Achilles tendonitis from bike riding

One of the common injuries a bicyclist must face is the pain in the Achilles tendons; that’s the muscle connecting the foot and the calf. These injuries occur also while running jumping, and hill climbing.

Achilles tendon’s job is to stabilize and push the gastrocnemius muscle, also known as calf. If the heel is extended for a long time, the tendon fibers start tearing down and become inflamed. This results in not being able to freely rotate the foot. Untreated Achilles tendons become weaker, leading to rapture of the tendon and then tearing. Surgical intervention is inevitable in this kind of situation.

So, how does this injury occur during bicycle riding? As noted before, this injure occurs while extending the Achilles for longer period of time then it can be. This is connected directly to the setup of the seat on the bicycle, since that height determines how further the bicyclist must extend the leg in order to pedal efficiently. If he continually struggles to reach the pedal with its toes, then the seat is too high.

When using a special shoes for pedaling (this refers mostly to the professionals), the bicyclist must not set the cleat on the shoe too forward, which results in pedaling with the toes. The closer the contact of the pedal with the feat is to the toes, the more pressure is put on the Achilles tendons. If the cleat is set much back of the foot, not enough power is transferred from the legs and rotating the pedals is harder. So bicyclist must adjust the position of the cleat which can answers the height of the seat.

Some say ‘Its better to prevent, then to cure’, and there is a way to exercise the Achilles tendon. The exercises are simple:

Stand against the wall with approximately 3 feet space in between. Lean against the wall but do not loss the flat grip of the feet with the floor. Also, don’t loss the straight line that you’ve made through the entire body – from the feet, ankles, knees, pelvis, spine, neck and head. Bend the arms and slowly lean forward and hold the stretched position. As you do this exhale, exhale when returning to the initial position.

Another exercise for practicing the Achilles tendon is a simple standing on a step with the ball of the foot. Then start moving the foot like you are trying to reach a top shelf. The repeats are enough when you start to feel more tension. Two to three sets will do the work.

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