This week topic is from a SaddleDrunker, Alessandra Perbellini. She is Italian personal trainer and a remedial massage therapist based in London with high level experience. She work all areas of London, and she has a variety of clients under her arm. Please do not hesitate to contact us for any queries for treatments and body strengthening work.

This is what she tell us.

One of my cyclist client bluntly 'complained' about the cash spent on treatments every month, without realising how outrageous was his motive behind the argument! In fact as a cyclist you are aware and you accept that you can spend lots of money on buying a new bike, new components and new wheels that eventually can improve your speed. Much less of this awareness is towards treatments such as Sport Remedial Massage Therapy that could make you, a more efficient and less injury prone cyclist.

Cyclists (myself included) are generally plagued with overused injuries where the pain gradually increases, then we get used to it and over a long period of time we start breaking down.... A Sport Massage will help the body in many different ways: with tension, inefficient muscles, muscular imbalances which make the body more prone to fatigue, flushing waste products through muscles and generally assessing the body fitness for the ongoing challenge that is cycling!!!

Muscular imbalances has been proved to be the most common issue amongst cyclists and we are talking here about muscles that work as agonists and antagonists, meaning that when the quads for example are activated, the hamstrings will automatically relax because they have been told by the neurological system not to work, with consequence that will become inefficient and totally untoned, jellylike muscles! Overall it will affect posture and cycling techniques.

The same principles are applicable to other muscles most commonly Gluteus maximus, medius and minimus around the hips that have the role to stabilise the pelvis to create harmony between leg and knee during each stroke (cadence). When muscles are unstable, the stroke become inefficient so lateral movement may result, along with chronic knee overused syndrome. Another common pitfall is the never-enough-stretched Piriformis and Psoas causing the hips to go out of place and ultimately, knee injury. And the Back! If Glutes are weak, the lower back muscles are used as the main muscles, followed by the hamstrings. They all affect the posture which shorten Pectorals, Latissimus dorsi, Trapezius and scalenes and neck muscles Sterno Claido Masto become tight and hold the head at bad angle.