With spring upon us, it is a good time to tune up your bicycle, or purchase a new one. In order get the most enjoyment out of your bike ride while reducing your risk of injury, it is important to have a bike that is properly fitted.

Proper Bicycle Fit
After you have selected a bicycle that is the appropriate size for you, you should begin by first adjusting the seat and then adjusting the handlebars. When adjusting the seat, you will want to first make sure that it is level (horizontal to the ground). Some people will feel more comfortable with the seat tipped slightly up. The goal is to sit so that your hips and pelvis feel level and secure on the seat. Next you should adjust the seat height. The seat height should be adjusted so that when you are pedaling and your foot reaches the bottom of the stroke, your knee should be slightly bent and you do not feel that you are reaching for the pedals. If your hips rock from side to side, you should slightly lower your seat, until this does not occur. If your are able to adjust your seat forward and back, you can play around with this adjustment to see where you feel most comfortable. Sliding the seat forward may be more comfortable for recreational riders who want to sit more upright on their bike. Sliding the seat back will allow your abdomen to stretch forward and down and put your legs in a better position to generate power while you cycle. Finally, you will need to adjust the height of the handlebars. Most recreational bikers feel most comfortable with the handlebars and the seat at the same height, while competitive riders will ride with the height of the handlebars slightly below that of the seat allowing them to be more aerodynamic.

Common causes of pain while cycling
Common areas of cycling pain include the knees, neck, and back. Pain in the front of your knee may be caused by having your seat set too low, cycling at too slow of a speed, or by increasing the number of miles cycled too quickly. Pain behind the knee (hamstring tendons) or the side of the knee (ilio-tibial band tendon) may be caused by inflammation of these tendons. The most common causes of these types of tendonitis are having your seat set too high, having inflexible hamstring and hip muscles, and by increasing the number of miles cycled too quickly. Neck pain may be caused by placing too much weight though your arms onto the handlebars. This can often be corrected by slightly raising the handlebars and adjusting the front to back position of the seat to make sure that your reach to the handlebars is not too short or too long. Lower back pain is often caused by weak or tight lower back and hamstring muscles, and by a seat and handle bar positions that cause you to stretch too far forward.

How Peoplefit can help
Peoplefit Health and Fitness Center is devoted to improving the health and wellness of people in the greater Woburn community. We use our expertise to create safe and effective individualized exercise programs in order to help you reach your goals. If you would like to speak with a physical therapist about exercise and its effects on any health related condition, please contact us.