Cycling Injury Prevention

The winter base phase of cycle training provides an opportunity to address some of the underlying causes of cycling based injury. It has been said that injuries are not accidents and this certainly applies to non traumatic overuse type injuries seen in cyclists. Commonly cyclists suffer from low back pain with the time spent in flexion over the bars and various forms of knee pain associated with the high number of pedal revolutions required in cycling (the average number of pedal revolutions being 16000 – 24000 in a 3 – 4 hour ride).
 
Triathletes spending the summer in a time trial position over the aero bars, generally with the seat in a more forward position than is seen in a road setup alters the body’s normal biomechanics. With extended time training in this position we see a shortening of the hip flexors and a change in the firing and position of both the hamstrings and iliotibial band (ILTB). Continued training in this position year round is one of the contributing factors in lateral knee pain particularly. Taking the opportunity to remove the aero bars and return the bike geometry to a more traditional road setup in addition to a regular stretching program incorporating both hamstrings and ILTB will pay dividends in restoring normal range of motion and mechanics.
 
Low back pain is experienced by 50‐60% of cyclists. Although there are many contributing factors to this, weakness through the core is perhaps the one most directly under your control as an athlete (core weakness also lessens power delivery to the pedals and may contribute to lower limb injury). Two sessions a week of core strengthening will be enough to begin improving this stability.
 
Although many techniques exist for exercising the core including Swiss ball programs and Pilates, one I favour for inclusion in your program is more functional based exercise. Gym based exercises such as deadlifts, cable wood chop and bent over row are some of these. By putting the low back into a neutral position with a small hollow (lordosis) and maintaining it in this position while completing an exercise using other parts of the body (for example deadlights use the gluteals and quadriceps groups – critical for cycling) you get gains in not only the targeted body part (legs) but in the core in a functional way also. This can be a very effective way to strengthen without committing significantly greater time to your training schedule.
 
So to make the most of your winter base phase of training try making a couple of simple modifications to your program – ride a road rather than time trial setup, include regular stretching, and make your core strength routine functional by trying something like a dead lift.