Do you ride for fitness, competition, mountain biking, triathlon, off-road racing, or just for the Coffee shop at the end of the ride? 

Let’s consider some facts about cycling:

If you take 2.5 hours to cycle race 100km

Your average cadence is 90rpm

This means that as you cross the finish line, you will be making pedal stroke number 64,800!

That’s a whole lot of repeated movements and muscle contractions that can easily result in soft tissue or joint overload.

The three main reasons why overuse injuries occur in cyclists are:

1. poor biomechanics  (ie. the way your body moves and muscles contract, including your core/trunk stability)
2. poor bike mechanics (not the people who clean bikes- but the way your bike handles)
3. poor cycling technique/training habits

Biomechanics of Cycling and Bike Position

The benefit to cycling as a sport is that it is non-weightbearing so forces through joints and tissues are generally less than many weight-bearing sports.  Additionally, muscle contractions are concentric. This means that the muscle length shortens as the muscle contracts (as opposed to eccentric contractions where the muscle is lengthening as it contract and which is the more muscle-damaging contractions).  This is why, in general, you will get less muscle pain and soreness from cycling as opposed to running (especially downhill or acceleration/deceleration running). Power output through-out the pedal stroke is not equal. At different points through-out the pedal stroke, different muscles are in better positions to provide optimal power output:

• Peak pedal force is at 100^o
• For efficiency, there should be a smooth transition of power from power phase to recovery phase which means “pulling” across the bottom dead centre (BDC) and “pushing” across top dead centre (TDC)

There are 3 points of contact between your body and bike that act as bases of support and therefore need to be ‘stable’ (or in the optimal position to help power output be delivered to the pedals to propel you forwards): pelvis on saddle, foot in shoe on pedal, and hands on handlebars. Your abdominal, low back and pelvic stability is critical for ensuring your pelvis remains still on the saddle and that you are not excessively using your arms to attempt to stabilise your body.  Your foot must be in the optimal position on the pedal to ensure delivery of the force your body generates is delivered to the bike. And your upper limb should be helping stabilise your trunk only (except in mountain biking and track racing). Having the correct position on the body is essential for maximising power output using the correct muscles and having a stable body position on the bike.

Bike Mechanics
Minor faults in the cranks, pedals or axles can cause overuse injury and faulty brakes can result in impact injury.  Faults commonly happen after a crash when slight twisting/mal-alignment of equipment occurs. To reduce your risk of injury from your Bike Mechanics, get into the habit of regularly looking over your bike and checking bolts, and make sure you get a regular bike service, just like you would do with your car.

Cycling Technique and Training
Technique is more difficult to check as it usually needs input from a good coach or sports professional and usually requires a Video of you riding (in the Bike Fit performed at GCPSH, we video you riding on your bike and watch it is slow motion to check technique) Poor technique includes: -incorrect foot position on the pedals -poor leg position & thigh/shank pathway through the pedal stroke -sitting skewed on the saddle -being too stretched out -pulling-up through the up-stroke phase. This should be passive and good technique involves pushing through TDC and pulling through BDC. Poor training habits include: -Excessive hill training -Riding big gears at low rpm -Inadequate cold weather protection -Riding in groups on your time-trial bars as this means your hands are not close to your brakes -Never doing any training of, or improving, your bike handling skills -Wearing headphones while riding on the road so you have less awareness of traffic

The keys to minimising your risk of injury as a cyclist?

1. Ensure you are riding the correct size bike frame
2. Riding the correct frame will allow you to have a correct Bike Fit and get this done by someone who cares and fits you on the bike
3. Make sure you perform some regular self-maintenance exercises to reduce muscle tone/tension that will develop from repeated contractions, for example get a regular massage from a professional therapists that understands your needs and goals as a cyclist and can help maintain healthy tissue tension.
4. Make sure you have flexibility where you it for good cycling position and technique. You ideally need good hamstring, calf and ankle bend flexibility and low back and hip mobility.
5. Work on your bike handling skills and be careful in road traffic

How will a Bike Fit help?

1. It  minimises your risk of injury by putting joints and muscles in optimal positions
2. It improves your riding efficiency and/or speed for performance
3.  It improves your comfort on the bike and enjoyment of riding

 

What should be taken into consideration in your Bike Fit?

1.Your purpose and/or goals of riding

There are differences in bike set-up depending on what type of bike you are riding and what level of performance you want. For example, if you are time trialling you will need to be as physically aerodynamic as possible to reduce wind drag resistance slowing you down, which may mean sacrificing a little bit of comfort. If you are mountain biking you will need to have optimal use of your upper limb for helping to stabilise and control the bike in different types of terrain and seat height may be a little lower so that it is easy to get a foot out and to the ground for support. Coffee shop hybrid riders are all about comfort so having a nice comfy saddle and being a little more upright is usually the go!

2. Your injury history 85% of recreational cyclists report having at least 1 injury that appears cycling-related.  The most common injury site is the knee, then the neck and low back (Wilber et al, 1995).  Body area’s that become painful to ride need to be reviewed on and off the bike to establish what the cause is for the pain and whether it is bike-position-related, or whether addition flexibility or strength exercises need to be performed off the bike to ensure your limbs are supported in the best position when on the bike.

3. Your individual flexibility (identifying those area’s of flexibility needed to ride in an optimal position for technique and comfort

4. The type of Bike you are riding (ie. Road, Time-trial, Mountain Bike, Track, Hybrid, other)

Some common reasons you definitely need to get your Bike Fit checked asap:
1. Pain in your back, neck or shoulder blades
2. Sore hands or tingling in your hands
3. Hot/numb feet
4. Saddle discomfort (including one-sided pressure sores)
5. Knee pain
6. Experiencing a lack of power or being uncomfortable to ride longer periods
7. Poor handling
8. Breathing restrictions
9. Experiencing regular tissue injury

If you are changing your bike position due to an injury, choose a professional who has knowledge in both bike fit and injury management- a physio can fit your body to the bike as much as the bike to your body!

As a Sports Physio who does Bike Fit’s, I prefer working with amateur athletes who are, or have been, experiencing injury or pain as it becomes an interesting challenge figuring out how to optimise your biomechanics while minimising tissue stress. In the past I have completed Bike Fit’s for clients with total hip replacements, or Osteoathritic hips that have limited hip range of movement, cartilage loss in the knee joint, post-collar bone fracture where significant shoulder weakness is present, recurrent low back pain and carpal tunnel symptoms at the wrist.

A Bike Fit at GCPSH will:
-Assess your flexibility and any body area’s of concern,
-Video review you if necessary
-Check and re-check your bike position, modify where necessary and advise on other changes that need to be made to your bike
-Give you Recommendations on stretches, exercises, self-maintenance techniques, technique changes to be made and any other follow-up required.

If you have any questions about your Bike Position or where you can go to improve your technique and bike handling skills, email us on info@www.gcphysio.robicoweb.com.au

Happy and Safe Cycling until then! Britt Caling, APA Sports Physio

By Principal Remedial Massage Therapist, Thea Dillon

If you’ve been training for the past few months with the goal of racing or participating in a major event like the Gold Coast Marathon or Kokoda Challenge, you’ll understand how difficult it can be to get the most out of your training sessions while keeping up with everyday work and family commitments. In addition to this, staying on top of any niggles or tightness to prevent the ultimate performance destroyers – injury and illness- creates an additional challenge and highlights how important Recovery is in keeping you on track.

As a former Ironman Distance Triathlon competitor, I understand just how delicate this balance can be, and the oh-so-familiar desire to push that little bit harder in training because of the belief that “more work is better”.   If this “more is better” behaviour is negatively impacting on your ability to effectively recover and perform at your next training session then you need to review  both your mental and physical approach to racing, training and recovery.

In my experience as an athlete and now as a Massage Therapist for athletes of wide-ranging abilities and experiences, I regularly see how important obtaining optimal mental and physical recovery between sessions is, and how often this gets overlooked as a key component of an athlete’s training plan.

Getting plenty of rest and recovery time in between sessions, following a healthy diet and nutrition plan, and following a well designed training plan that contains scheduled recovery times are all essential to achieving your goals come race day.

In addition to the basic principles above, one strategy that is very effective in optimising recovery is scheduling regular sport-specific massage therapy (soft tissue therapy) into your program. Quality maintenance massage will assist your training and racing performance. All our Elite Athletes include Massage Therapy in their weekly training plans without fail, and sometimes even 2-3 times per week.

Effects of training:
Our bodies are extremely adaptable and so the natural response to the stress of training (whatever your chosen sport) is to increase muscle tone, lay down additional muscle mass, bone mass and connective tissue, enhance neuromuscular coordination (brain-muscle connection), and for endurance sports, to increase the number of capillaries (small blood vessels) in the areas that are stressed by training.

These changes increase strength, power and endurance resulting in better performance. The short term result of this training load is inflammation at a cellular level, muscle soreness (DOMS) and neuromuscular (brain-muscle) fatigue. The ability to recover quickly from this will accelerate the positive training responses, allowing you to train at a higher level and ultimately perform better, and feel better.

Failure to recover and subsequently adapt to these changes will ultimately result in ongoing pain, dysfunction and injury.

How does massage therapy help?
Sports-specific massage therapy assists the body to recover between training sessions and after racing by:
– reducing the inflammatory response within muscle tissue and accelerating the cellular regeneration process described above. Essentially the sooner you get the massage post-exercise, the better. This applies especially following intense or long sessions – treatment within 2 hours post exercise has been shown to be optimal.

-resetting neuromuscular coordination patterns and enhancing proprioception (awareness of your joint/body position) so that muscles that have developed excessive tension and fatigue are lengthened back to a more optimal state. This allows efficient brain-muscle connection to be reestablished. Your awareness of, and ability to control, joint position is also improved. For example, have you ever had the experience of being unable to “activate” or switch on a muscle before massage and then with a few minutes of treatment this ability to contract the very same muscle has been improved?

-restoring optimal joint position and range of motion. Say goodbye to that tight, niggly, painful or uncomfortable feeling and hello to “ahh I feel lighter, taller, can move more easily, more efficiently and feel better connected”

-reducing fluid congestion and compression around the soft tissues involved, thereby reducing discomfort and movement restriction. It is thought that this also facilitates the exchange of oxygen, nutrients (and other good stuff) and removal of waste products at the muscle cell level.

A few more considerations …
Everybody has different needs when it comes to sports-specific massage, and this can change from one treatment session to the next depending on where you are at within your training and racing plan, and how your body is responding. Seeing a therapist who is knowledgeable and experienced enough to tailor your treatment according to your needs is essential.

If your massage therapist uses a one-size-fits-all approach (this includes religiously going too hard on your already inflamed muscles and creating excessive trauma to your body), is difficult to communicate with, or is too general in their treatment approach, then it is worth taking your business elsewhere.

While we all respond in different ways to massage, generally it can be expected that if you receive regular maintenance massage or physio treatment and you are healthy, then you should recover quickly from massage and it should not impair your training performance.

Be sure to let your therapist know how you responded to your previous treatment/s so that appropriate adjustments can be made if needed.

How do you know if you’re not recovering and need to reduce training or racing commitments?
If you are constantly feeling tired and/or sore, experiencing difficulty sleeping despite rest, regularly feeling run down, have a higher resting hear rate, or are on the verge of illness and/or unable to complete your planned training sessions as per usual, these are indicators that you are not recovering from training and you are unlikely to achieve your performance goals.

Talk to your coach and/or therapist for advice on how to best adjust your training load and recovery strategies.

Other recovery strategies to consider …
Other strategies that can assist in accelerating recovery include:

-wearing quality compression garments during and following exercise (such as those manufactured by 2XU that are sold from both our Clinics)

-engaging in appropriate warm down and active recovery sessions

-using ice bathing or hot/cold therapy post training and racing
If you have any questions or require further information on how our team of massage therapists and other allied health professionals can assist you in reaching your health and performance goals, please contact us or book an appointment at GCPSH today, phone (07) 5500 6470.