What can cyclists do to prevent injuries?

Our Partner, Victory Endurance gives us a series of tips to avoid the typical injuries in the cilclismo.

We all have in mind the image of cyclists pedaling with their legs out of alignment, internally rotating their knees or opening them outwards. This causes incorrect distribution of forces, causes unnecessary stress on the knee and hip joint structures, and increased friction on the articular cartilage.

For this reason, we must analyze our extremities with the help of a cycling biomechanics specialist, which can serve, among other things, to confirm a “genu varum”, an arch of the structures of the legs as a parenthesis or, on the contrary, “bad knees” ”, Internal rotation of the hips or an opening of the knees outwards when pedaling, all of them produce an incorrect distribution of propulsive forces towards the pedals.

The variety in the arrangement and shape of the legs is conditioned by genetics and determines the famous “q” angle of the knee, widely cited in all biomechanical references for its impact on the linearity of the axes between the femur and the tibia. This angle is formed by the line that runs between the top of the hip and the center of the patella and the line that runs from the insertion of the patellar tendon at the level of the tibia to the center of the patella (see illustration).

Said angle has an average of 15º and when it is greater than 20º it is said to be the cause of a misalignment of the “patella tracking”. The track is the path along which the patella runs between the femoral condyles when flexing it extends without causing friction on the articular cartilage.

It is known that any type of alteration of the patellar alignment can cause a degenerative cartilage disease even in young patients.

According to studies more than 85% of cyclists have a 'forefoot varus' or more known as a movement of "pronation" which is characterized by tilting the foot inward on the pedal which makes us make more strength on the inside of the metatarsal .

Less than 10% do the opposite, a supination of the forefoot or 'valgus', forcing more the outside of the foot. And only around 5% of cyclists have a neutral foot position, distributing plantar pressures evenly.

Likewise, pronation can affect both feet or be unilateral and in cyclists it is often associated with having the knees sticks or in parentheses.

To determine if it is a normal or pathological alteration, the angle between the axes of the femur and the tibia must be measured, assessing the so-called "q" angle since its alteration can cause knee pain, being relatively easy for a biomechanical specialist to correct those alterations.

I recommend that all cycling fans have a biomechanical analysis done to determine, among other aspects, the correct pedaling position according to their characteristics and particular measurements. We must try to customize the bike adapting it to the user as much as possible, correctly position the cleats and depending on the patella tracking of each of the legs, assess the need to use wedges in the forefoot.

These very low cost wedges in relation to the performance they achieve, are placed under the foot pad between the shoe and the automatic pedal, which improves their “interface”, helping to stabilize the foot. By using them, you gain comfort, distribute loads better along the leg, prevent the risk of the most frequent injuries in cycling and even improve performance.

In the case of cyclists, there are alarming figures that indicate that more than 90% of cycle tourists are poorly positioned in their Bike, and that pedaling can be harmful in the long run, putting yourself in the hands of an expert in cycling biomechanics means gaining comfort, improving performance and reducing the chances of injury; again, I am talking about investing in health.