Does exercising solely through cycling cause injuries?

Question

I get most of my exercise through cycling. Does cycling without cross-training cause injuries? If so, are there specific injuries to which cyclists are susceptible (knee, hip, etc.), and is it possible to prevent them?

Assume that the bike is well fitted, since bike fit and knee pain is discussed in the question: How to adjust seat saddle and saddle position for knee pain? Other related questions include: How to avoid knee pain when cycling, https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/14971/should-cyclists-use-weight-training-to-strengthen-underutilized-muscles, and How can I get rid of I.T. Band pain caused by cycling?

Answer 1

First, of course, we must exclude accidents, collisions, and component failures -- these obviously can result in injury.

Beyond that, in almost any physical activity it's possible to apply so much force to a muscle that you produce a muscle or tendon pull. In cycling this would be, eg, when you're climbing in too high a gear and exert enormous force on the pedals, sufficient to cause an injury to your leg, arm, or back. This would be more likely in a person who has gained strength in some other activity and only recently begun cycling intensely, however, such that their muscle and tendon strength was imbalanced for cycling -- unlikely to occur in a regular cyclist.

That leaves the knees. While most cyclists never have serious knee problems, a substantial fraction do. This would be due to any or all of three problems:

1. Poor knee "geometry", either as an inborn trait or due to some prior injury.
2. Cycling with the seat too low and/or in too high of a gear.
3. "Imbalance" in the muscles supporting the knee, due to lack of "training" of some of those muscles, while others are being strengthened.

Knee problems can be avoided/controlled by assuring that the seat is at proper height (and that the bike is otherwise properly fit), using a gear appropriate to the conditions and your degree of training/tolerance, and doing knee-strengthening exercises. It is imperative that one not try to "work through" significant knee pain, but instead address it, correcting the problems leading to it.

The most common form of knee pain is "patellofemeral pain syndrome", a condition where the kneecap gets "off-center" relative to the thigh bone.

Finally, it should also be mentioned that there are about a dozen inherited "minor metabolic disorders" -- myoadenylate deaminase deficiency, McArdle's disease, CPTII, and others -- that maybe 3% of the population carries. If a person has been exercising regularly for some time they would already have become aware of these, but if someone begins a program of fairly vigorous exercise for the first time in their life (cycling or othewise) they may encounter muscle pain/soreness that lasts beyond a few days, severe muscle cramps, or other such conditions. If these symptoms continue for more than a week or two they should consult a physician (oddly, the doc to see is a neurologist). In many cases it will be possible to continue reasonably vigorous exercise, if the condition is properly treated and accommodated.

Answer 2

There are two major risks associated with limiting your physical activity to cycling:

1. Increased risk of broken bones - your bone density decreases due to little strain being put on them - see here for details: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/is-bicycling-bad-for-your-bones/

2. Increased risk of twisted ankles - if the volume of cycling you do is large compared to the volume of walking you do (a common thing with bike commuters I guess), you may weaken your foot stabilizers, which may cause injuries. Two years ago I started getting twisted ankles - this coincided with the year I became an all year-round bicycle commuter.

Solution: Go running at least once a week. Not only will it prevent injuries, it will also increase your comfort while cycling (stronger back muscles).

Answer 3

You can get overuse injuries, but if you are careful and the bike fits well, they aren't that common.

If you only ride, however, there are a lot of muscles that don't get much of a workout, so you can get some imbalances. I cycle seriously but I also lift weights.

Answer 4

You can get injuries from all kind of exercices if not done correctly.

You cannot get injuries by cycling (unless you crash or overdo it or have bad posture).

What you can end up with though with cycling only is a weak upper body.

Answer 5

I haven't heard of any people getting knee injuries from riding unless they were using a bike not fitted for their size or doing something else strange. In fact, my mother was "prescribed" bike riding after her knee replacement surgery to rebuild strength. However, I know of a few people with back problems from improper posture while riding, particularly those who are always hunched over road bikes, or are constantly being jarred on trails while mountain biking.

My wife has an issue in her hip known as piriformis syndrome from an accident a few years ago. We commonly ride 20 - 30 miles at a time on 7 speed beach cruisers, but if it has been a while since our last ride, biking too long or hard does bother her.

Otherwise, it is really common for men using narrow saddles to have testicular issues. Similarly, women can have pelvic floor dysfunction. These issues result from leaning forward on a thin seat, placing too much weight on this sensitive area of the body. My wife is a nurse working in labor and deliver and is no stranger to "private" issues.

It is never a good idea to only do one specific exercise or focus on one aspect of the body if you are striving overall health and wellness. Biking is great, but should be combined with other types of exercise.

Answer 6

Also important to note that you should wear cycling gloves and change hand positions often. Proper bike measurements will ensure that force is evenly applied amongst the saddle, pedals, and handlebars, but there's still a risk of hand numbness.