Is Cycling Good for Hip Pain? [Nip the Hip. Stop Drain. Feel less Pain]

My aunt always had trouble with her hips hurting after she got home from work. She was a warehouse box driver and would spend a lot of time in the tractor driving between buildings. When she came home, we would put ice on her hips and watch some TV to help her relax. One day, one of my friends who is a trainer asked me about my aunt. I told her what we were doing and he suggested cycling. This may have been a miss on my part, but I thought since she sits all day, could cycling really help her hips? I wanted to answer the question is cycling good for hip pain.

In short, from both research, talking to my trainers and 6 months of experience from my aunt riding a stationary bicycle after work, yes, cycling is great for hip pain.

In this post you will learn about why cycling is good for hip pain. You will learn about if you should cycle with your hip pain and why you should not if your body is limiting you. You will also learn about hip pain after cycling. If you are in pain we will answer questions surrounding bike fit, overuse and overworking specific muscles. At the end of this post you should have an understanding of your hip muscles, and how it relates to cycling.

Is cycling good for hip pain?

Yes, cycling is a great choice for hip pain. It is important to pair cycling with stretching and a good warmup to help the body find itself in a place where it is limber and the muscles can elongate while cycling. It is also important that your bicycle fits correctly so that the hips are stretched sufficiently. Most important, your bicycle should not be too small and allow for adequate stretch of the legs by raising the seat to the position that is best suited for the user.

As long as the bicycle fit is good and you are warming up beforehand, you will see massive improvements to your hip if you cycle most of the days for about 30 minutes. The cycling also does not need to be intense. No matter how slow you “think” you are going, your body will start sweating and the muscles will be working. If you work too hard, then you will find yourself burning out faster after say, a month of riding. (This happened to my aunt when she first began riding and it took a bit of time to explain to her that no matter how slow you think you are going, you are still getting a workout and you do not need to push it to repair your body.

Should I cycle with hip pain?

Yes, you should cycle with hip pain if you are trying to repair your hips. There are different types of pain that the rider ought to be aware of before making an informed decision on if they should ride with hip pain. There is pain that is good and your body is telling you that it is being pushed at a nominal level. There is also pain that is telling you to stop because you are damaging your body. Understanding the difference between the two will tell you if you should cycle with hip pain.

• If you are cycling and feeling tightness or soreness, then you should cycle with hip pain.
• If you are cycling and feeling pain that is sharp, and causing you to grimace (this is typically pain above 5/10), then you should not cycle with hip pain. If this is the case, stop and ice or take a bath with Epsom salt.

Why does my hip hurt after cycling?

There are 3 typical reasons why your hip can hurt after cycling. Typically this is because there is an issue with the way that the bicycle is being used and can be corrected very easily.

• Bicycle Fit: Is the bicycle fitted correctly? If the bicycle is too small, then the hips will not get enough extension and will tighten in the position that they are locked into.
• Soreness: Soreness after a ride is normal. Ice or Ice bath and the soreness will dissipate the next day.
• Overuse injury: Are you doing another sport which may cause an over-use injury? If you are riding and unknowingly injured while your bicycle is not fit correctly, you could be making the problem worse without knowing this is the case.

Conclusion

Is cycling good for hip pain? Cycling is excellent for hip pain when

• Your bicycle fits you well
• You pair an excellent stretching and exercise regimen with your riding.

You will ultimately repair and strengthen a lot of the problems in your hip to make your body happier and consequently, yourself. My aunt rode for half and hour while also practicing different hip flexor stretches for 15 minutes a day after work and she noticed a major improvement in her hip pain afterwards.