What You Need To Know About Cycling And Your Body
There is no denying that bicycling is an excellent form of exercise that’s beneficial for the body. It’s low impact, improves your muscle tone, doesn’t put undue stress on your ankles or knees, and is exceptional for your cardiovascular health as well.
However, every time you put your leg over a bike, you are at risk of injury – not only for collisions with other vehicles, but from incorrect riding postures, hitting objects, and falling off. In fact, even though you share the road with much faster and bigger vehicles, collisions with other traffic still only account for seven percent of all bicycle-related accidents. The remaining incidents, injuries, and accidents are due to your position on the bike and impacts of your own doing. Regardless how the cycling injury occurs, you should contact your local chiropractor as soon as possible.
Below, we cover some of the more common bicycle-related injuries and what you can do about them.
Lower Back Pain During or After Cycling
If you find yourself with a sore back during or after a cycling trip, or you have fallen off your bike and now have a sore back, it’s a good idea to call a Dallas chiropractor sooner rather than later. Not only can a fall cause a sore back, but so can your riding style. Often, you develop exceptionally strong leg muscles from all that pedaling, but you aren’t doing anything about your back strength. Therefore, your torso is not capable of supporting your leg’s force, causing fatigue and spasming in your back.
When you visit an experienced chiropractor in Dallas for lower back pain, they can help to correct the problem and provide solutions going forward. These solutions may include keeping your back straight when you’re riding.
Numb Toes After Cycling
While having numb toes is an injury caused by your riding style rather than a fall, it’s uncomfortable and painful all the same. Usually, numb toes are caused by road vibration, tight shoes, or too much pressure on the feet – resulting in squashed nerves.
To solve this problem, make sure you keep your feet straight when you clip your cleats into your pedals, and remove anything tight that’s pressing against your feet such as seams.
Shoulder Pain After Cycling
If you have fallen off your bike, or have spent too much time on a bicycle with an incorrect riding style, you may begin to feel shoulder pain. In the case of a wrong riding style, shoulder pain can be excruciating and ongoing.
Rather than put up with it, it’s in your best interests to see your chiropractor in Dallas, Texas. They can offer solutions as well as advice on how to correct the problem going forward. Guidance might include keeping your elbows bent to reduce road shock from entering your upper body and causing pain.
Knee Injuries and Pain from Cycling
A number of cyclists seek help from chiropractic clinics in Dallas, for knee pain and knee-related injuries. Many of these injuries also occur when riding a bike. Even if you don’t fall off and injure yourself, an incorrect riding style, or riding too intensely, can cause overuse injuries.
The best first step is to seek help from your local chiropractor. They can offer help and advice such as pedaling at a lower gear to reduce the stress on your joints, adjusting your seat height and training to build up knee strength. For the perfect seat height adjustment, see your local bicycle specialist.
If You’ve Been Injured In A Cycling Accident Accident Centers of Texas Can Help
The benefits of cycling far outweigh any negatives, but injuries and accidents can occur. To reduce the instance of bicycle accidents and injuries, see your local chiropractor in Dallas, Texas. Here at Accident Centers of Texas , we are more than willing to help with education, advice, and treatment for bicycle-related injuries. Get in touch with us today to book your free consultation. With 8 chiropractic clinics around Dallas-Fort Worth, we definitely have a clinic near you.
BY: CK
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5 Travel Tips for Your Back’s Benefit
If you have suffered from a personal injury which makes travel challenging, you may feel like you’ve lost all control. You may not be able to go too far from home, take part in fun activities, or even enjoy trips away with family and friends. Back pain can control your life in more ways than one, so isn’t it time to act sooner rather than later? We have included some helpful travel tips to reduce back pain and give you some much-needed relief.
See A Dallas Chiropractor
If you intend on going on holiday soon, with long-haul flights, car and bus rides, and train journeys all part of the package, then you may find a trip to a Dallas chiropractor before your vacation beneficial. If you think your back pain is severe now, imagine how excruciating it can be when you expect a lot of your back in new situations? If you visit a chiropractor in Dallas beforehand, you can learn about how to prevent back pain as well as alleviating it through various chiropractic techniques too.
Use Back Support
As any chiropractor in Dallas will tell you, caring for your back by supporting it is an effective pain reducing method. Plane, train, bus, and car seats are often not designed to provide lumbar support, which means that you can suffer if you are in the same position for hours on end. Therefore, if you have suffered from an injury that makes travel painful, consider purchasing lumbar support pillows to make the journey more manageable. If you don’t have one, however, you can even roll a sweater up and support the curve in your back. What’s more, remember to support your neck when you sleep sitting up with the help of a travel pillow.
Don’t Neglect Your Feet
If you have injured yourself resulting in back pain, you will most likely be focusing more on your back than your feet. However, your feet can most certainly contribute to the problem. You need to support your feet to be able to support your lower back. Otherwise, the pain can gravitate toward your spine even if it did not originate there. Keep both your feet firmly planted on the ground when you are traveling, and consider a footrest (such as your backpack) if you find your seat is too high.
Be Conscious of Your Posture
A significant part of a Dallas chiropractor’s job is to make sure you are doing everything possible for correct posture. After all, when you sit for long periods or don’t have a great posture, you are straining your lower back and putting stress on your spine. You can’t help that you need to remain seated, but you can do it in a way that has minimal impact on your body. Align your back to your seat, keep your head in the center of the headrest, and keep your shoulders straight.
Heat and Ice
It can feel like getting comfortable after a back injury is impossible, but with the help of the best chiropractor in Dallas, it’s entirely achievable. If you need extra help, consider the use of heat and ice. Depending on the injury, one or the other can help. What’s more, you will find there are many portable options for both heat and ice that mean you can take them on your travels with you for instant relief.
Accident Centers of Texas Can Help Alleviate Back Pain After Traveling
The first step to achieving better spinal health is with a trip to your chiropractor in Dallas. Accident Centers of Texas is here to help you feel like the best you. Whether you’re already suffering from a personal or auto injury or just want to feel better after a long trip, a visit to one of our eight local Dallas-Fort Worth chiropractic clinics can help. Get in touch with us today to book your free consultation.
BY: CK
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