If you want to ride as hard as your training plan dictates or heart desires, it’s worth knowing how to identify some of the most common cycling ‘niggles’ – those aches and pains that crop up from time to time. Whether it’s a dull ache in your left buttock after every big climb or a soreness on the outside of the knee the day after each long ride, these are overuse symptoms caused by the repetitive nature of riding. Often they can be treated or at least managed.
On the pain scale – from one being pain-free to 10 being a career-ending injury – a niggle is somewhere in the middle; it hurts but generally not enough to prevent you from riding. If you feel the niggle on every ride as the kilometres mount up, and over a period of a few weeks, get it checked out by a physio. Extreme discomfort or high levels or pain may indicate that a medical specialist and treatment are required.
The six common niggles covered in this article are lateral knee pain, anterior knee pain, lower back ache, hip/groin pain, buttock pain and neck tension. We found three cycling-specialist physios who also have bike-fitting expertise to talk us through these niggles and their symptoms, as well as the best treatments and prevention.
