Overuse Injuries Associated with Mountain Biking: Is Single-Speed Riding a Predisposing Factor?
Northern Arizona University, P.O. Box 15105, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
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Sports 2014, 2(1), 1-13; https://doi.org/10.3390/sports2010001
Received: 26 November 2013
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Revised: 16 December 2013
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Accepted: 16 December 2013
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Published: 2 January 2014
Though mountain bikers are at significant risk for overuse injury, there is minimal quality research describing this relationship. Single-speed mountain biking, in which participants pedal a bike with only a single gear, may place riders at even greater risk for overuse problems due to the disproportionate physical effort associated with this type of riding. The focus of this study was to provide additional perspective on overuse injuries sustained by mountain bikers and to determine if single-speed mountain biking places participants at greater risk for overuse conditions. Four hundred and four (404) mountain bikers were surveyed concerning overuse injuries sustained during the previous year. Findings indicate that 63% of respondents reported an overuse injury affecting at least one area with the most commonly reported areas being the lumbar spine, knees, hand/wrist, and cervical spine. Individuals riding single-speed mountain bikes did not have a higher incidence of overuse injuries than riders of multiple-geared bikes. However, respondents who split time between riding single-speed and multiple-geared bikes were significantly more likely to report an overuse syndrome than those only riding single-speed or multiple-geared bikes (p = 0.0104). This group of riders may be at greater risk for overuse injury due to excessive fatigue and poor biomechanics.
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Keywords:
overuse injury; mountain biking; single-speed
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.
MDPI and ACS Style
Lebec, M.T.; Cook, K.; Baumgartel, D. Overuse Injuries Associated with Mountain Biking: Is Single-Speed Riding a Predisposing Factor? Sports 2014, 2, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports2010001
AMA Style
Lebec MT, Cook K, Baumgartel D. Overuse Injuries Associated with Mountain Biking: Is Single-Speed Riding a Predisposing Factor? Sports. 2014; 2(1):1-13. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports2010001
Chicago/Turabian StyleLebec, Michael T., Kortny Cook, and Drew Baumgartel. 2014. "Overuse Injuries Associated with Mountain Biking: Is Single-Speed Riding a Predisposing Factor?" Sports 2, no. 1: 1-13. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports2010001
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