Biking Basics To Keep You Safe & Injury Free
Where do you and your bike go?
Some of us are Sunday bikers in the park. Others go out with the family and make a day of it. Then there are the competition folk, and the long distance ones who ride sixty miles a day! On road or off road, biking is a contagious activity that often starts early for kids and continues on through their lives.
Wherever you are, the American Chiropractic Association advises making sure your bike fits you. They say you need to check frame size, saddle height, saddle position, saddle tilt and handlebar position.
If you are way into biking this may be all routine stuff to you. But if you are just starting out or outfitting your children, then you might consider finding a good bike shop and going through a total checkout, along with safety approved helmets.
Biking basics count just as much as awareness in other areas of exercise. If we ignore them, injury, joint damage, strained muscles or crashes can all happen too. Taking a few steps to insure a good setup can be a long range blessing as you avoid needless wear and tear on joints.
Here’s where your chiropractor comes in.
The chiropractor often sees biking injuries, as a result of crashes, or wear and tear from riding, and can help you avoid many of the pitfalls.
The initial visit will start with a spinal adjustment to evaluate spinal health, a complete medical history review, and a discussion of recreational, work and overall schedules and habits.
The chiropractor’s goal is to help you maintain overall bodily health and to help prevent future wear and tear and injuries. No medication or surgery is used.
If bikes comes up for discussion, the chiropractor will also be able to help you with advice on riding safety, and fitting the bike to you. The chiropractor can advise you on things to watch for as body twinges show up when you are riding or body injuries occur if you do crash. If you see the chiropractor for follow up on a crash there may need to be an ongoing series of visits to monitor your spinal health and your overall progress.
Diet, weight loss, and exercises for strength may also come up for discussion. The chiropractor might advise you to do at home exercises for strength and lose a few pounds to improve your performance out on the road.
Wherever you are in the biking picture including your chiropractor will be one more good maintenance idea.