If it is an emphatic yes for swimming to cure the back pain, it is a strong no to the cycling, unfortunately. Millions of children and youth all over the world may not like this observation, but facts are facts.
Cycling done for long hours, contributes to many types of bodily imbalances, and may aggravate your back pain. However, cycling done for short durations may not do any major damage. It should be treated as just one of those exercises.
It is generally believed that cycling is one of the best methods to control and improve your overall fitness. While you do cycling, you get exercise to every part of your body. As you peddle, it is a good breathing exercise as well, provided you do it properly. But cycling has some disadvantages, especially if you have back pain. Cycling activity may not be possible at all, in case of acute back pain.
Cycling leads you to muscular imbalances. You may get chronic pain in certain parts of your body. It can never help you control your back pain.
Examine your riding posture on the cycle. Let’s start from the feet and then move up to the head.
Pedaling is a strenuous job, and it puts lots of stress on your calves. Tight calves mean your feet will flatten with lots of stress on the heel cord, knees and planter fascia. The major stress bearing muscles in cycling are the quadriceps.
Lots of cycling and the bent over cycling position is the cause of tightness in the quadriceps and the psoas (hip flexors). Now, you know the most damaging aspect of this position while cycling
Pelvis moves out of the optimal position and goes for a forward tilt. This is the beginning of the muscle imbalance. This is also the starting point of the strain of the lower back. There is lots of strain on the abdominals also. The hamstrings get overworked as you peddle forward, and they become tight.
The shoulders and the mid back have to bear the brunt. As you cycle your back is rounded and you with the back pain try to continue in a very difficult position. The shoulders are hiked up and pulled forward and you can well imagine the impact of it, if you continue cycling for longer duration.
The back pain will make you get down from the cycle automatically. If you still persist, neck tension and pain are guaranteed.
So, cycling can cause certain serious imbalances to your existing state of back pain. Why think of this exercise now? Postpone it for a future date, when you are completely cured form all sorts of back pain. Wait for some months!
Latest and better models of cycles are arriving in the market and they need your solid
'back'ing!
Written By: Ashish Jain
