Sport is good for you; it gets your heart racing, your body moving, and is fantastic for general health and wellbeing. Of course, like anything in life, injury is possible, and this is the general good with the bad situation. Having said that, there are many ways you can reduce the chance of a sporting injury, and plenty of ways you can treat one if the undesirable does occur.

Cycling is a hard-going sport on the body, it is repetitive, and requires stamina and high energy to get through a long ride. Injuries are therefore common, often affecting the muscles of the legs and the joints in the lower back and pelvis. knees. Anyone who has had a cycling injury will be able to tell you how painful and upsetting they can be, not least because it is unadvisable to go back to the sport you love until your injury has 100% healed.

Here at NeuroBalance Chiropractic, we understand that sport is a way of life for many people, and heading out onto the open road on your bicycle can be a freedom like nothing else; of course when something goes wrong and you can’t enjoy your pastime, life is not going to be great.

Northern Beaches chiropractor, Rachael Veronesi, is highly experienced in helping those who have suffered a cycling injury, using highly targeted and effective chiropractic measures to help restore the body’s natural balance and use its own healing processes as a result. Her husband has been riding for a team for many years and has completed many cycle races and raced in Hawaii ironman.

Prevention is absolutely critical for anyone who rides competitively. Needing to have 6-8 weeks off the bike due to injury can severely affect training. Even if you’re more of a weekend warier with the occasional race/challenge, preventing injury is going to be very important.

Lower back pain

When you’re cycling, you are obviously sitting down, and we know that when we’re sitting we have to have a proper posture in order to eliminate painful injuries to the back. One of the most common causes of cycling back pain is not having a bicycle set up for the correct height of the rider, and not sitting correctly when riding. On top of this, one of the main sets of muscles used to push the bike forward, i.e. pedal, is the glutes, and in order to power forward, you must push your glutes out, rotating the pelvis forward. The spine can take a hit if posture is not correct, and chiropractic exercises and adjustments can help keep the spine in the correct position.

Knee pain

The impact on the knee joint when cycling can be quite significant, and this is without a doubt one of the most common injuries which chiropractors see from cyclists. This is often caused by overstretching, again having the bicycle incorrectly set up, and overstretching the hamstring muscles. It’s important to have your saddle correctly position, not too far forward or too far back, and at the right height to avoid overstretching when pedalling. Of course, the repetitive motion of cycling can impact the knee, and in this case chiropractic can help loosen the muscles and stimulate blood flow, helping the muscles around the knee, and the joint itself, stay supple.

Lower leg pain

The leg muscles need to engage in order to protect the foot and knee during the pedalling motion, and as such it is very easy to suffer from a pulled or strained calf muscle. Such a soft tissue injury requires rest and recuperation, however if the injury goes on for longer then specialised chiropractic exercises will help put the injury back on the right track.

If you are a keen cyclist and you are worried about injuries which may stop you enjoying your passion then call the practice now on 02 9938 5456 to arrange an appointment. We offer a variety of treatment options and a plethora of advice, to help you continue to enjoy your sport.