Cycling Posture

I am a cyclist...I have Cycling Posture.

How about you?  Do you ride bikes?  If you answered yes, then I would bet that you too have some degree of postural dysfunction, as a result of your cycling.

Worry not however, you can be fixed...really.

Many cases of postural dysfunction are the result of muscle imbalances...most of which are a direct result of a process referred to as adaptive shortening.  If you have been following along with my ranting for some time now, the term adaptive shortening shouldn't be new to you.  I have mentioned it numerous times in the past few months.  On the chance that this is your first visit to The Aging Athlete, I will briefly describe the concept of Adaptive Shortening.  If you are familiar with it already, then fast forward two paragraphs.

Adaptive shortening is the process of a muscle or muscle group adapting to repetitive positioning within the human body.  A common example of this process involves the hip flexors, and their ability to create improper positioning of the pelvis.  We spend a great deal of time sitting.  Sitting in front of the computer (as I am doing right now), sitting in planes, trains, and of course...automobiles.  We sit in front of the television, and when we eat.  When we go to the movies, we...well, I think you get the point.  We sit...and we sit ALOT!  When we sit, our hips are in a flexed position.  Hip flexion is a result of contracting the hip flexor musculature (psoas, tensor fascia latae, rectus femoris...to name a few), thus flexing the hip joint, drawing the knees and chest closer together.  Over time, these muscles begin to adapt to this 'normal' shortened position.  The muscles that control hip extension (gluteals) reflexively relax against the constant pull of the hip flexors, resulting in the pelvis being tipped forward.  This is known as an Anterior Pelvic Tilt.  When the pelvis tilts forward, so too does the spine.  Rather than lean forward constantly, we instinctively stand up straight, which results in an increased curvature of the lumbar spine.  Over time, this increased curvature can result in low back pain due to compression of the intervertebral discs, as well as degradation of the vertebral body itself.  This postural deviation is due to a relatively minor muscle imbalance, that was created when the hip flexors adapted to a repetitively shortened position.  This position is often referred to as Lower Body Postural Distortion Pattern, or more commonly...Lower Crossed Syndrome (LCS).

There are a number of postural deviation patterns common within the human body and the human movement system (HMS)...many of which can be alleviated (and even avoided) by incorporating some relatively simple corrective-based exercises into your current workout regimen.

If you are a cyclist, there is good reason to believe that you not only have Lower Crossed Syndrome, but you are likely to have another postural distortion pattern commonly referred to as Upper Crossed Syndrome (UCS).

Like LCS, UCS is the result of muscle imbalance due to adaptive shortening.  In the case of UCS however, the muscles that have shortened are primarily the pectoral (chest) muscles.  Adaptive shortening of these muscles is the result of repetitive or prolonged shoulder protraction, or rounding of the shoulders.  Individuals with UCS typically have rounded upper backs, forward rounded shoulders, and a forward protruding head, as shown in the picture above.

I often refer to this postural distortion pattern as computer posture, as hours of sitting at your workstation or home computer often result in this type of posture.  If you are a cyclist to boot, then you are getting a double-whammy, so to speak.

Think about your body position when riding.  Not only are your hips repetitively flexed, but your back is typically rounded, your shoulders are rolled somewhat forward, your head tends to be pushed forward and up, and much of your weight is being supported through a constant contraction of your chest muscles.  More advanced and experienced cyclists are able to minimize the amount of body weight being supported by the arms, through body position and core strengthening exercises, but the majority of amateur level cyclists fall victim to this issue.

In the photo above, you can see two distinctly different riding positions.  The first position is a pretty common position, while the second is more correct from a postural perspective.  As you can see the second image shows proper alignment of the spine, with a 'neutral' lumbar spine.  The shoulder blades are being rolled back and down along the rib cage, resulting a retraction of the shoulders.  The head is being held in a neutral position as well.

The rider in the first picture, is surely supporting much of his body weight with his arms, resulting in prolonged contraction of the chest musculature.  Adaptive shortening of the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor musculature is guaranteed, which will eventually result in the forward rounded shoulder positioning shown in the picture above depicting UCS.

This protracted positioning actually minimizes the amount of space that is normally present within the shoulder capsule, aka glenohumeral joint space.  Over time, this can result in the impingement of soft tissues such as the biceps tendon and supraspinatus tendon of the infamous Rotator Cuff.  Probability of tissue degradation and even a rotator cuff tear, is high...especially if you partake in other activities such as golf, tennis, or swimming.  

So...for those of you who compete in triathlon, I encourage you to read on!

A proper swim stroke is highly dependent on a highly mobile shoulder joint.  If you have reduced the amount of room within your shoulder capsule, you will instinctively compensate to avoid the discomfort associated with impingement of soft tissues against the acromium process (the distal end of your collar bone or clavicle).  Repetitive friction within the joint will most likely result in some degree of tendonopathy...often requiring surgical intervention.

So what can we do to minimize our risk of low back pain and shoulder surgery?

Check back soon to see what the answer is!

Yours in Health and Performance!

John