How Can Intrinsic Biomechanics Help Me With
My Mountain Biking?
Whether Mountain Biking for Fun or Competition,
Let Intrinsic Biomechanics Up Your
Level of Performance
Mountain biking is an extremely fun and addictive sport. Being off-road, often over rough terrain, the rider must be flexible and agile to excel in this sport. This requires endurance, core strength and balance.
A rider’s position on the bike directly affects how their body moves. Optimal positioning is critical to performance and comfort. MTB biomechanics is complex and considers many factors; angles, equipment, point-of-contact positioning, pedal force measurements, and biomechanical calculations to formulate the ideal position of every part of both bicycle and rider so that they fit together as one in the most efficient manner possible. This is where your professional Bike Fitter or Cycling Coach is the expert and will help you.
Mountain bikers invest large amounts of money in getting the best Bike Fit, tyres, frames, clothing and equipment. How much do they actually invest in the 'engine' - their bodies?
Working on strength, conditioning, hydration and flexibility is all very good. But you may be overlooking one key ingredient that is stopping you achieving 100% out of your effort. Do you have dysfunction in your kinetic chain? No amount of ‘bike fitting' will get you right on the bike, if there is a disruption in your muscular-skeletal system.
E.g. The Bike Fit, may position you “correctly”, but if your left hip is locked anteriorly, every time you rotate your legs on the bike, you would be causing other muscles to compensate for this dysfunction in the pelvis, this repetitive activity stresses these muscles and/or joints and present later in injury, muscle fatigue or pain. So, thinking that your bike positioning is wrong, you return for another Bike Fit, only to face the same recurring problems. Intrinsic Biomechanics identifies the cause of dysfunction. Getting your kinetic chain working correctly, will benefit you to get the true accuracy of your Bike Fit.
There is a lot of forward flexion in mountain biking, which means your ‘extensors” need to be strong to balance out this force.
Don’t stress. You can find the answers by having
an Intrinsic Biomechanics Assessment.
Knowledge really is POWER!!!!
The Most Common Mountain Biking Injuries
Acromioclavicular (AC) Joint Sprain
Normally caused by a fall, AC Joint Sprain, also known as shoulder separation, refers to the damage of the AC joint ligament situated at the outer side of the collar bone where it is attached to the front of the shoulder blade. Pain may be initially widespread but more localized later on. This would be considered an acute injury and need of clinical assistance. An Intrinsic Biomechanics Coach would refer this to a GP, A&E or Physiotherapist for treatment.
Knee/Lower Back Pain
For the reasons mentioned above, the repetitive nature of cycling can trigger painful knee and lower back injuries.
The Iliotibial Band Friction Syndrome (ITBFS) or ‘runner’s knee’ can lead to inflammation around the knee.
Poor back posture and imbalance in the core can cause back pain and other issues.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
This is caused by pressure on the median nerve in the wrist which provides feeling to your thumb, index and middle fingers. The result is a numb and tingly hand. Symptoms normally go away quickly after resting the hand but they can become chronic, inducing pain to the wrist, hand and occasionally shoulder. Your median nerve is screened during an Intrinsic Biomechanics Assessment. If it is tethered, prescriptive exercises can be done to restore your nerve to full function again.
As every body is different, so too are our internal factors. Have you checked your pelvis for symmetry, do you have a leg length discrepancy? Could an “unknown" be affecting your correct bike positioning. Are you suffering from an MTB injury? Perhaps it’s time to consider an Intrinsic Biomechanics Assessment.
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