As we all know cycling is a superb way to increase your overall heart fitness. Although what you may not know is that over time the demands of cycling can cause muscly inequalities which can limit the body's capability to perform at peak level and significantly increase chance of both over-use injury and protracted pain.
To get a clearer idea of how these disequilibria can happen we'll have a look at the riding posture beginning from the feet and moving up to the head :
Pedaling places lots of stress on the calves. Tight calves may cause the feet to squash and place unwarranted stress on the heel cord, plantar fascia and knees. The major muscles concerned in cycling are the quadriceps. You can see that by looking at any professional cycle rider. [**] miles of cycling in the bent over cycling position can bring about tightness in the quadriceps and the psoas ( hip flexors ). These tight quads and hip flexors pull the pelvis out of optimal position into a forward lean. This anterior lean of the pelvis sets in motion a cascade of muscle imbalance. The forward lean of the pelvis causes an increased arching of the back. This over loads the muscles of the lumbar spine while at the same time lengthens and weakens the abdominals. Another muscle group adversely influenced by these dominant quads and hip flexors are the gluteals. The glutes are a major pelvic stabilizer and the main hip extensors of the body. Tightness and over-activation of their opposing hip flexors cause the glutes to become feeble and under-active. In this scenario as the glutes can't effectively extend the hip, the hamstrings must pick up the slack. As a result, the hamstrings get over worked and become tight.
Moving up to the shoulders and mid-back, we see the back rounded. A rounded upper back causes the shoulder blades to raise and protract. As a result, the muscles in the chest and upper trapezius become tight leaving the shoulders hiked up and pulled forward. Tight pecs major and upper traps weaken the mid-back and scapula stabilizers. Puny scapula stabilizers can place unwarranted stress in the shoulder joint during overhead movements while tight higher Traps are a major contributor to neck tension and discomfort.
The last body part to take a look at is the head. Cycling posture pulls the head forward. The cervical spine was designed to efficiently support the head and evenly distribute its weight among the seven cervical vertebrae. As the head is pulled forward the distribution of its weight shifts and more force is placed on the vertebrae at the base of the neck. This can end up in calcium deposits and arthritic changes in the cervical vertebrae. A forward head also leads to tightness of the neck flexors and weakening of the neck extensors. This places unjustified stress on the muscles in the back of the neck and frequently ends up in neck discomfort and tension head aches.
As you can see, cycling can cause some significant muscle disparities that can cause pain in the body. The following article will look at how to correct these disequilibria using a combined training approach that incorporates muscle balance, postural potency, core stability and flexibility.
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