Is an exercise bike good for bad knees?
Exercise bikes are one of the most used options when it comes to rehabilitating knees. It does not only impact on the joint but also reinforces it. The reasons that exercise bikes are the best option for recovering from a knee injury are simple. You can find several bikes for bad knees in the market.
But, most of the people have the question: is an exercise bike good for bad knees? Exercise on the bike is a low-impact exercise for the joints. It helps to avoid carrying the weight of the body and develops a continuous and controlled movement from a stable position. Also, when pedaling on a bike, any type of risk is avoided that may present the terrain, such as falls or blows.
Is an exercise bike good for bad knees?
After suffering a knee injury, there is a first phase in which it is necessary to rest. In that case, is an exercise bike good for bad knees? It is good for bad knees, because pedaling on exercise bikes, strengthens muscles and joint structure improves stability and increases flexibility. By doing controlled exercises and continuously, the knee joint will regain its old strength and mobility.
It is important that rehabilitation exercises are taught or supervised by a medical professional, thus avoiding overexertion that leads to a relapse of the injury or poor recovery. Say, if you have a misaligned knee, consult with a knee chiropractor before getting back on the bike. After a while, exercising on bike is necessary for the muscles, tendons and ligaments that support the knee to gain strength to return to normal activities such as walking, running or jumping.
Exercise bike protects your knees during sports
One of the joints most affected by incorrect execution of physical exercises is the knees, as they are used in most of the exercises we practice. Running is an exercise in which the knees can be damaged by impact. Above all, it is necessary to use appropriate footwear to cushion this blow produced in each stride, but we can also prevent injuries by doing exercises on machines correctly. As we have said before, a good alternative is exercise bikes.
It is important to be aware that the knees do not warn and that they can deteriorate little by little if they are not properly cared for from the beginning. Keep in mind that the knees are a part of the body used in many of the exercises we do. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the muscles that surround them, to strengthen this joint. We must bear in mind that they must be slightly bent so that the tension generated in the legs does not accumulate in the knees, but rather travels to the other muscles.
Mistakes in exercise bike setup and knee pain
A knee perpendicular to the axis is called a neutral solution that balances expressed force and overload of the joint. A further back knee makes the cyclist assume a more upright position, decreases the force that can be expressed on the pedals. In the meantime, it considerably lightens the work of the muscles and ligaments. Finally, a more advanced knee prefers expressible strength by wearing down the muscles and joints, which tire quickly.
This brief summary makes us understand how the right cycling position and its calibration can have different effects on our bodies. Usually, the knees show the symptoms and pain when the following errors in regulation occur:
High saddle
The optimal working angles between the thigh and calf are compromised. It leads the cyclist to stretch the leg too much or even stretch it to reach the bottom dead center. In this way, the hamstrings stretch considerably, the cartilages wear out and the trajectory drawn by the joint takes the shape of a laterally compressed figure eight.
As we have seen, if we move the saddle forward, the knee will be positioned further forward than the pedal’s axis when pushing. We will be able to express more power, overloading the joint with work. Such a position is not bearable for long distances without suffering pain. In fact, it is often used by runners who aspire to the hour record.
Long cranks
A greater crank length corresponds proportionally to a greater expressible force. However, choosing a crank arm length that is too high for your proportions can lead to joint inflammation.
Wrong foot position
If the cleats of the quick release shoes are not positioned at the correct height, the foot’s position affects the behavior of the leg, overloading the joint. If you use flat pedals instead, pay attention to how you position your foot when pushing. To deepen the discussion, I refer you to the dedicated article.
Cleats mounted crooked
It can happen, when fixing the cleats on the shoes for the release pedals (especially happens on the SPDs that have two fixing points) to install them slightly crooked. When they then hook onto the forks, they will keep the foot slightly (I’m talking about tenths of a millimeter) off-axis, a position that will keep the muscles tense and rotate the knee.
Inappropriate footwear
It often happens to me when I go out on an Mtb with friends, to see bikers with flat pedals come to ride with the most diverse footwear: tennis shoes, casual shoes, mountain boots, trail running shoes. Besides the fact, some types of shoes do not offer protection to the ankle, do not protect from wind or rain, have a sole as small as to transmit all the pedal vibrations to the bones of the foot and do not allow for grip. They seriously affect the position of the foot on the pedal, with the above consequences.
If still the knee ailment & pain subsides, one shouldn’t ignore it further. It could be something underlying, and you might even need a total knee surgery before its too late.
Final thought
Now, you have the answer to the question: Is an exercise bike good for bad knees? Absolutely, it is good for bad knees because it improves the blood circulation and reduces pain from knees and full bodies. If you have severe pain in your knees, I never recommend doing any leg exercises.
Firstly, consult with a doctor to take medicines and when the pain becomes lower, you can do exercise on an exercise bike. Doctors also recommend this activity by raising the saddle height so that it does not overload on bad knees.