Video Assisted Bike Set Up is conducted by podiatrist Chris Petropoulos.

Road Cycling presents a unique challenge to ones fitness:

Postural muscles are challenged by the forward trunk position which must be sustained for an extended period of time; leg muscles and joints are exposed to huge repetition.

Bike Set up:

A poor bike set up can contribute to cycling injuries.  A seat too low or too far forward could cause knee pain, a seat too high or too far back could cause back pain.

Injuries:

Having the correct bike set up (seat height, seat fore/aft, handle bar position) is a must.  However, it is not a guarantee to injury free cycling:

• tightness in soft-tissues can quickly create problems. A tight iliotibial band, can create friction each time it rubs past the femoral condyle resulting in lateral knee pain (iliotibial friction syndrome)
• weakness in the gluteals may cause the pelvis to shift with each pedal.  This could rapidly irritate ones lower back or contribute to hip or knee pain.

The Role of Podiatry:

Although not commonly thought of as a treatment option with overuse cycling injuries, the structure and relationship of the foot joints and lower limb can have a large contribution to injuries on the bike.  Due to the monotony and repetitive nature of cycling, inefficient foot and leg biomechanics may be a cause of the repetitive overuse injuries experienced by high mileage cyclists.  If your foot is demonstrating too much rearfoot or midfoot movement, it may be reducing the efficiency during the transfer of power from the leg to the pedal interface.  This can lead to an increase in frontal plane movement of the knee at the top of the pedal and can also contribute to friction and tracking issues at the knee.  Podiatrists can assess your foot and leg mechanics with both a non-weightbearing assessment and video analysis on your bike.

Some of the common things cyclists will consult a Podiatrist for include:

• knee and ITB pain
• achilles and calf pain
• arch pain
• pain/numbness in the ball of the foot
• obvious differences in power between legs
• general discomfort on the bike even after professional set up

If you feel that a bike set up assessment would be of benefit to you or if you have any additional questions, please phone the clinic on 9650 9372 to organise an appointment with Ben Moore.  Ben is available Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons.  The assessment will take 1 hour to cover both the video analysis and the clinical assessment.  The cost of the assessment is $200.00 and remember to bring your private health insurance membership card for on the spot claiming.  You will also need to bring your bike, and your cycling attire.

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