I Love Bicycling

I Love Bicycling is a website that is geared towards cycling for beginners with road cycling tips, training articles, nutrition tips, weight loss, how to’s and bike repair articles.

How to Eradicate Shin Splints in Cyclists

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“Shin Splints” is a term often used to describe any sort of pain that runs along the lateral part of the shin bone. It usually starts to occur after prolonged activity and/or training in sports that involve a lot of impact, running or other repetitive movements. Shin splints and cycling have an interesting relationship, because cyclists experience very different forces through the lower leg as opposed to someone like a runner. 

Even more interesting, the two sports often overlap, with participants cross training in each for triathlons or the complementary health benefits in general. This leaves the often undertrained area of the shin vulnerable to excessive impacts and contractions it might not necessarily be prepared for.

woman with a shin splint

lzf/Adobe Stock

What Causes Shin Splints?

If we think about shin splints as pain along either side of the shin bone, it begs the question…

“What is causing the pain?” 

The answer is, it could be a number of things. 

While many people think this pain is primarily caused by tiny stress fractures in the shin bone (tibia) itself, this is actually unlikely, especially for cyclists, because the impact on your lower leg while riding is very minimal. There are several other lines of defense if you will that tend to be the culprits in a condition like this that develops over time. 

Your body uses pain to alert you to a problem that needs addressing, and the muscles of the lower leg are likely to be causing these problems far before the integrity of your shin bone is compromised.

Lower Leg Muscles & Shin Pain While Cycling

When people train the lower leg (and this includes cyclists), they often focus only on the back of it, where your calf muscles are located. Your calf muscles are responsible for plantar flexion, i.e. pointing the toes down. You use these muscles repeatedly while cycling, every time you press down on the pedal (particularly near the end of your downward stroke).

The front of your lower leg also has a huge muscle which performs the opposite function, dorsiflexion, i.e. lifting the toes up. This muscle is called your tibialis anterior, and it runs from just below your knee joint all the way down your shin before actually wrapping underneath the arch of your foot. All that to say, it has significant influence over a number of areas in your body.

tibialis anterior

maya2008/Adobe Stock

As you can see from the image above, dysfunction in the tibialis anterior might cause pain at the knee, at the ankle/foot and anywhere in between. It’s a muscle that can get incredibly overworked in our day to day lives and activities of all kinds, including cycling. Because of its function to lift up the foot, we are constantly using it unknowingly while walking, running and even pedaling.

Everytime you swing your back leg forward while walking or running, your tibialis anterior is the muscle that lifts the foot to avoid it from hitting the ground. Everytime you press through the first half of the downstroke and start to transition to the upstroke, the tibialis anterior becomes engaged (especially if you’re wearing cycling shoes or are strapped into a stationary bike).

The countless times that the tibialis anterior will contract leaves it open to overuse and irritation if it’s not prepared for that kind of exertion. As previously mentioned, because of our neglect for this part of the lower leg, this often seems to be the case in individuals who develop shin pain while cycling. 

Another function of this muscle is to help us decelerate when walking, landing from a jump or running. It absorbs a huge percentage of our impact and helps us to slow down, change direction and also to keep us from overextending in the direction of inertia. This is one of the key reasons why runners develop pain in their shins, and could be a factor in cyclists who experience shin pain and also cross train with running.

How Do I Prevent Shin Pain While Cycling?

There are two things that commonly need to happen in any athlete who is experiencing shin pain. One is to stretch and mobilize the area so it can relax and better receive blood flow and nutrients. And two is to strengthen it to the point where it can handle the forces you’re asking it to absorb so you can continue your sport without irritation and injury. 

Stretch

Here is a simple ankle/shin stretch from one of our daily stretching and mobility routines available at Dynamic Cyclist. This routine focuses on the calf and ankle. We have hundreds of routines available like this for every area of the body to address mobility, strength and injury prevention for all levels of cyclists.

Strengthen

An easy way to strengthen your tibialis anterior muscles is by performing an exercise called Tibialis Raises. It involves leaning flat against a wall with your heels slightly away from the wall (the farther from the wall the harder this will be). While keeping your legs locked straight, lift your toes up as high as you can, slowly lower, and repeat. 

Performing high repetitions of this exercise (20-25 rep sets) will train your shin muscles to work under load, and will strengthen them up to be able to better handle the repetitive nature of pedaling and any other exercise/activity you might involve yourself in.

Do You Want to Become a Better Cyclist?

Dynamic Cyclist offers comprehensive, all-inclusive, balanced programming designed specifically for cyclists. Our mission for ourselves and everyone in our community is to ride pain free, and we do that by addressing strength imbalances and mobility restrictions that hinder cycling performance in a systematic and well thought out way. 

If you’ve ever wanted to take the guesswork out of your training and be part of something professional and easy to follow, try signing up with us for FREE with a 7-day trial that you can find here! 

Hip Flexor Pain and Cycling: The Ultimate Guide

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Introduction

Cycling is a sport that we and many others around the world take pleasure in as part of a regular exercise routine and healthy lifestyle. There’s nothing worse than being debilitated by an injury or pain that prevents you from doing the thing you enjoy, and that’s exactly the situation so many of our fellow cyclists find themselves in.

The hips are a major focus point when it comes to cycling as it’s where the bulk of our power first originates in the pedal stroke. Unfortunately, many people start to feel hip pain in the cycling position or afterwards when they get off their bike. 

This article will help to detail some of the hip flexor muscles that contribute to cycling, and how common causes of hip pain in cyclists can be remedied to continue enjoying the activity we all love.

What Are Hip Flexors?

The hip flexors are a group of muscles responsible for, you guessed it, flexing the hip (i.e. bringing the knee towards the chest). This group is mainly composed of the psoas, iliacus and rectus femoris muscles. Several other muscles have a ‘hip flexing’ quality to them, however when it comes to hip pain from cycling, we’ll primarily be talking about these three. 

Iliopsoas


Source: Physiopedia

Iliopsoas is a group of two (sometimes three) hip flexor muscles: psoas major, psoas minor and iliacus (the psoas minor is only present in a certain number of people). These muscles have distinct separation in the abdomen but consolidate as they move downward into the thigh, contributing to the same hip flexing function, and thus their common grouping in the term iliopsoas.

As we’ll see, the psoas in particular is a major player in anterior (front) hip pain after or during cycling. Being the most powerful hip flexor and the only muscle that connects your upper body to your lower body, it has a significant influence on the biomechanics of cycling.

Rectus Femoris


Source: Kenhub – Illustrator: Liene Znotina

The rectus femoris is a quadriceps muscle that runs straight down the middle of the thigh. It is the only quadriceps muscle that crosses the hip joint, which gives it its hip flexing function. Rectus femoris also crosses the knee joint, making it a forceful contributor to cycling in general through its dual action of knee extension (power phase) and hip flexion (recovery phase).

How Do Our Hip Flexors Contribute to Cycling?

Cyclists and runners have something unique in common. They tend to think about (and train) the downward forces applied into the ground or pedal far more than the ‘pulling’ forces that allow them to regain position for the next repetition. This can be detrimental in terms of injury risk and performance, because only half the movement is being trained! 


Source: Active For Life

Our hip flexors are mainly responsible for the last part of the recovery phase (10 to 12 o’ clock pedal position) during cycling. By using the hip flexors to ‘pull’ us through the final part of our upstroke, we can effectively utilize the force generated in the power phase and assist in creating an overall more efficient stride.

While cycling, many people are so focused on their thighs that they forget the entire leg is (or at least should be) working through the different parts of each pedal stroke. Fatigue tempts cyclists into relaxing during the 6 to 12 o’ clock position, but in doing so they leave a lot on the table in terms of output and will also overwork other muscles in the process.

Causes of Hip Flexor Pain During/After Cycling

There are usually several culprits responsible for the pain cyclists feel in their hip flexors during or after a ride. They tend to contribute to one another making the problem hard to diagnose and rectify. Though just as the issue tends to be multi-faceted, a given treatment protocol will often have overlapping benefits as well.

Here are some common causes of hip pain in cyclists and how best to approach them.


Source: Coen van de Broek

Poor Posture

Cycling puts your body into a terrible position. There’s lots of talk online about getting into a “good” or “better” position, and it is certainly something you can improve (with a proper fitting for example). Nonetheless, hunching over on a bike is not ideal for the following reasons:

  • Tendency to round the upper and lower back
  • Shoulders rounded forward, compressing the chest
  • Breathing is compromised
  • Neck is craned back
  • Hips stay in a flexed position and never fully extend
  • Pelvis is largely immobilized


Source: Jacek Dylag

While cycling, your hip is in a constant state of flexion, even when riding out of the saddle. The psoas muscle attaches to your femur and all five lumbar vertebrae. If the psoas muscles get tight and shortened from this constant flexion, they’re going to pull on these vertebrae and increase the curve in your lower back, creating what’s called lumbar lordosis.


Source: PhysioLogic

This leads to several problems. The lumbar discs are now compressed, your pelvis tilts forward (compromising movement of the femur head) and you’re likely to feel stiffness, ache and pain in the front of your hip from a short and aggravated psoas. 

An immobilized pelvis due to the sitting position on your bike also contributes to this problem. The pelvis naturally tilts back and forth as you move, as well as some slight rotation between its two halves. The seated position on your bike takes away the majority of this tilting and already minimal rotation, stagnating the hips.

Treatment

Alleviating the hip pain you feel from spinning or cycling could be as easy as doing some simple stretches! By targeting the hip flexors through stretching you’re proactively treating and correcting the poor position cycling puts you in. And if you’re already in pain, this might be a great place to start to get you back on the bike.

Here is a hip flexor focused routine for you to try. Or check out these easy hip stretches for cyclists that target the back, front and side of the joint. Stretching will help combat the tightness created through cycling and several other activities that have become a part of our lives, such as sitting and driving.

Weakness

On the bike, your hip flexors are trying to work in a mechanically disadvantaged position. Having the trunk folded over your lower body is not optimal for force production, and is basically the opposite posture than that of a sprinter (the athletes with the largest and most powerful hip flexors).  


Source: BBC

It’s almost unimaginable how many times your hips will flex while cycling. Thousands and thousands of repetitions. If the hip can’t fully flex as a result of weakness/fatigue, your body will compensate by looking for that flexion farther up the chain in your back and side. This can lead to overuse and injury of muscles trying to do an action they’re not designed for.

Treatment

There are several ways to strengthen the hip flexors and condition them for cycling. Any exercise that lifts the knee towards the chest will work the correct muscles. Many core exercises also train the hip flexors, particularly ones that move the legs. Knee raises and leg lifts, when done properly, are a great combination for core and hip flexor training.

Further, a number of factors could be inhibiting and weakening the hip flexors. Having the wrong size of bike could be putting your hips into a bad position, so it’s important that this is checked and fitted by a professional.  Stretching your glutes might also be helpful, as tight glute muscles will fight the pull of your hip flexors every time they try to fire.

Overuse

We as a cycling community often drift toward the masochistic when it comes to our training regimens and discipline towards recovery. Long hours on the road, early morning spin classes, and intervals all mix up a dangerous cocktail. Or how about the elusive “recovery ride” that promises to refuel but instead turns into a full blown workout. We’ve all been there.

Many turn to cycling because it has a reputation for being low impact. Fortunately or not, that allows us to do it…almost all the time. As previously mentioned, the positions we find ourselves in on the bike tend to compromise our bodies, especially the hips, potentially risking injury long term.

Treatment

Remember the rectus femoris? It’s the big quadriceps muscle that crosses both the knee and hip joint. It gets tremendous activity during cycling through its dual functions of knee extension and hip flexion, and is one of the tissues most vulnerable to the excessive nature of our sport. Light foam rolling or massage over this area could provide some much needed relief.

In general, just taking some time off. We know that might be the last thing some of you want to hear, but consider this: The more you like to ride, the more you need to learn to take care of yourself. Proper strength training, nutrition and rest. Luckily we have plenty of resources to help you do all those things and more.

So, Is Cycling Bad For Your Hips?

Well, it doesn’t have to be! Take this for example. It is common practice during physiotherapy after a hip replacement to integrate cycling into a person’s recovery. For the same reasons cycling leads us to pain (immobilized pelvis, hips don’t fully extend), we can use it as a regenerative practice that heals and restores function to the joint.

Finding balance is what’s important. Not just in your training volume, diet and rest, but also the length and strength of your muscles. Or the time spent folded on a bike versus being on your feet with your head up and shoulders back. 

Hip Rehab Program for Cyclists

Cycling is a great activity that can be part of a healthy, active lifestyle. However, if you are suffering from pain or discomfort while riding check out Dynamic Cyclist. This comprehensive resource addresses the most common muscle imbalances and adaptive muscle shortening that lead to pain and reduced performance on the bike. With just 15 minutes a day, you can follow along with the video programs to alleviate tension and improve posture, so you can ride pain free and reach your full potential on the bike. Don’t let muscle imbalances hold you back. Try out their 6 Week Hip Function & Rehab Program and experience the results for yourself. Click here to try 7 days free!

Symptoms of Bad Bike Fit

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We talk a lot about the importance of a proper bike fit, but paying for a professional fit can seem daunting. It’s not exactly rocket science, but there are a lot of little adjustments that can make a huge difference. It’s hard to put a monetary value on being comfortable on a bike, but riding and being uncomfortable is only going to lead to riding less to not at all. Here are some symptoms of a bad bike fit, and how you can go about fixing them.

Bowed Knees

When pedalling, if your knees are pointing outwards, you may not feel any pain, but you look funny and you’re wasting energy. If your thighs feel the burn a little too much when your climbing, it could be a sign your saddle is too low. The solution? Raise your saddle height in small increments until your legs remain parallel to the frame through each revolution.

Aching Hands

If you’ve ever been twenty minutes into a ride only to have your hands start aching no matter how you position them on the bars, then you know how distracting it can be. Another symptom of a bad bike fit can be hand and wrist pain. If your saddle is too high (or tilted too far forward), your handlebars too low, or your either too cramped or too stretched it can result in putting too much of your weight through the front of the bike and onto your hands.

Neck Pain

Neck pain often goes hand in hand with cycling, especially for beginners, and the problem may not be entirely bike fit. Holding your head up to keep your eyes on the road for extended periods of time is tough, especially if you have a weak core. However, neck pain can also be inked to having a high seat post in relation to your bars.

When the seat post is too high it can place you in an aggressive position, which your body may not be ready for. It’s a better tactic to gradually increase the aero position as you get used to cycling. Additionally, if your road or aero bars are too far away causing you to overreach you can place unnecessary strain on these muscles. The solution would be to place the bars closer in relation to your body so you’re in a “tucked” position when riding.

Wobbly Hips and Lower Back Fatigue

Lower back pain is more often a result of a weak core, but if your hips are rocking side to side as you pedal your seat is too high, which can result in lower back fatigue. Lower the seat gradually, riding a flat circuit in between until you’ve found the perfect saddle height. When you do find it, be sure to mark it somehow so you can easily find it again.

Knee strain

Knee pain in the back or sides of the knee is likely a saddle that is too high, but could also be your cleat position. On your downstroke, your foot shouldn’t be pointed down. Instead, you should be pushing the pedal down through the heel.

Foot Numbness or Tingling

Foot numbness usually occurs when the nerves between the bones under the ball of the foot become compressed. The likely culprit here is shoe fit, cleat position or socks. Particularly if the cleat is too far forward it can cause numbness, as it places pressure on the ball of your foot.

Fit Your Bike From The Comfort Of Your Own Home

MyVeloFit is a revolutionary new app that combines the powers of computer vision and artificial intelligence to help you do your very own bike fitting at home in a matter of minutes. Whether you’re an individual or a business that specializes in bike fitting, they have a subscription model that works for you. Everything from free to a fraction of the cost of an in-person fitting! Check them out today to start feeling better on your rides!

How To Prevent Injury Cycling

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We all know the wonderful feeling of cycling, but unfortunately it’s not always sun on the face and wind in the hair. Pedalling is a low-impact motion, making cycling one of the best ways to stay fit without putting stress on your joints. However, poorly set up bikes, wipe outs, or simply the activity of cycling itself can take its toll on our bodies. Injury is a part of almost every sport, and cycling is no exception, but it’s also what makes it a challenge worth taking on. Although some injury is impossible to avoid, there are things you can do as a cyclist to minimize the risks and stay in your saddle for years to come. Here are some of the common risks and what you can do to prevent injury cycling.

How To Prevent Injury Cycling

Safety First

As cyclists we share the road with vehicles, and we have to do all we can to ensure the two can co-exist safely.

  • Maximize visibility – Assume that you are invisible to motorists. Do whatever you can can to enhance your chances of being seen to avoid accidents. Ride where people and cars see you, wear bright clothing, use lights and reflectors. Whenever possible, make eye contact with other cyclists and pedestrians. The article “Bikes Versus Cars, How to Ride in Traffic” can give more insight into safely riding with traffic.
  • Obey the rules of the road – Road bikes are subject to the same laws as motorists, follow them. You have the same rights and duties as drivers. Your safety, and the well-being of those around you depends on you interpreting the law in a predictable manner. Obey traffic signals and stop signs, and use hand signals to communicate any changes in speed or direction.
  • Be alert – Always pay attention to your surroundings and the road ahead. Look out for any obstacle or pot holes on the road to avoid any unexpected bumps. These can catch you off guard and cause a wipe out.

How To Prevent Injury Cycling

Broken Bones

The two most common broken bones for a cyclist are the clavicle (collarbone) and the scaphoid (a thumb bone). These are the bones that absorb the most force when you brace yourself in a fall. The obvious thing would be to avoid crashing altogether, but sometimes that is simply impossible. As you can’t really control whether or not you crash on your bike, you should at least know how to fall properly. It depends on what kind of crash is happening, for instance if you are going over the handle bars, try and get your hands out in front of you to brace your fall, tuck your head in and allow yourself to roll over the shoulder that has the leading arm out.

Road Rash

Sooner or later everyone will experience road rash, it’s a part of cycling, and almost a rite of passage into the cycling world. How you first handle your wounds will make all the difference in the amount of time it takes to recover. Treating the wounds correctly will save you a lot of pain and suffering if done the right way. Check out this detailed article on treating road rash to help make the process less painful and get you back on the road quicker.

Saddle Sores

Avid cyclists know this injury well. Saddle sores are caused by the friction between your skin and the bike seat during long bike rides. A bike seat that is too high and bike shorts that are too old with minimal protection are the most common secondary causes of saddle sores. You can avoid saddle sores by using chamois cream while you ride, especially if you’re a cyclist that moves around a lot. If you do develop saddle sores, you’ll likely have to take a break and treat with skin creams to ease the pain.

Lower Back Pain

Another very common cycling overuse injury is lower back pain. First, you have to understand why this occurs before taking action to fix it. While pedaling, the quadriceps pull the pelvis forward. To keep your body on the bike, your lower back resists that pull. It is an action that is not inherent to the design of your lower back muscles. The result is overworked lower back muscles that may cross into pain.

The best way to both prevent and treat lower back pain from cycling is to work on strengthening your core (transverse abdominal muscles) and glutes. A strong core will activate before any movement takes place in the limbs (like pedaling), and therefore takes the stress away from lower back and works to stabilize the motion.

Neck Pain

Neck pain can be caused by fatigue (just like lower back pain) or a poor bike fit and can be alleviated by strengthening exercises, stretching and a proper bike fit. Also, relax during your ride. A tight grip and tense posture will cause more pain in your neck than with a relaxed posture.

Numb Hands

Your hands go numb when nerves are being pinched, generally due to a poor position on the bike causing your hands to support too much of your weight or your hand position or wrist position is incorrect. To alleviate this common cycling injury tilt the nose of your saddle up a degree, make sure that your wrists and hands are flush with your forearms (no bends), and buy some gloves and better handle bar tape to spread out the pressure.

Foot Numbness or Tingling

Foot numbness usually occurs when the nerves between the bones under the ball of the foot become compressed. Besides numbness, symptoms can show up as cycling foot pain, tingling, bruising, or even a burning sensation. The likely culprit here is shoe fit, cleat position or socks. Particularly if the cleat is too far forward it can cause numbness, as it places pressure on the ball of your foot. Take the time to dial in your cleat placement, shoe fit and sock choice whether on your own, or with a professional bike fit.

Knee Pain

There are different types of knee pain that can point to different causes and, therefore, different solutions. The four main types of knee pain are anterior (front of the knee), posterior (behind the knee), medial and lateral pain (sides of the knee), and IT band syndrome. Some knee pain is a sign of an improper bike fit, whether it be cleat or saddle position, while some is caused by simple overuse or going too hard too soon. Regular and targeted stretching can be an easy solution.

Achilles and Patella Tendinitis

Another common injury that comes from overuse. However, this can also be caused by a poor bike fit and shoe cleats that are not properly positioned. Achilles tendinitis causes inflammation which in turn will cause you pain in your ankle. If you think this is developing, go easy on your training for a few days. After any exercise make sure you apply ice to the tendon to fight any inflammation you may have.

General Treatment and Prevention

Stretching

The most important thing for cyclists, and athletes in general, is to have a healthy range of motion and flexibility to move freely and efficiently. Stretching routines for cyclists can aid in aligning the thick and thin muscles back into their ordered state after movement, as well as remove the lactic acid buildup that causes soreness. Flexibility, or rather inflexibility, can lead to unbalance in the body and even cause the body’s structure to move out of alignment. Failing to properly stretch and maintain flexibility can not only affect you performance, but it will inevitably lead to injury and discomfort.

Strength Training

A common problem with cyclists is muscular imbalance. Some muscles become strong, while others are too weak to keep things balanced. By strengthening your muscles and connective tissues with strength training, you can keep your body balanced and even avoid some overuse injuries altogether. It can also help you maintain proper posture on the bike, as a strong core can keep your back nice and straight.

Bike Fit

Getting a proper bike fit is well worth the investment, or at least taking the time to fine tune things yourself. Getting everything adjusted just right for you will ensure you will be comfortable on the bike. You will be more efficient and have a higher degree of power and endurance. It can be overwhelming when you think about saddle height and angle, cleat position, handlebars, and so on, but it is worth taking it one piece at a time. It will lower the risk of developing any injuries associated with an improper bike position.

How to Stretch Tight Hamstrings

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Most cyclists focus on the performance of the quads and glutes, but the hamstrings are one of the main muscle groups activated cycling.  So, it makes sense that they are often a source of pain or discomfort, but taking time to stretch tight hamstrings can make all the difference.

The hamstrings run down the back of your leg from your hips, crossing behind your knee joint. The upper portion of the hamstring is where your power comes from as you push the pedal in the down stroke. The lower part is activated as you pull, reach the up stroke and bend your knee. The muscle works as a whole, but it’s important to think of these two general parts, so you can target stretching to different areas of the muscle.

The Effect of Bike Position

The position the body is in on the bike does put some strain on the hamstring, and not just in the pedaling motion. When we spend a lot of time bent over to reach the handlebars, two things tend to happen:

  1. The upper hamstring is stretched, so if the muscle is not flexible enough to comfortably maintain this position, you will likely compensate by adjusting other parts of your posture.
  2. The lower hamstring remains bent at the knee, which can cause the muscle to actually become shortened.

These two aspects can lead to imbalance within the muscle which can, in turn, cause pain and injury.

Hamstring Strain

Technically speaking, a strain is micro-damage within the muscle fibres from being overstretched and over exerted. The only thing you can do is take adequate time to rest, ice the area, and elevate it when possible.

Hamstring strain can be a result of grinding in too high of a gear at a low cadence. It can also happen if you go too hard or too soon, not giving your muscles the time to adapt and strengthen. This is most often an issue at the beginning of the season, as you may want to pick up right where you left off, but your body just isn’t ready.

Prevention through strengthening and stretching

The easiest way to avoid hamstring pain and strain altogether is strengthen and stretch. This means slow progress, so monitor your training load and frequency to ensure you avoid overuse injuries. Some strength training, with exercises like squats and deadlifts, can keep the muscles strong and engaged, especially when you aren’t riding as much.

Doing a daily stretching routine is the best way to prevent hamstring injuries and stretch tight hamstrings. It works to keep the muscle balanced, and the upper portion from shortening as a result of the cycling position.

How to stretch tight hamstrings

Reclining Hand-to-Toe

You will need a yoga strap, or a tie or belt, for this stretch. Start by lying on your back on a soft surface (like a yoga mat), bend your knee into your chest and place the strap around the arch of your foot. Slowly extend the foot up towards the ceiling, straightening the leg by contracting the quadriceps. You don’t want to completely lock the knee, but keep a slight bend.

 

Standing Forward Bend with Chair

You will need a chair for this stretch. Stand with your feet shoulder-distance apart, bending your knees slightly. Slowly bend forward toward the chair, resting your head on your forearms. To increase the stretch down the back of the legs, push your hips up, driving your weight through your heels. Roll up one vertebra at a time.

 

Standing Forward Bend

Stand with your legs shoulder width apart. Hinge at your hips and slowly bring your fingertips to the floor as you use the weight of your torso to stretch the back of the legs. If you can’t reach the floor, use a block or stack of books to support yourself on.

 

Breaking a Collarbone – What to Do

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Breaking a Collar Bone What to Do

Clavicle fractures – also known as broken collarbones – are very familiar to cyclists, but the collarbone isn’t really in your neck. It’s one of two long, thin bones that connect the breastbone to your shoulder blades. The bones act as an attachment point of several muscles. Keeping them in one piece is sometimes difficult for cyclists.

The Common Crash

The bike crash is a perfect example of how and why cyclists break collarbones. There’s that natural tendency to break the fall from a crash by putting your arm out. The arm sends the force of the impact up your arm to the collarbone and snap. If you don’t put your arm out, and have your hands on the bars, your shoulder contacts the pavement hard, resulting in the same thing, a fractured clavicle.

How to Know

X-rays are the only sure way to discern if you’ve broken your collarbone, but there are other ways to figure it out for yourself. Right after a crash, if you notice that the weight of your arm is causing excruciating pain to your shoulder, and you immediately grasp your forearm in an attempt to relieve the weight of your arm because of pain — you might have broken your collarbone. Watch for it when other riders go down. If you see someone clutching their arm after a crash, it’s a symptom that their collarbone could be in trouble.

Keep Riding?

Some cyclists can still ride with a broken collarbone. Tyler Hamilton is a perfect example, he rode the 2003 Tour de France with a fractured collarbone, seemingly in denial of the pain. Thanks to adequate taping, and not to mention bravery, he stayed in the race. It’s not recommended to keep riding with a broken collarbone.

Signs of a Mild Broken Collarbone

Look for a few indicators that are similar with most collarbone issues.

  • Pain and swelling
  • Trouble moving your arm
  • Sagging shoulder
  • Grinding sound when you move your arm
  • Bulging around your shoulder

Signs of a Serious Break

  • Tingling in your arms or shoulders, numbness
  • Deformed or odd-looking shape

Collateral Damage

Broken collarbones are one thing, but they go hand in hand with other possible injuries. It is extremely important to check for collateral damage to the lungs, the surrounding tissues and muscles, joint separations and other bone fractures such as the ribs. That’s one reason why you should always get it checked out by a health care professional.

Surgery Option

The medical approach — to operate or not — of the cyclist with a broken collarbone should be on an individualized basis. Things to consider are fracture type and severity, age, activity level, personal preferences, and don’t forget insurance and monetary concerns in the decision-making process. The desire for decreased pain and faster return to cycling might also come into play when concerning surgery.

Surgery Risks

The decision to operate on a broken collarbone should also be in light of the risk. Infections, collateral injury to surrounding tissue, risks of anesthesia, and if you get hardware added, the eventual need for it’s removal, resulting in still more surgery. The general rule of thumb is that: If there’s no displacement — meaning the bone is broken but still in the right place — then surgery isn’t typically necessary. If the bone is broken and in pieces, then surgery is typically needed.

Take it Personal

Each operative case should be approached on a personal basis. Poor surgical candidates might, in most cases, be better served with a non-operative approach. It’s a decision between you and your orthopaedic surgeon that should not be taken lightly.

To Feel Better

Ice packs can help to relieve pain. Make a homemade ice pack with ice in a zip lock bag with cloth around it. Don’t skip this step and put the bag of ice directly on your skin. This can injure your skin, always wrap a cloth around it.

Ice Schedule

Apply the ice for about 20 minutes each hour while awake. After the first day, ice the area every 3 or 4 hours for 20 minutes at a time for at least 2 days or longer. Over the counter pain relievers can be used, but only under the care of your personal physician. If you have high blood pressure, heart disease or stomach ulcers for example, they can cause problems such as bleeding, bleeding can also occur if you take medications within 24 hours of your injury. It’s not advisable to take anything within 24 hours unless directed to do so by a  health care professional. After that, if you need a stronger medication to relieve pain, consult with your personal doctor.

The Sling

You will need to wear a sling or wrap while your collarbone is healing to keep your collarbone in the right position. The sling also prevents you from moving your arm, which you will already know by now, is painful. Once you can move your arm without excessive pain, you can start easy exercises to increase the strength and movement in your arm. When you get to this point, you will be able to wear your sling less.

Activity and Recovery

Build your strength back slowly after you restart any activity. If your collarbone begins to hurt, stop and rest. It’s advisable to avoid placing stress on your arm, and avoid contact sports for a month after collarbones have healed.

When to Call the Dr.

Call your doctor if you have concerns about how your collarbone is healing. Certain symptoms should result in an immediate call:

  • Your arm becomes numb, or has pins and needles feeling.
  • The pain isn’t diminished with pain medicine
  • Fingers turn blue, black, white or pale
  • Trouble moving fingers
  • Bone is coming out of the skin…duh

Collarbone Break Healing Time

Recovery is dependent on the injury and the medical support. Most cyclists report that they were able to resume riding on an indoor trainer one week after surgery, and outdoor cycling after four weeks.

Generally speaking bones heal within 6 weeks of breaking and collarbones are no different. You will be back to 90% at 6 weeks and it will take another month or so until you are full confident again. If you have any pain after 6 weeks, you need to get get checked again.

Do not try and do too much too soon, especially in the first few days of healing as the bone is setting. What are a few days or weeks in a lifetime?

In the meantime ride safe and have fun. Try not to break your collarbone cycling.

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