Cycling itself is a good physical and mental health, family happiness (in addition to letting your wife know how much your car), environmental protection, and low-carbon and slow aging movement, can be said to be a lot of benefits, but everything has its advantages and disadvantages, cycling is after all outdoor sports, there are certain risks; in addition, some riding mode or posture improper, may also lead to some joint pain.
For some of the more common discomforts in cycling, some simple solutions are listed by Rinasclta Bike Team. They may not cover all aspects, but they are intended to make riders pay attention to the various discomforts during exercise, rather than choosing to tolerate or ignore them. Paying attention to those discomforts can make riding more comfortable and healthy.
It’s also important to ride the right size, and it may varies from a traditional mountain bike, road bike or city bike. Pay a visit to your local shop and talk with experts, you will get rid of some pains in a very short time.
Knee joint, the most affected area
Knee injuries are one of the most common injuries suffered by cyclists – as many as 33% of riders have suffered knee pain.
The power to ride comes from the large muscles in our hips and thighs, and to transfer this power to our lower legs and feet, it needs to pass through the knee joint, so the knee plays a vital role in cycling.
The reason for knee pain comes from two main sources, one is the intensity of a single ride is too large because the pedaling movement knee needs to be repeatedly bent and extended, resulting in constant friction of the knee joint, patellar cartilage (front of the knee) will be prone to inflammation, once the injury, the initial treatment can be following the PRICEMM principle (refer to Baidu), the main principle of this type of injury is to be gradual, do not exert too much force at once Too hard.
On the other hand, it is the riding position that causes knee discomfort, because the knee joint has many muscles and forces acting at the same time, once the force is unbalanced, it will easily lead to knee discomfort.
The worst affected area by ridicule – cramps
As a senior rookie, squatting on the side of the road and stretching in a fancy way is already a necessary skill. The side stretching also has to bear the “warm greetings” of passing cyclists. Compared with other “warm and fuzzy” and “unspeakable” pains, cramp is a pain that can’t be hidden, so it’s the hardest hit by ridicule.
Cramps cause muscle stiffness and pain, and once they occur during an intense race, it is difficult to recover to your best condition quickly, and sometimes the pain can even make it impossible to continue riding.
The main causes of cramps, in general, are fatigue and overload. When the intensity of the exercise has exceeded the tolerance limit of your muscles or your muscles reach the lactic acid region, it can lead to cramps. Another cause is the lack of water and electrolytes, which affects the transmission of muscle nerve signals and leads to persistent muscle cramps during or after exercise.
And the way to prevent it, first of all, is to perform sufficient warm-up and stretching before strenuous exercise, followed by timely hydration and electrolytes, including some electrolyte sports drinks and salt pills, etc. But sometimes cramps can’t be avoided, so the way you handle them afterward is also important.
When you feel your muscles start to act differently, it is a precursor to a cramp. If you don’t control it, the severe pain that follows will make you collapse.
If you feel the need to stop, remember not to brake sharply, slowly skid unlocked stop, and do not get off the ground to sit on your butt and not get up, this lazy approach will make the muscles tighten even more.
Try to do a little stretching in place, walk back and forth for a while, and slowly drink some electrolyte drinks, the symptoms of cramps will gradually ease. Or endure the ridicule and ask for help online from your teammates who are riding together. Let them assist you in stretching, which can relieve the pain faster.
Tip: If you have frequent cramps, you can also think about whether it is a calcium deficiency.
Numbness in the hands and feet
Another common symptom is numbness in the hands and feet under long rides. Numbness in the hands often needs to be taken more seriously.
Numb hands can be more dangerous than one might think. Because of the numbness, the bike may lack control during the ride, creating an unexpected danger. It is caused by compression of the ulnar nerve or compression of the median nerve in the hand.
So how do you fix finger numbness? First, make sure your hand is natural when it touches the handlebars. Any hyperextension of the wrist will directly compress the nerve in the hand and cause numbness. Take care to properly relax your hands on the handlebars to keep the nerves as open as possible.
Also, change the position of your hands on the handlebars during the ride. On a curved handlebar road bike, if you feel your hands start to go numb, changing the position will reduce the pressure on the roots of your hands. It may be a little harder to do this on a flat handlebar bike because of the position limitations of the handlebars. If you have been riding a flat handlebar bike and often have hand numbness symptoms, it is recommended that you add a pair of vice grips. The correct grip position should be toward the direction of the car’s forward motion, naturally relaxing your wrists. Rather than perpendicular to the ground.
Gloves can also help relieve hand numbness, or you can wrap them around the handlebar strap a few times. Overly tight gloves can also exacerbate the symptoms of numbness, and not the thicker the glove padding the better, some oversized padding can also concentrate pressure on the palm and cause numbness.
As the only three points of contact with the bike, a pair of lock shoes that are too tight, too loose, foot type is not suitable, pedaling stability is not enough and any other problems, will directly or indirectly lead to numb feet, so now some mid- to high-end lock shoes will provide thermoplastic function.
Any discomfort that occurs in riding is often for a reason, suggesting that you need to make changes and adjustments in certain areas, and not just put up with it, and find problems to solve to avoid causing more damage. I hope that riders are likely to get healthy and happy by riding.
