If you’re looking for a new exercise to get your teeth into, cycling may seem the obvious choice – especially if you’ve counted out running because you’re worried about your knees.
It requires no pricey gym membership and, if your commute isn’t too long, you can squeeze it in on the way to and from work.
No wonder more than two million Britons cycle every single day – and for many, it’s a new-found hobby, often taken up well into adulthood. After all, there’s all that expensive gear to buy – this isn’t just a pastime for kids!
More than two million Britons cycle every single day – and for many, it’s a new-found hobby, often taken up well into adulthood. But many middle-aged cyclists suffer unbearable knee pain
But as a personal trainer, I see the following scenario all too often: it’s all happy riding until about six months into a cycling regime.
Then knee pain strikes.
In severe cases, I’ve had men and women come to me struggling to walk long distances.
Many are reliant on strong painkillers to get them through their next bike ride.
They want to know, why has this happened to them? After all, unlike running, cycling is supposed to be ‘low-impact’ exercise, and ideal if joint pain is a problem.
The truth is, they are all suffering from a common but little-known condition called cyclist’s knee.
It is an agonising condition that affects about 65 per cent of keen cyclists.
As anyone who’s ever got on a bike will no doubt know, the motion of pedalling while cycling uses the thigh muscle – or quadriceps – more than any other.
In reality the quadriceps, also known as the quads, aren’t a single muscle but a group of four. Cyclist’s knee occurs when one of them, the vastus lateralis, becomes overworked and enlarged.
This large muscle sits on the outside of the upper thigh.
Ever noticed the huge bulging muscle on the outer thigh of elite cyclists? That’s an over-developed vastus lateralis.
And along
