Mountain Bike Injury Prevention Strategies
June 16, 2020
While accidents and injuries are to be expected in mountain biking, there are a few effective injury preventive strategies that will help you cycle your way safely through the roughest terrain.
Warm up: It is crucial to have a regular warm up routine that prepares the body for the physically challenging demands of the activity. Warming up will gradually increase blood flow to the muscles in preparation for more intense activity.
Cool down: Take time after your ride to cool down and stretch. This will help to prevent stiff muscles and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) during the next 24 to 48 hours.
Cardiovascular conditioning: Aerobic training will prevent fatigue and other overuse injuries.
Strength training: Strength training leads to reduced potential for injury as it increases the strength of the muscles as well as that of the supporting joints and tendons.
Agility training: Agility training is particularly helpful to a mountain biker as it works to improve the ability of the body to quickly adapt to a change in direction, motion and velocity.
Flexibility training: Stiff joints and muscles will ultimately lead to injured joints and muscles so improving the flexibility of the body will also work to decrease the likelihood of injury.
Always Wear a Helmet: A good quality cycle helmet offers substantial protection and will minimize any head injury you may suffer.
Wear Adequate Protective Gear: Eye glasses made from polycarbonate material offers invaluable protection against dust, wind, sand, insects and stray branches. Elbow and knee pads help prevent traumatic injuries in the event of a fall. Cycling gloves significantly reduce superficial hand injuries in addition to providing insulation in cold weather.
Stay Hydrated: Stay well hydrated by drinking water every 15 minutes even if you do not feel thirsty. Dehydration leads to fatigue, nausea, and disorientation, all factors that can result in falls and spills.
Maintain your Bike: The importance of maintaining your bike cannot be emphasized enough. A mountain bike needs to be in impeccable condition if it is to carry you safely along often treacherous trails.
Bike Set-up: Proper positioning on the bike is essential for comfort and to ensure proficient and biomechanically correct pedaling. Ensure that your bike is the correct size and your saddle is set correctly.
Ride in a group: While mountain biking, it is important that you ride in a group, if possible, for reasons of general safety and so that assistance is readily and instantly available if you do get injured.
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