3 Ways to Solve Knee Pain in Cycling. – Part 2

3 parts

• Part 1 – Load Management
• Part 2 – Strength and Mobility
• Part 3 – When/Why to Seek Advice

3 Ways to Solve Knee Injuries in Cycling – Part 2

Introduction

In part 1 we discussed why knee injuries are so common in cycling and how one of the first steps you need to make is to get out of denial and acknowledge there’s an issue. Then we looked at our first strategy in solving the issue; Load Management.

In part 2 we will look at the next step in solving your knee pain, strength and mobility.

2 – Strength and Mobility

This may not be what you think it is…it’s not ‘strengthen the 

Cycling is a very limited sport when it comes to movement skill and movement competency. Considering the enormous range of movements and skills our bodies are capable of, cycling in no way pushes us in this way. As a result, it’s really important to push your movement when off the bike to maintain a strong, healthy body.

There’s no one simple answer, it’s for the long term and not just the occasional trip to the gym. You need to find something that is both interesting to you and convenient to do regularly enough.

Good options are:

• Yoga
• A varied gym/home-based strength training routine
• A varied stretching and mobility routine
• Other endurance sport like running, cross country skiing or swimming can help
• Another sport that does challenge your movement boundaries (tennis, badminton, football, rock climbing, etc)

These are by no means the only options and you don’t have to choose just one. Mix it up, challenge your body in multiple directions and a variety of ways and you will be rewarded with a body that is more robust and more resistant to injury.

Like any type of training, the benefits will be varied. The main benefits as I see it are:

• strengthening of muscles you don’t stimulate adequately in cycling
• Maintaining bone density
• strengthening and stiffening of ligaments and tendons
• Increased neuromuscular control
• stimulation of joints through a greater range than achieved through cycling
• Strength and stability of joints through a greater range of motion

Like your cycling training, you don’t do the same thing all year round (If you do get in touch I can make you a lot faster!). So you can vary what you do and how much through the year. No harm in having periods of more cycling focused time and then other periods of more off-bike work.

I think strength training is important for almost everyone. But you could argue it is even more important for females and gets increasingly important with age for everyone. It’s beyond the scope to go into detail about strength and conditioning here, but I would suggest getting help with strength and conditioning as it pays off in avoiding mistakes and injury.

If you have questions, leave a comment or feel free to email – coach@summitcyclecoaching.co.uk

In Summary

Like most things in life and training, there is no one solution. Also like most things in life and training, finding a way to do things that are consistent and sustainable is the best way to achieve success.

Find something that works for you, that pushes your body in a different way to cycling and varies the loads and ranges that are imposed. Find something you enjoy, otherwise, the likelihood of it being maintained is greatly reduced!