No matter whether you are a beginner or an experienced cyclist, but you’ll most likely have cycling pain, injuries, and aches during a training session. Basically, when you get pain or ache during training, then it only means to get rest to recover from it and give some rest to your muscles and joints to prevent them from unnecessary injuries.
Pain and aches during cycling must be treated at times because untreated pains and injuries can turn into a serious problem, so before they get worse, try to cope with them on time. However, you can prevent yourself from unnecessary pains and injuries by taking safety precautions.
Some Common Cycling Pains and Aches
The most common pains, aches, and injuries that occur during cycling are listed below:
Neck Pain
One of the most common pains during cycling is neck pain, most cyclists complain about neck pain. Well, before the further discussion, you first know the reason behind your neck pain. If you are too stretched out, then it can lead to neck pain. Another cause trigger when you align your head and spine wrong during cycling, and as you know the head is heavy and can cause strain in your neck.
Now, the question arises, why misalignment of the head occurs, well when you have a poor back fit or when you have a seat far back, or handlebars are placing too low.
All of the above reasons can cause misalignment. When you force your body too much while riding, then it can lead to shoulder pain and pain will build-up, and in the end, your neck will start paining.
Coping with neck pain
Well, the first thing that you can do is a bike fitting. And, the second thing is to consider managing bar spacers and handlebars. The most important thing is to pay attention to your posture while riding and get to know whether your head is aligned perfectly or not.
Low Back Pain
The common cause of low back pain is if your bicycle seat is too high or too low, meshing gears, or poor core strength. When you spend time in the same position for a long time, most probably, it can hurt your muscles. And, when we talk about cycling, then most often you have to maintain the same position while cycling that can cause lower back pain. During cycling sessions, a lot of stress or burden going through your spine isn’t it?
Coping with lower back pain
Again, you must do a bike fitting. In many cases, a bike fitting can take your lower back pain away. If it doesn’t work, then you can try core exercises to boost your flexibility and strengthen your muscles. Try to opt for those exercises that can target glutes, abdominal muscles, and lower back muscles because all these three can support your back during cycling. In addition to this, try to look after your posture.
Hand Pain
The most common reasons for hand pain are when weight is too much on your hands, but you get surprised to know that if you change your bike setup, then your hands’ pain can go away.
Hand pain occurs when you leave your body weight on your hands or when you hold handlebars tightly. It can be due to poor handlebar grip.
Coping with hand pain
The first thing that you must try is to fix handlebars first if there is a problem. Swap the current set with a new one for a more comfortable grip as it can help in eliminating the habit of holding handlebars tightly.
Cycling Hip Pain
A person’s hip is connected to various muscles and joints, and the hip itself is a joint area. Because it is connected to numerous muscles, sometimes it is hard to find out the main cause.
The major cause of hip pain is the overuse of upper thighs. Other reasons for hip pain are weak piriformis muscles and tight hip flexors. If your cycle’s seat is too high, then your body has to move your body back and forth to reach the paddles that can cause hip pain.
The piriformis is a small muscle that turns the leg outwards, but this movement doesn’t need to do much, the muscle can get weaker. If it is overstressed, then it can build in size and cause pain in the leg, this is the common cause of sciatica.
Coping with hip pain
To prevent hip pain, you must try to perform the exercise to boost strength for glutes and piriformis muscles. You can make use of a foam roller to give relaxation to hip flexors.
Cycling Knee Pain
The most common cause of knee pain is the height of the saddle. And if you sit far back, then it can also cause knee pain. If your feet are too close or far apart from the pedals, then this can cause misalignment of your knee, and as a result, it can cause knee pain.
Coping with cycling knee pain
If you get a bike fitting, then this problem can be resolved easily. Try to fix your saddle position to alleviate the pain on the front or back of the knee.
Thigh Pain
Thighs have quads and iliotibial bands, and when they get inflamed, then they cause thigh pain. When your thighs rub against each other during cycling, then it can also cause thigh pain.
Coping with thigh pain
Ensure that your cycle’s seat is not too high because it can make your legs more stretched while paddling, and as a result, it will strain your iliotibial band.
- Wrist Pain
When there is an incorrect height difference between handlebars and saddle, then it directly affects your wrist and causes wrist pain.
Coping with wrist pain
The first thing you need to ensure that the height of your handlebars and saddle must be accurate. Half of the problem will be resolved after adjusting the height. Try to wear cycling gloves to disperse the pressure.
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Things You Need to Focus On
You need to focus on some important things that can prevent you from cycling pain and aches. Try to stretch your body after riding that can ease your muscles and reduce pain. Most of the time, quads, glutes, hamstrings, and lower back muscle groups get tighter, so try to stretch your body.
If you are a beginner, then don’t go overboard or don’t overuse your muscles because it can lead to strain. The best method to avoid the overuse of muscles is scheduling your time for training. If your knee hurts or you fall on your back while riding, or anything else, then you can check out the above coping methods to overcome this problem.
