Cycling Injuries and Bicycle Safety

There are increasing number of people getting cycling injuries as cycling exercise become increasingly popular. The most common cycling injuries can be categorised into two types: acute trauma from accidents or falls and joint overuse leading to chronic wear and tear. In an interview with Lianhe Zaobao, Dr Kevin Lee says that majority (around 85%) of these cycling injuries stem from chronic wear and tear rather than acute trauma from cycling accidents.

Acute trauma mostly occurs to the upper body (such as arms, chest, head) when a cyclist meets with an accident or falls off from the bike. Many severe injuries happen when the cyclist do not wear a bike helmet, which can reduce as much as 80% of impact to the head. Therefore, it is important to wear a bike helmet when cycling outside.

Chronic wear and tear usually occurs to the lower body (such as knees and hip) when a cyclist overuse his/her muscles and joints overtime. The overuse of the body’s joints will result in chronic and repeated injuries, such as hip and knee ligament inflammation. Other common chronic injuries include quadriceps tendonitis and patella tedonitis.

The cause of chronic injuries is usually incorrect bike size (and seating) or over-exercising. You can recover from these injuries with reduced cycling mileage, adequate use of ice on the affected areas, sufficient rest, medication and physiotherapy. If these chronic cycling injuries persist for two weeks or more, it is best to seek an orthopaedic specialist.