Cycling to Get Healthy? Tips for Avoiding Neck and Knee Pain

Biking is an excellent form of cardio exercise. Cycling for health is easy on the joints, but still gets your heart rate up. And if you’ve got bad knees, it’s the perfect kind of low-impact exercise to boost your health without aggravating or increasing your pain levels.

But… injuries can happen. And you’re more likely to experience an injury if your bike fit isn’t quite right.

How do you know your bike fit isn’t right?

• You experience cycling pain during and after exercise.
• Your shoulders feel sore after biking.
• Your hands have numbness or weakness during or after a biking session.
• You frequently experience injuries from cycling.

So, what’s the fix to avoid cycling pain?

You either need to fix your bike fit or your bike posture and technique. How do you do that? Let’s take a closer look with these tips for cycling beginners!

Bike Fit For Beginners Avoiding Cycling Pain

First things first, do you have the proper frame size for your body size?

Most bike shops are experts and showing you the ropes on this. So unless you have a hand-me-down bike, you may already be covered in this area. But if you got a bike second-hand, the best and quickest way to check is to see if you have 1-2 inches between the bike frame and your crotch when standing over the bike.

A proper bike fit means you can ride at ease for a long duration without experiencing neck pain from cycling or discomfort elsewhere.

Your seat should be positioned at a height that is comfortable. Ideally, you want your foot to be able to sit on the pedal of the bike at the lower position, without locking your knees and without an excessive bend in your knees. This ensures you’ll avoid anterior knee pain from cycling, as well as cycling knee pain in the front of your legs.

And that means you should also be able to easily reach the handlebars. You shouldn’t need to strain your shoulders or neck.

You should also make sure you foam roll before and after your bike rides. Foam rolling helps alleviate muscle tension that can cause stiffness, friction and pain in your joints.

3 Tips While Cycling for Health Purposes

There are further ways to reduce your risk of pain from cycling or injury even further.

1. If your hands get sore in the same position, switch it up!

Adjust so your upper body doesn’t experience any discomfort and you avoid shoulder and neck pain while cycling.

2. Relax your grip.

Are you wondering why your hands or wrists are getting sore? You may be gripping too hard. Relax your hold on the handlebars to avoid cycling pain in these joints.

3. Avoid moving your hips from side-to-side.

Your hips and core should remain relatively stable and engaged throughout the biking movement. Don’t allow your body to flail from side to side. Activate your core and stabilize.

Prevent Cycling Pain and Injuries Before They Happen

If you’re planning on cycling for health regularly, learn the ins and outs of a proper bike fit beforehand. Prevention is number 1 when it comes to any physical activity. After all, if you’re cycling for health you want to be sure not to become worse off than when you started.

And if you do experience an injury or discomfort, such as cycling neck pain or anterior knee pain from cycling, you should seek out a physical therapist that can reduce your discomfort and help prevent future injuries. Use the BetterPT website or app to book a physical therapy appointment near you. Plus, direct access means you can make an appointment without needing a prescription from your physician. With the right help, you can get back on the saddle without the fear of cycling pain.

Dr. Marla Ranieri graduated from Stanford University with her bachelor's degree in Human Biology in 2005 and went on to receive her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 2009. Marla has worked with all types of individuals, including professional athletes as part of the USA Gymnastics Medical Staff. Marla continues to treat patients with evidence-based medicine and the best quality of care.