders, and trapezius will suffer after several hours of pedaling. A saddle leveled at the correct angle helps prevent neck pain when cycling.
Glute pain in most cases is caused by not choosing a saddle with the right width
Lower back injuries
The lower back also suffers when riding a bike, and the appearance of pain in this area is closely related to adopting a poor posture. Especially if you practice cycling on a bike with aero geometry. There are several causes of lower back pain in cyclists, although we highlight these five pointed out by the experts at Ciclismo y Rendimiento:
- Pedaling with the torso too upright due to handlebars that are too high.
- Arms too extended by having the handlebars too far from the saddle.
- Saddle set too far back.
- Unleveled saddle, with the nose higher than the rear.
- Asymmetry on the saddle.
To prevent pain from appearing in the lower back that could lead to chronic injuries, it is important to check the adjustments of both the handlebars and the saddle. It is very important that if you are going to do long training sessions or races, you take a few minutes to check the position of the saddle, its setback or forward position, as well as making sure that the handlebar height is correct for your height, type of cycling, or the posture you want to enhance (aggressive, controlled, etc.).
Hip injuries
They are not as frequent as the previous ones, but a posture that is too tucked over the handlebars, where the hip is forced more than it should be, can cause significant discomfort in the area, even leading to spinal deformities such as lordosis. Preventing this injury mainly involves having the saddle set at the correct height. It's a simple and common adjustment, but one that you need to know how to do correctly.
Muscle injuries in thighs and calves
The thigh muscles such as the quadriceps, adductors, or biceps femoris are the perfect target for all kinds of discomfort related to cycling. It is inevitable to experience some of them at some point if you practice this sport regularly. Normally, the cause is overtraining, which produces discomfort and muscle fatigue that goes away in a few days with appropriate rest. This type of ailment can be prevented by training progressively and respecting rest periods (one or two days per week), to avoid overloads or cramps.
Likewise, the height of the saddle is again, as in the cases described above, crucial for preventing leg injuries. A seat that is too high will make you overwork the back of your thigh (hamstrings), as well as the calves and the soleus, causing contractures, cramps, or strains. On the other hand, a seat that is too low will directly affect the front of the thigh (quadriceps) and the knee joint, producing an imbalance in muscle effort that will result in discomfort and possible injuries.
Buttock pain
Finally, we finish with one of the great enemies of every cyclist, especially beginners: buttock pain. The glutes play a major role in the pedaling movement (especially when standing up) and bear much of the pressure when sitting on the saddle and maintaining posture on the bike. It is common that, if you are not yet very used to riding a bike or if you ride sporadically, your butt starts to hurt after a few minutes or hours. This does not necessarily mean an injury, but rather a lack of training and weakness in the area, which will disappear as soon as you start riding more frequently. Also, if you want to minimize the pain or delay its appearance, choose bib shorts with a good chamois that reduces or cushions the pressure on the muscle. However, chronic buttock pain can indeed involve significant discomfort and even the appearance of sciatica. To prevent it, it is necessary correct the posture adopted on the bicycle, properly adjust the saddle height and choose a saddle suitable for the width of your hips (ischial bones). It is also advisable to do progressive training to avoid overtraining.
Tuvalum Team
