OMGosh - Cycling is bad for bones !

[Machoman121]

If you've read a lot of cycling stuff you'll catch here and there a mention of how detrimental cycling is for one's bones. Bloody hell - we cyclist are a pathetic lot - apart from being hit by a motorist - and having an enlarged heart - cyclists now face the reality of diminishing bone strength.

I'm reading how real this is in Roy M. Wallack's - Bike for Life: How to Ride to 100--and Beyond. It's a book all cyclist - even the young cyclist - should read. It warns of the effect of us losing calcium from cycling. In the end Roy proposes cross training to induce bone strengthening.

And then I came across this terrible video today and it proofed all that talk about cycling destroys one's bone health is true :



Just watch his left arm snap like a twig and then flop completely useless!!!

Any normal person could easily have survived a fall like that - but not a cyclist. I thought cycling was supposed to be healthy.

[foo on patrol]

WTH for a start, he should have ridden down the ramp instead of wobbling around.

Foo

[Tim]

cyclists now face the reality of diminishing bone strength

OMGawd.
I'd better spend the day on the couch.

[RonK]

cyclists now face the reality of diminishing bone strength

OMGawd.
I'd better spend the day on the couch.

That won't help when the sky is falling down.

[Tim]

That won't help when the sky is falling down.

I'll put my helmet on.

[thecaptn]

No cyclists in this hard body line up.

[matagi]

Actually, cycling IS bad for bones. It is not a weight bearing exercise, so it won't help maintain bone density.

[thecaptn]

Actually, cycling IS bad for bones. It is not a weight bearing exercise, so it won't help maintain bone density.

Crap! Any exercise is good for bone health. The issue arises when you do too much without replenishing the nutrients expended. Your muscles require calcium to operate, when you do a lot of exercise you can exhaust the available calcium at the expense of your bones and other organs. If you're going to be a professional athlete or do massive amounts of training you need to make sure to provide your body with adequate nutrition.
That and if you're going to be some puny armed time trialist, avoid doing dropoffs onto concrete

[gorilla monsoon]

If you've read a lot of cycling stuff you'll catch here and there a mention of how detrimental cycling is for one's bones. Bloody hell - we cyclist are a pathetic lot - apart from being hit by a motorist - and having an enlarged heart - cyclists now face the reality of diminishing bone strength.

I'm reading how real this is in Roy M. Wallack's - Bike for Life: How to Ride to 100--and Beyond. It's a book all cyclist - even the young cyclist - should read. It warns of the effect of us losing calcium from cycling. In the end Roy proposes cross training to induce bone strengthening.

And then I came across this terrible video today and it proofed all that talk about cycling destroys one's bone health is true :



Just watch his left arm snap like a twig and then flop completely useless!!!

Any normal person could easily have survived a fall like that - but not a cyclist. I thought cycling was supposed to be healthy.

Simple answer: stop reading.

[Farmer Elvis]

Cyclists can have poor muscle tone in their arms which wouldn't have helped. But if you fall at an awkward angle it sometimes doesn't take much.

[Alex Simmons/RST]

For those that have concerns about their bone health, apart from dietary review, it makes sense to include some exercise that jarrs the skeletal system a bit, such as jogging, skipping, that sort of thing. It's the most effective exercise for maintaining and improving bone mineral density, especially for the parts of the skeleton which feel the forces. Weightlifting is certainly better than nothing but it's impact on BMD is a bit equivocal. Non weight bearing activity/exercise is least effective for BMD, but is better than no activity.

[ValleyForge]

Non weight bearing activity/exercise is least effective for BMD, but is better than no activity.

I do wonder about the "trend" for the super skinny arms (Schlects, Froome et al) and the double whammy of reduced muscle bulk and calcium (read dairy) intake. Add into that the high incidence of Vit D deficiency and I think it's a perfect storm.

[Calvin27]

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Discussed a while back. Pretty much you need to incorporate some light impact and weight training.

On the video, looks like a bad break. I broke my arm in my younger years even though my bone density was in the upper range - it really is how you fall although it certainly didn;t snap like that!

[Downhill2Fast]

I asked my orthopaedic surgeon about this (having broken my arm recently in a cycling stack) and he basically said that NO, per se, cycling doesn't weaken the bones.

This speculation is related to a few main reasons, 1) as many in this thread have said, pros try to achieve a lightweight ideal where supporting muscle mass is sacrificed, resulting in less upper body strength but when they crash (they still try to save their face/head), combined with 2). us idiots on bikes are either suddenly falling from 5-6 feet and trying to save their face/head with their arms, or 3) suddenly hitting the deck at 40+ k's and trying to save their face/head with their arms.

The more pros ride, the less time they have to walk etc etc. Seriously, think about it. A pro cyclist probably walks less than a fat ar$e because they're on the bike 6+ hours a day, they wake up, eat, dedicate their day to riding, make their way to the pasta table and get an early nights sleep each night. They probably spend 20% of the time bearing weight on their bones as do the more ordinary (average) but otherwise pretty serious cyclists, like a lot of us. They may as well be astronauts...

YES, bones almost exclusively gain strength from impact or compression exercise (i.e weight bearing) - something that you could ride 3, 4, 500 k's and not get. Bones need to be compressed to gain strength - that is, for calcium to strengthen the bones. Bone density loss is the greatest danger to astronauts, and if NASA can't solve it what hope do we have?

Not much but to ALSO do the things we should normally be doing. Go for a walk.

Ride, but also spend time on your feet and it's not a problem.

[tooslowtorace]

Non weight bearing activity/exercise is least effective for BMD, but is better than no activity.

I do wonder about the "trend" for the super skinny arms (Schlects, Froome et al) and the double whammy of reduced muscle bulk and calcium (read dairy) intake. Add into that the high incidence of Vit D deficiency and I think it's a perfect storm.

Nothing wrong with super skinny arms, had mine all my life. In fact I've got similar stats to Froomy except I make almost exactly half his wattage and have won infinitely fewer races.

[Mulger bill]

...In fact I've got similar stats to Froomy except I make almost exactly half his wattage and have won infinitely fewer races.

What's your Stem/Road Observation ratio?

[CXCommuter]

Family member (stepfather) has really low bone density- ie quite bad osteoporosis to the point he was damaging his spine on a regular basis. As a cyclist this was raised on several occasions and it is true that people who are cyclists for sport/exercise have statistically higher instances of bone density issues although the relationship is poorly understood. It is quite possible that road cyclists are populated by lighter boned (bird boned) people as this is an advantage in the hills and don't appreciate bigger humans flattening us in contat sports (I fit this model).

Diet plays a far greater role- my stepfather unfortunuately found where his calcium had gone- to his arteries and is in serious heart attack danger even though he is very fit, healthy and if anything slightly under weight. Diet has been suspected as a primary cause- changing it has changed his bone density (early 60s age wise), time will tell re his arteries.