Cycling is a very demanding sport putting a lot of strain on all body, but particularly on calves, hamstrings, quads, neck, shoulders and lower back. As Cambridgeshire cycling festival is approaching 1st to 3rd June 2018, Clinic4Sport would like to highlight the importance of stretching after race to maintain good muscular flexibility. If this fitness component is neglected it will cause your muscles to tighten up and loose its flexibility.
Tight muscles can have a negative impact on cycling performance, as well as on daily living. Tight IT band and quadriceps muscle can result in anterolateral knee pain, it is pain which presents itself at the front and outside of the knee. Moreover, tight hamstrings is one of the contributing factors for the lower back pain. If hamstring does not have sufficient mobility, it pulls on the hip increasing the lower back curvature.
With that, all your lower back muscles must work harder to try and sustain as neutral posture as possible and if they are not strong enough, eventually they will fatigue and result in stiffness and lower back pain. In addition, regular glut stretching can prevent development of piriformis syndrome. Piriformis is a small muscle located underneath gluts coming from your lower back to your thigh bone. It goes over the sciatic nerve so if tightened, it might result in very uncomfortable hip pain as well as pain anywhere down the leg.
In addition, constantly having your head tilted while riding a bike puts great deal of strain on your neck and shoulder muscles. If these are not stretched, it will results in stiff and sore neck with decreased mobility.
Remember, a regular 5 minute daily stretching routine will help you to maintain healthy muscle flexibility and avoid development of any of the conditions mentioned!