Sore Back? Neck Pain? Here’s How to Avoid these Common Bicycle Injuries.

Cyclists don’t experience common bicycle injuries simply because they spend a lot of time biking. The problem is much deeper than this. Proper set-up on your bicycle can illuminate (or reduce drastically) neck pain and lower back stiffness. With Ciclismo Classico’s 30-plus years of cycling experience, we’re accustomed to getting bike fit correct. That’s why there we take the time on every trip to conduct a proper bike fit. Whether on a beginner trip in France’s Loire Valley, or a long ride through the Spanish Pyrenees, getting the settings right on your bicycle is something we know well. We will help you eliminate soreness and discomfort, avoiding future bicycle injuries.

Bike safety has always been important. But although 99% of cyclists are knowledgeable about the benefits of wearing a helmet, few understand the roles muscles play in avoiding common bicycle injuries. While a little discomfort may be tolerable on the bicycle, you will want to avoid pain in these general areas with their respective solutions:

Lower Back Pain

Spending hours in the same position is detrimental to any muscle in the body. Even more so when you consider that your back is under tremendous strain AND locked in one position for long hours on the bicycle. However, back issues can lead to other problems.

Looking deeper, the piriformis muscle (connected from the bottom of the tailbone to the top of the thighbone) – once irritated – can manifest discomfort in many forms such as pain in the hip, or anywhere along the leg.

The Remedy:

Position yourself properly on your bicycle. An aggressive position on the bicycle puts unnecessary stress on the lower back. You’re not a teenager anymore (and you are probably working in a desk chair more often than you ride your bike). Consider raising your handlebars a touch to relieve pressure from your spine.

Consider working your core muscles. A weak core translates into a collapsing lower back (a rounded spine with nothing holding it up). A strong core (through pilates or yoga) will help strengthen the base so you’ll actively engage your back and transmit more power to the legs (win win).

Neck Pain

Neck pain (and related arm, wrist and hand discomfort) is another common bicycle injury. It comes from an enormous amount of stress built up around the shoulders and between the shoulder blades. There is far too much pressure being created in the upper body as you cycle.

In an ideal world, you should position about 60%-70% of your body weight over the rear of the bicycle. That accounts for 40% on the front (and then try going downhill). Ever notice your neck hurts more on the downhill?

If there is too much weight on the front of the bike, all that pressure will go through your wrists and into into your arms, settling between your shoulder blades at the base of your neck.

The Remedy:

Relax. Don’t have such a death grip on the front of the bike. Learn to keep the front wheel down, but use your core (again) to keep your weight off your arms and the handlebars.

Often the neck is in pain because the arms are too far forward. Shortening your stem (and possibly getting a narrower handlebar) are two simple changes relieving neck pressure. You could also raise your handlebars as we mentioned above.

Knee Pain

During our weekly bike fit, the guides are typically looking at how the arms and legs set on the bicycle. But mostly we are looking at your knees. When riding through Provence, you want to make sure your knees are in the right place for the duration of the trip.

There are a multitude of injuries which could arise around the patella (knee cap) or any of the crucial ligaments assisting the knee to operate properly. And they all stem from an improper bike fit.

Pain at the front of the knee typically comes from a saddle that is too low, putting unnecessary pressure on the patella. Pain at the back of the knee is from a saddle that is too high, overstretching the hamstring attachments.

A tight IT band can cause problems in knee tracking. Thus you may feel discomfort on one side of you knee or another.

The Remedy:

First, pinpoint where you have pain specifically. Raise or lower your seat if you have discomfort in the front or back of you knee, respectively. A foam roller can help massage the fibrous tissue of the IT band, or maybe you’ll want to look into KT tape to keep your knee in place.

But one of the easiest remedies is to double-check your cleats if you have a clipless system. Often the screws will loosen, shifting the cleat and putting your knee out of alignment with your pedaling effort. Remember, you don’t need a lot of displacement. Even half a millimeter off-center will feel painful when you pedal.

Saddle Sores

Any raw and sore spots anywhere on your body get irritated through physical activity. If those sores are sandwiched between your bike shorts and your – ehem – “undercarriage,” then the situation becomes dire. They are on eof the most common bicycle injuries of all.

We’ve all joked about it. And during a cycle tour some cyclists will not say a word for fear of public humiliation. Sometimes they don’t what to be the subject of discussion at dinner over such a private matter. But these sores hurt, especially when they are right on the point of contact between you and the vehicle that needs to get you over the hill.

Consider that Sean Kelly and Eddy Merckx had to abandon races due to saddle sores. Onces the irritation starts, you pedal off center, creating all kinds of knee and hip problems.

The Remedy:

Once the sores have made their mark (all puns intended) there is very little else to do but lay off the bike for a while.

The best remedy is prevention. Find a pair of bike shorts that fit you snuggly. Loose fitting bike pants only allow room to move between the fabric and the “undercarriage,” thus creating more chaffing. Try to keep the pants dry (so no biking in wet bike shorts after you’ve jumped into the pool at the hotel).

Some folks rely heavily on chamois cream (or “Butt Butter” in the local jargon). These products should be used sparingly to relive the friction under there. Some people go through buckets of the stuff, lubricating and area where parts of the body shouldn’t move too much. Use it occasionally if you must.

And, for the love of humanity: don’t wear underwear underneath your bike shorts. Just…gross.

Foot Numbness

Possibly one of the most common bicycle injuries is the popular “hot feet” or general foot numbness.

You don’t need low temperatures to lose feeling in the toes. Consider the sport we are engaging in demands we lock down our feet into a stiff-soled shoe. That’s an inhospitable place after a few turns of the crank.

Pushing on the pedals constricts the nerves running along the balls of the feet. You’ll experience more hot spots and numbness as you ascend hills and mountains. With a foot trapped in a shoe like that – in the heat of summer – your foot has no room to expand and the problem increases.

Another issue may be plantar fasciitis. The common runner’s issue involving the inflammation of the thick band of tissue running along the bottom of the foot. This can create discomfort either at the heel or along the bottom of the foot.

The Remedy:

Try loosening the shoe. Unbuckle it more than you typically do. You may want to consider a different brand of bike shoe. Sidi makes a firm, stiff product whereas Shimano and Bontrager are more forgiving.

For plantar fasciitis, run your foot over a tennis ball (or a frozen bottle of water). This should help relieve the tension in the bottom of the foot. A long-term solution to this problem is getting custom-made foot beds for your cycling shoes.

Muscle Imbalance

Cycling is a glorified version of sitting: we sit on the bicycle and continue unidirectional, repetitive motions. Yes, this is hyperbole.  But when you think about it, cycling does not involve a lot of dynamic, weight-bearing movements. Sure, sometimes we are out of the saddle, we change gears and we stop for a latte, but most of the time we are only working specific muscle groups again and again.

We love biking and couldn’t imagine a life without it. But we are also aware of the overdevelopment of certain bike-specific muscle groups, and the underdevelopment of other, non-specific groups.

This imbalance can create weak hamstrings, general loss of flexibility, tight glutes pulling on lower back muscles and even cases of calf muscle atrophy. Try putting on your bike shoes while standing up (don’t sit down, don’t lean on a chair). Can’t reach your toes? You may have tight muscles that need attention.

The Remedy:

Diversify.

Be mindful of your posture throughout the day. If you do a lot of sitting in front of the computer, walk to lunch, pace in your office during phone calls, get a standing desk. Do whatever you need to move other muscle groups in your body.

Stretch your legs, especially your hip flexors. Stretch your glutes and hamstrings while you’re there.

Cross-train with multi-directional activities like yoga, tennis or dance. These are also weight-bearing activities and will help engage and tone your core. Try strength training exercises prioritizing multi-joint exercises like squats and dead-lifts.

And probably the best way to prevent common bicycle injuries is to spend more time biking! See you on the road.