5 Must-Do Stretches for Cyclists
Words by: Dr. Karen Roitz, DC
Cycling is a great way to get outside, have some fun and improve your health. It can, however, create some unwanted muscular pain and imbalances for the avid rider. The two most common muscular and postural imbalances that I see with cyclists (myself included) is upper back and hip tightness. This is the result of a relatively static posture while in the saddle that creates rounding of the upper back (thoracic spine) and shoulders, as well as shortened hip flexors. Here are 5 simple stretches that can improve one’s comfort when riding and help prevent repetitive strain injuries from too much time on the bike.
½ Kneeling Quadriceps/Psoas Stretch
Begin on the floor, kneeling on one leg. Place a towel or pillow under the knee for comfort. Place your kneeling foot on a wall/door behind you to increase the amount of knee flexion. Gently lean forward without arching your back. Hold for 30-60 seconds. Raise the arm of the kneeling leg to increase intensity.
Foam Roll IT Band
Lie on your side, support the upper body with the elbow positioned directly underneath the shoulder. Place a foam roller under the outside of the thigh and cross the opposite leg over so that the foot is firmly on the floor. Slowly move foam roll throughout outer thigh, from hip to knee as tolerated, for a duration of 1 to 2 minutes. Maintain consistent pressure. If a painful area is found, stop rolling and REST on the area for 10 seconds as tolerated, and then continue. Alternate sides as directed.
Foam Roll Glutes
Begin seated on the foam roller. Cross one leg over the other, placing the ankle on the thigh above the knee. Support your upper body with one hand. Press downward on the crossed knee with hand initiating a tightening sensation in the hip. Lean slightly to the same side and gently roll forward and back for a duration of 1 to 2 minutes. Maintain consistent pressure with a foam roller. If a painful area is found, stop rolling and REST on the area for 10 seconds as tolerated, and then continue. Alternate sides as directed.
Open Book
Begin lying on your side with a foam roller parallel to your body. Put your top leg over the foam roll with your knee bent at 90 degrees. Place bottom hand on knee. Stretch top hand out to the floor, keeping the elbow straight and shoulder 90 degrees to the body. Guiding with top hand, roll your back until its flat and top hand is palm down on the floor behind you. Repeat for prescribed sets and reps.
Foam Roll Thoracic Spine
Begin seated on the floor and lie back, placing a foam roller under and across the upper back. Interlock fingers behind the head to support the neck. Lift hips off the floor. Gently massage the upper back, rolling up and down, as tolerated, for a duration of 1 to 2 minutes. Maintain consistent pressure with a foam roller. If a painful area is found, stop rolling and REST on the area for 10 seconds as tolerated, and then continue.
Content Courtesy of SOL Santa Cruz & Juliana Bicycles:
Juliana Ambassador - Karen Roitz, DC - Dr. Karen has worked with many professional cyclists over the years at major events like Sea Otter. When she is not working at her clinic, SOL Santa Cruz, she can be found riding her Furtado or Quincy on the local Santa Cruz trails.
Chris Taquino - DPT is the Director of Physical Therapy at SOL Santa Cruz and a major contributor to this article. Chris is also an avid Santa Cruz cyclist.
Juliana Ambassador - Alex Pavon - Alex Pavon is an enduro racer for the Juliana-SRAM Pro Team and emergency room EMT based in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Author Info:
Must Read This Week
www.revoptboulder.com/blog/2017/1/3/please-stop-stretching-your-it-band
(Not commenting on whether it’s right or wrong, just saying you could at least glance at the article instead of just the url)
This article sums it up rather nice. www.painscience.com/articles/stretching.php
And while i am at it we might just as well quit core training/stability for all other reasons than if you like it.
www.researchgate.net/profile/Eyal_Lederman/publication/40684089_The_Myth_of_Core_Stability/links/5c3b70d8299bf12be3c52333/The-Myth-of-Core-Stability.pdf or this one link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-016-0597-7?fbclid=IwAR2MzjcaJvSELTKlxQiSKysl7ahXdHmPU_BEgaoUtj-6hFu3lRYECav06AI
There have been research done on stretching as injury prevention on Australian military recruits (roughly 3000 participants) which surprisingly found that daily stretching was associated with higher injury rates compared to controls who did not stretch.
Knowing people for a decade does not make them right regardless of education. Often we will be told by healthcare professionals that stretching is key to injury prevention ect. which is in direct conflict with the evidence on the topic. It roughly takes 10-15 years for research findings to pass down in to practice and education, so what we as physios was taught years ago might not be right any more, that is under the assumption that education is based on research in this case physiotherapy.
My first post was an attempt to highlight what the research on stretching can conclude. The link to painscience was to present an easy to understand review of the literature on stretching.
Regards
Christian
Pyhsiotherapist MSc Ph.D student
Thanks, just trying to share what I see and understand, nothing personal too!
We talked about stretching/ rolling IT band which is barely a muscle in the way other muscles look like.
Let’s take weight lifting. Does it make sense to stretch hamstrings before squatting? No it doesn’t because squatting stretches them in a matter of 2 minutes of a warm up to greater degree than what static stretching would do in an hour. Does it mean we shouldn’t stretch at all before squatting? Depends What do you want to stretch/ mobilize and what is your base range of movement. I need to stretch / mobilize my ankles before I get into low bar squatting and be very thorough with my warm up so that I don’t get butt wink at the end of my goal range of movement in the exercise.
I also foam roll my legs and ass before and after Heavy lifting because it is scientifically proven rolling improves performance as well as increases range of movement almost instantly.
There is enough body of evidence suggesting that In general static stretching increases your mobility only slightly, unsustainably, instead only increasing your tolerance to pain. that is if you see a warm up of a guy like Kolokhov he does Everything! Before hitting the weights. Including a bit of static stretch.
There is however a general consensus in uneducated fitness world that Yoga Is the best way to increase mobility, make you healthier on its own and all that and is perfectly safe.
I know this is one of those topics that could go in circles forever, but having spent a year doing extensive work to get over tendonitis, it's been a major data point that it's exercise, movement and sufficient rest between workouts that heals and prevents injury, not rolling around and stretching. I wanted to believe it, but having put in significant time, Im quite skeptical.
And do you recommend abductor stretches for adults? Not sure if having a more flexible groin would make me a better rider because I could open my stance up more a less good as my base would be less strong.
(maybe one thing all this Corona crisis is good for is to get your priorities straight again)
The latest king gizzard album is insane, and very on point. SUUUPEEERRRRRBUUUUUUUUG