How Can You Prevent Knee Injuries in Cycling?

Knee injuries are quite common in cycling, but you can avoid them by following a few general suggestions. We'll tell you about it here!
How Can You Prevent Knee Injuries in Cycling?

Last update: 21 September, 2020

Cycling in general is a sport with few risks. However, as with any activity, it can cause certain injuries if it’s carried out excessively or incorrectly. Problems can also occur due to your position. Today, we’re going to look at knee injuries in cycling and how to prevent them.

Getting to know the knee a little better

Anyone could guess that the joint of the body that cycling demands the most of is the knee, due to the pedaling movement. The knee is in constant movement, bending and extending to allow you to pedal.

This continuous bending and extending involve another series of movements that make it possible. One part the knee this includes is the kneecap, that slides up and down as the joint moves.

Another component of the knee, the tibia (shin bone), rotates slightly as the leg is bent and extended. Specifically, the tibia rotates 17 degrees outwards when you completely extend your leg, which decreases as you bend it.

And lastly, your knee also has many soft tissues. Around the knee, there are many different muscle attachments (tendons), four major ligaments, two cartilage disks, and a joint capsule. These tissues have to work together in a certain way to prevent injuries.

With all of the above in mind, it’s pretty obvious that knee injuries can be many and varied. From tendinitis to kneecap dislocations, muscular, ligament, or cartilage injuries, there’s a wide range of possible knee injuries that cycling could cause.

A knee injury can cause a lot of pain

Knee injuries in cycling: how to prevent them

How can you avoid the above injuries? You need to consider certain key suggestions. If you take care in the following areas, the probability of suffering from an injury will be minimal, as long as you don’t have a preexisting condition.

Progression

This first area is key. As in any sport, an athlete has to give his body time to get used to any new movements that he demands of his body. For instance, when someone begins cycling, it’s not a good idea to do more than half an hour of cycling three times a week.

As the weeks go by, however, the exercise time and frequency of training sessions can increase. But you should make sure you always consider your current physical form and don’t push yourself to go for gold when you’re just starting out, for instance.

Also, don’t forget to warm down after training. Of course, stiff muscles and soreness can be normal after a session, but if you have any pain when you’re pedaling or when you stop, you should check it out.

So when you’re starting off, increase the time and intensity (the slope, for example) of the exercise progressively. This is vital to avoid injury. Make sure you also include sufficient rest and recovery time between training sessions to help your body recover.

If you train one day and then the next day you feel tired, unless you’re a professional athlete you don’t have to force yourself to exercise. And lastly, remember to include a good warm-up before starting exercise.

Good posture

If you’re going to spend a lot of time on a bike over several months, you should make sure you have good posture. This is what a dissertation from the University of Valladolid recommends. First, you should ensure that your bicycle is well aligned and adjusted for you.

The central axis of both wheels should be perfectly horizontal, and the seat should be exactly parallel with the ground. A street bike or mountain bike should have the handlebars a little higher than the seat, while a racing bike will have the handlebars a little lower.

Here’s another adjustment to check. When the pedal is at its lowest point, the cyclist’s leg should be almost completely extended. Always put the widest part of your foot on the pedal.

With street and mountain bikes, the weight of the cyclist will be mostly on the seat. With racing bikes, there’ll be more weight on the handlebars.

A man on a street bike

Finally, try not to bend your back too much. This is easier with mountain bikes and street bikes since the cyclist will be more upright. However, on a racing bike, it’ll be a little trickier because of the lower handlebars. Try not to hunch either your back or your shoulders.

Cross-training

As always, it’s a good idea to train using different methods or exercises, apart from the sport you’re passionate about. Why is this? It’s because if you’re always working out the same areas and in the same position, your body won’t be balanced and you’ll wear out.

Try to combine cycling with other exercises. Muscle enhancement activities such as aerobics are good to give the areas of your body that work the hardest a rest. Your goal is also to work on muscles that aren’t used as much in cycling. It’s also vital to stay flexible, as much in your legs and hips as in your ankles. Other exercises can help with this.

Prevent knee injuries and look after your body

As we’ve seen, these suggestions to help you prevent knee injuries in cycling are pretty much common sense. Basically, you could sum it up in four parts: warm-up and warm down, train according to your level, make sure your bike is adapted to your body, and try to mix cycling with other exercises.

If you still have problems, you should analyze the biomechanics of your body. For instance, is it possible that you have one leg that’s longer than the other? Or could you have some other problem that’s making you more prone to injuries? If you’d like to learn more about this, consult a specialist.


All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.


    • B. Cerro. Influencia de la biomecánica en lesiones de rodilla del ciclista. Trabajo fin de grado en la Universidad de Valladolid, 2014.
    • J. Andrey, L. Cruz, M. Betancourt, et al. Bike fitting para el rendimiento y la prevención de lesiones en ciclistas de ruta aficionados y profesionales. VIREF Revista de Educación Física. Vol. 9 Núm. 1, 2020.
    • C. Araguas. Etiología de las lesiones del ciclismo y sus tratamientos. El Peu, Vol. 36, Nº. 2, págs 44-53, 2015

This text is provided for informational purposes only and does not replace consultation with a professional. If in doubt, consult your specialist.