Is Cycling Good Or Bad For The Knees?

It is true that riding your bike on a pretty regular basis can really help to reduce the risk of a lot of different health problems.

But, cycling can be a worry for some people as it seems as though it is an activity which is fairly strenuous on the knees.

Cycling is an exercise that is especially great for weight loss as it is a high-cardio exercise.

You will be pleased to know that cycling is a low impact exercise, so this can actually benefit people who suffer from osteoarthritis.

Incorporating cycling into your daily routine can really help control or reduce your weight because it is an exercise which raises your metabolic rate. This is what helps you to burn fat.

There is a pretty common assumption that cycling can actually cause knee pain which is where concerns about the exercise comes from.

However, we are here to highlight how cycling does not have to result in knee pain, because there are factors which can contribute to knee pain when biking.

What Affects Your Knees When You Are Cycling?

It is true that there are a lot of factors which can actually heighten the risk of you encountering or developing knee pain along with other health problems that could include osteoarthritis.

Cycling is not the main cause of knee injuries, this is a common myth which really needs to be busted.

You might find that you injure your knees when you are cycling by not having the correct equipment or by having poor form while you are exercising.

If you make sudden changes within your workout or your cycling habits then you might find that you encounter injuries.

Alternatively, knee injuries can also be present due to genetic factors and this is unfortunately something which is completely out of your control.

Genetic factors might increase your chances of suffering from knee injuries and in worse case scenarios, genetics can result in you developing more serious joint problems.

However, it is important to mention that hereditary joint problems along with poor cycling form and technique can exacerbate the knee joint and this is what will lead to injury.

If you ensure that you utilize efficient equipment and also that you reduce the amount of time and pressure that you put on your knee joint.

Bearing this in mind can really help you to reduce the risk of encountering knee pain along with other injuries when you are cycling.

How Can You Cycle To Suit Your Knees?

In order to reduce and therefore eradicate any kind of knee pain, you can adapt a few strategies in order to really help you to achieve this.

You first of all need to make sure that your bicycle suits you as far as fit is concerned.

Your bicycle news to suit your proportion and this is key if you want to steer clear from knee pain.

If your bicycle seat is far too high, then you will find that this will have a detrimental effect on how your knee can bend and also extend when you are cycling.

Making sure that your bike fits you correctly will ensure that your knee is at the correct position and therefore that you are not too close or too far away from the bike frame.

The Importance Of Leg Strength And Warming Up

You also need to take into account your leg strength, this is due to the fact that without having sufficient leg strength then this repetitive act can end up inflicting knee pain upon you.

What can you do to resolve this? Strength training will be your new best friend here.

This will be absolutely beneficial for reducing knee pain when you are cycling.

Sure, it is important that you workout your entire body when you can – but when it comes to cycling, you really need to focus on your leg strength so as to be able to keep up with your cycling regimen.

In addition to this, warming up will really help you to avoid any kind of injury when you are cycling.

Here’s the thing, it is always advised that you warm-up before you take part in any kind of exercise.

Cycling is an exercise where you really need to warm up your muscles, it does not matter whether you plan on cycling indoors or outdoors, warming up is key to cycling success.

You can warm up quite easily when it comes to cycling – you do not have to stretch out every single individual muscle of your body.

You can warm up before cycling by starting off at a gentler pace and then you can gradually ease your cycle into your normal pace.

Fixing Different Kinds Of Knee Pain

Is Cycling Good Or Bad For The Knees?

You might be unsure as to how you can fix particular knee pains, but, this might help you in working out why you are in pain and what you can do to fix this.

If you are suffering from kneecap pain then this could have been caused by your bicycle saddle being too low.

The easiest way that you can fix this is to adjust the saddle so that it is the correct height for you.

Alternatively, you might be suffering from knee pain if your saddle is too far forward for you.

The easiest way that you can fix this is to move your saddle back and see if this is more comfortable, or, you can just raise the saddle so you can get a stronger cycling position.

If you find that you are suffering from pain at the side of your knee then this is a clear indicator that your bicycle saddle is way too high.

You might also be experiencing achilles pain as well as knee pain and this is a real indicator that you have your bicycle saddle too high.

The easiest way that you will be able to fix this is to lower your seat, this will ultimately help you eradicate the knee pain that you are experiencing.

In Conclusion

Cycling is an especially adaptable exercise and it can really suit anyone.

It is an easy activity to incorporate into your daily routine, you can either start off your day by stationary biking or you can cycle to work, or you can end your day cycling around your local park.

Cycling is an especially key activity when it comes to reducing the risk of other health problems.

It is true that cycling can really help reduce the risk of you suffering from a heart attack, or from a stroke, or from some cancers, or from diabetes, or even from arthritis and obesity.

Additionally to this, cycling is especially great for your mental wellbeing and it can even reduce the risk of you suffering from depressive moods.

This is because cycling can really boost your heart rate and so, it really gets those endorphins pumping.

Overall, it is pretty clear that cycling can be good for your knees as long as you do everything that you can to ensure that it is done correctly.

You want to reap the benefits of cycling, you do not want to incur more injuries through taking part in this exercise.

You will want to look for absolute comfort above anything else when you are cycling, after all, you do not want to dread exercising out of fear of injuring yourself.

Cynthia Reeves
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