Sports: Cycling

Rules General population Older people Children and teenagers Housework Workers Sports Jogging Gym workouts Tennis Squash Swimming Cycling Golf Basketball Soccer Horseback riding Sailing Motorcycle riding Downhill skiing Water skiing Other sports

Available data suggest that cycling with racing bicycles does not overload intervertebral discs or facet joints substantially. Although in flexion, cyclists are exerting a great deal of pressure on the anterior part of the intervertebral disc, they release the load usually supported by the interverterbral disc and the spinal column by leaning on their arms. In fact, the pressure sustained by vertebrae and discs in this posture is less than the pressure in a standing position.

On the other hand, these same data reveal that cycling could produce overloading or an imbalance in the back muscles and ligaments. First, lumbar column flexion results in distension of the ligaments that attach vertebrae on their posterior side. It has been proven that if this distension is perpetuated it will cause muscle contracture and back pain.

Second, sustaining the posture on a racing bicycle requires effort from the dorsal and lumbar muscles. Available studies show that the intensity of this effort is proportional to the pedaling force; thus, the faster the pedaling or steeper the slope, the greater the overload on the dorsal and lumbar musculature. This triggers the onset of back pain.

Third, although the dorsal and lumbar musculature is constantly working when cycling, the abdominal muscles are always relaxed and do not work at all. This generates an instability that favors the onset and recurrence of back pain.

Fourth, one of the body's processes to relieve the pressure exerted on intervertebral discs is by increasing intra-abdominal pressure, through the contraction of abdominal muscles. This process does not function efficiently in cyclists, whose abdominal muscles are not very developed. Wearing girdles or belts to compensate for this weakness is not possible because of the associated breathing difficulty.

Lastly, when a cyclist leans on the lower part of the handlebars, in the most aerodynamic and horizontal posture, he flexes his neck back in order to see the road, which in itself overloads his dorsal musculature.

Recommendations