Why You Should Keep A Bike Handy Even If You Don't Cycle Much

"Mrcheerful" wrote
On 30/09/2014 21:20, Bret Cahill wrote:

Stay in lower gears and cycling actually makes knees better.

This corresponds with my experience.

Then why do so many cyclists develop patellofemoral syndrome?

How many is "so many"? Perhaps it actually developed before they became a
"cyclist".

Stay in lower gears and cycling actually makes knees better.

This corresponds with my experience.

It's not just cycling. My arm suffered an injury in May and I was forced to use fins in the pool all summer. After about 1200 meters my knees would start to hurt. I'd take off the fins and a few laps later my knees were good enough for flippers again.

There must be thousands of tennis players who use this strategy.

Then why do so many cyclists develop patellofemoral syndrome?



How many is "so many"? Perhaps it actually developed before they became a

"cyclist".

Or concurrently. A former triathlete at the pool said he had to get a knee replacement because of running.

In any event, even if you hate cycling and cyclists, unless you have access to a helicopter, the best bet for evacuating from a big tsunami is a bicycle.


Bret Cahill

On 01/10/2014 00:23, Bret Cahill wrote:
That would all depend upon having a nice even level road.







Or a nice knobbly mountain bike.







In the



event of disaster neither of those are likely, whereas feet can climb



over things very easily and going up hill (necessary to escape tidal



waves ) is quite natural and simple on foot. I would imagine that



poor quality knee joints are not too hot for cycling in any case.







Actually my knees work quite well on a bike because their movement is



constrained by the pedals, so they tend not try to twist out of



alignment, which they can do when I'm walking, particularly on uneven



ground.



Tennis players with bad knees -- basically all tennis players over 40 -- will often cycle for knee therapy.



Stay in lower gears and cycling actually makes knees better.


Then why do so many cyclists develop patellofemoral syndrome?

They aren't spinning. Higher gears will destroy the knees for the same reason lugging down an engine 9not downshifting) will destroy the piston rod bearings.

Cyclists also need to get out of the seat every now and then to save their prostates.


Bret Cahill


You would think that 'pro' cyclists would know that by now.

On 01/10/2014 00:36, TMS320 wrote:
"Mrcheerful" wrote
On 30/09/2014 21:20, Bret Cahill wrote:

Stay in lower gears and cycling actually makes knees better.

This corresponds with my experience.

Then why do so many cyclists develop patellofemoral syndrome?

How many is "so many"? Perhaps it actually developed before they became a
"cyclist".


Today, there is an
estimated 80 million cyclists in the
United States. Studies estimate that of
these 80 million, 48 percent experience
problems with their necks, 42 percent
knees, 36 percent groin and buttocks,
31 percent hands, and 30 percent back.
Regardless of what you intend to use a
bicycle for, there are some basic safety
principles you can implement to avoid
common cycling injuries.

(AOSSM 2009)

"Mrcheerful" wrote
On 01/10/2014 00:36, TMS320 wrote:
"Mrcheerful" wrote
On 30/09/2014 21:20, Bret Cahill wrote:

Stay in lower gears and cycling actually makes knees better.

This corresponds with my experience.

Then why do so many cyclists develop patellofemoral syndrome?

How many is "so many"? Perhaps it actually developed before they became a
"cyclist".

Today, there is an
estimated 80 million cyclists in the
United States. Studies estimate that of
these 80 million, 48 percent experience
problems with their necks, 42 percent
knees, 36 percent groin and buttocks,
31 percent hands, and 30 percent back.
Regardless of what you intend to use a
bicycle for, there are some basic safety
principles you can implement to avoid
common cycling injuries.

80 million people ride bicycles in the USA? Of course they do.
Anyway, no useful information. How about burger eaters?

On 01/10/2014 00:23, Bret Cahill wrote:


Then why do so many cyclists develop patellofemoral syndrome?

They aren't spinning. Higher gears will destroy the knees for the same reason lugging down an engine 9not downshifting) will destroy the piston rod bearings.


Its not really true. spinning may help, but I need to do stretching and
muscle strengthening exercises too.

On Wed, 1 Oct 2014 00:36:06 +0100, "TMS320" wrote:


"Mrcheerful" wrote
On 30/09/2014 21:20, Bret Cahill wrote:

Stay in lower gears and cycling actually makes knees better.

This corresponds with my experience.

Then why do so many cyclists develop patellofemoral syndrome?

How many is "so many"? Perhaps it actually developed before they became a
"cyclist".


"Anterior knee pain and patellofemoral pain syndrome are among the most common
leg overuse injuries in cyclists."

http://www.cptips.com/knee2.ht


HTH

On 01/10/2014 09:30, Judith wrote:

"Anterior knee pain and patellofemoral pain syndrome are among the most common
leg overuse injuries in cyclists."

http://www.cptips.com/knee2.ht


I really don't understand why people who like cycling feel the need to
defend every aspect of it.

Knee pain is real. Discussions of how to mitigate it are interesting,
(to me any way).

One of the major issues with me is cold. I have problems if I wear
shorts anything below about 20. I'm also in the market for some tights
which have warm/ windstopper knees, if anyone has any cheap ideas.

On Tue, 30 Sep 2014 18:42:10 +0100, Mrcheerful wrote:

On 30/09/2014 17:56, Rob Morley wrote:
On Tue, 30 Sep 2014 11:30:28 +0100 Mrcheerful
wrote:

On 30/09/2014 06:58, Bret Cahill wrote:
Just about anyone can cycle 12 miles and with traffic backed up from
the tsunami, a bike may be they only way to save your life.

http://search.yahoo.com/
search;_ylt=A0SO80.jRSpUWsEA0ppXNyoA;_ylc=X1MDMjc2 NjY3OQRfcgMyBGZyA2Noci1ncmVlbnRyZWVfZ2MEZ3ByaWQDTz ZrYjZOem5SU09COFBZM0dDRVlLQQRuX3JzbHQDMARuX3N1Z2cD MTAEb3JpZ2luA3NlYXJjaC55YWhvby5jb20EcG9zAzIEcHFzdH IDY2FuYXJ5IGlzbGFuZHMgdm8EcHFzdHJsAzE3BHFzdHJsAzMw BHF1ZXJ5A2NhbmFyeSBpc2xhbmRzIHZvbGNhbm8gdHN1bmFtaQ R0X3N0bXADMTQxMjA1NjQ5OA--?
p=canary+islands+volcano+tsunami&fr2=sa-gp-search&fr=chr-
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not nearly as useful as feet, and almost everyone has those.

Rather more useful than feet, generally. My feet don't work very well
(or rather they're attached to knees that don't work very well). Now I
live far from the coast and probably won't have to flee a tsunami any
time soon, but faced with gridlock and an urgent need to be ten miles
away I'd make much better progress on a bike than I would walking. Plus
I can load more on a bike than I can easily carry.


That would all depend upon having a nice even level road. In the event
of disaster neither of those are likely, whereas feet can climb over
things very easily and going up hill (necessary to escape tidal waves )
is quite natural and simple on foot. I would imagine that poor quality
knee joints are not too hot for cycling in any case.

Biking is very good for arthritic knees. Such a person can often travel
rapidly and relatively comfortably on a bike, where walking would be
agony.

On Tue, 30 Sep 2014 22:57:10 +0100, Mrcheerful wrote:

On 30/09/2014 21:20, Bret Cahill wrote:
That would all depend upon having a nice even level road.



Or a nice knobbly mountain bike.



In the

event of disaster neither of those are likely, whereas feet can climb

over things very easily and going up hill (necessary to escape tidal

waves ) is quite natural and simple on foot. I would imagine that

poor quality knee joints are not too hot for cycling in any case.



Actually my knees work quite well on a bike because their movement is

constrained by the pedals, so they tend not try to twist out of

alignment, which they can do when I'm walking, particularly on uneven

ground.

Tennis players with bad knees -- basically all tennis players over 40
-- will often cycle for knee therapy.

Stay in lower gears and cycling actually makes knees better.


Bret Cahill


Then why do so many cyclists develop patellofemoral syndrome?

Many non-bicyclists also develop patellofemoral syndrome.
Bicycling is great for keeping knees moving and functional.