8 Most Common Cycling Injuries and How to Fix Them

As children, we learned how to ride a bicycle as a right of passage. We went outside on a warm day during summer and rode around the blocks with our friends or family. Cycling has many advantages. It’s good exercise, easier to find parking, better for the environment. If you’re traveling on a rural path, there is far less traffic that you have to deal with. Most importantly, cheap maintenance and no gas makes a bike more cost efficient than maintaining a motor vehicle. With these advantages though, come the disadvantages, such as cycling injuries. When cycling for long amounts of time, to work, for leisure, for training, whatever the reason may be your body has noticed. Here are the top cycling injuries you may encounter and tips on how to fix them [if you are having cycling knee pain, solve it here].

If you really want to perform better get our performance guide

8 Most Common Cycling Injuries and How to Fix Them

1. Knees

Knee pain is the most common complaint in cyclists. Pain can be caused by overuse, muscle weakness and incorrect bike fit. Adjusting your cleats, seat height, seat fore/aft and seat tilt may be beneficial for correcting knee pain.

How to Fix

Having your bike position/fit assessed by a professional can be very beneficial in order to determine if there are quick fixes that may improve your knee pain.

2. Lower Back Pain

You may experience lower back pain, which may be due to you sitting in the same position without a break for an extended amount of time. Or, you may be positioned improperly on the bike.

How to Fix

Having your bike fit and position assessed by a professional can help determine if your position on the bike/your bike fit is appropriate. There may be muscle tightness, muscle weakness or bony alignment that will make your bike fit different.
Having a strong core can help cyclists maintain riding positions for an increased amount of time while increasing balance and power.

3. Achilles Tendonitis

Your achilles may feel discomfort during cycling due to the activation of the achilles during the stroking cycle.

How to Fix

As previously stated, cyclists have cleats that strap onto the pedals. If your cleats and seat are not adjusted correctly your toes will be pushed forward towards the toe. Lowering your seat may help resolve this problem.

4. Saddle Sores

Saddle sores come from friction between your skin, clothes and the saddle. They may form rashes or discomfort.

How to Fix

Wearing the right kind of cycling shorts is important, everyone is different, so find out what works for you and stick to that.
If your saddle is too high it can create more friction against the seat. If you’ve had your bike properly fit, cream in that area can ease the discomfort of the saddle rubbing against your legs.

5. Foot Numbness

A common issue in cyclists. More often than not, it’s due to cold weather, but if it’s warm out it could be improperly fit shoes.

How to Fix

Make sure your cleats are not too far forward, if they are, it increases the pressure around the ball of your feet.
If your cleats are properly positioned, your shoes may be squeezing your feet too tight or they may be too narrow. Wear the correct fitting shoes for your feet.
Excessive hill riding can also be a cause of foot numbness.
Ensure proper seat position. Improper seat position may be stressing some spinal nerves.

6. Neck Pain

Neck pain is caused by carrying the weight of your head in an extended form for a long period of time.

How to Fix

Shorten the stem of your bike/adjust your seat position so you are in a more upright position.
Loosen the grip on the handlebars.
This last tip is more difficult. You must make a conscious effort to relax your shoulder muscles – it can help reduce fatigue.

7. Patellar Tendonitis

This can be the cause of pain directly above/below the knee. Increased riding volume can play a significant role as can position on the bike.

How to Fix

In most cases, raising the seat of your bike can help decrease stress on the area. A trained professional can help make this adjustment for you as changing one area of your bike may necessitate altering other areas as well.

8. Muscle Tightness

If you are experiencing muscle tightness in your calves or hamstrings, it’s probably because you do not warm-up or cool-down before or after your ride. Tightness in your muscles can eventually lead to more significant muscle or tendon strains.

How to Fix

It seems simple enough but, stretching. Always warm-up before cycling and even after getting off. If you need tips or exercises, here are a few to guide you.

Conclusion

As with any sport, aches and pains are part of the territory. What these issues should not do is to keep you from enjoying your preferred sport. Cycling injuries are common and the fixes are generally pretty simple, a lot of them require you to be fit to your bike. With any other exercise, you want to be in the correct form so you don’t end up injuring yourself further. Riding a bike is no different. You should be in proper position, you and your bike are working together as one. If you are in pain and have had your bike fitting, then seek a professional if you are just starting out on your cycling journey.