Are you a bicycle rider suffering from neck pain, back pain, knee pain or hand numbness? Is increased pain while riding keeping you from riding? You probably have an overuse injury, most likely caused by improper fitting of your bike.

Overuse does not necessarily mean that you're riding too much, but that a particular part of your body is in a less than optimal position while riding. If a body part is placed under more stress or is in poor position while stressed, breakdown and pain can be the result.

Overuse injuries affect many people and are for the most part preventable by taking a few simple steps.

Neck pain during and after riding is generally caused by hyperextension of the neck over the course of the ride. This hyperextension of the neck puts the joints of the neck in a compromised position and also can cause over-activity of the neck extensor muscles, either of which can cause pain.

To remedy the problem, the fit of the bike needs to be addressed to minimize the amount of hyperextension of the neck while riding. This can be accomplished by raising the handlebars on your bike, or by moving the seat closer to the handlebars.

Hand numbness generally results from compression of either the ulnar or median nerve as it crosses the wrist. This can be the result of the hyperextension position of the wrist or of excessive weight bearing through the wrist.

Having the bike adjusted so the body is more upright will take some of the weight off of the hands. Other factors such as wearing padded cycling gloves, riding with your elbows slightly bent and changing hand positions often while riding will help to minimize the stress placed through the wrists.

The low back is the platform from which the rider controls and powers the bicycle. If the low back is in a poor position, not only will it likely become uncomfortable, it will be much less efficient pedaling.

Fore-aft positioning of the seat should put the low back in a neutral position, neither arched nor flexed. This is accomplished by adjusting the seat forward or backward and up or down based on the position of the handlebars.

Side-to-side positioning is important, also. If the bike seat is too high, the rider has to rock his hips from side to side in order to pedal, which puts additional stress on the low back.

Knee pain is probably the most common complaint in cyclists. Riding factors that contribute to knee pain are prolonged hill climbing, riding in too-high gears and pedaling cadences that are too slow, all of which increase the compression force between the femur and the knee cap.

Seat position is also very important in preventing knee pain. If the seat is either too high or too low, increased stress is placed on the knee and pain is the usual result.

Factors specific to each person's body, such as muscle strength and flexibility imbalances, leg length discrepancies and other anomalies, also can contribute to overuse injuries.

If these factors are present, pain may very possibly continue despite proper bike fitting and equipment. If you have properly fitted your bike and continue to experience any of the above problems, it is important to be evaluated by your physician or physical therapist so these contributors may be addressed.

Once the underlying problem is removed by proper treatment and proper bicycle fitting has been accomplished, anyone should be able to ride comfortably for many years to come.

Chris Schlegel is a physical therapist at The Physical Therapy Center. Contact him at 721-5950.