Cyclists at risk for bone loss

Yeah the grey high topped ones above are, as are all the blahblahblahcat ones.

This has been in the medical press for some time now and there is some truth to it. However, many of the studies are based on professional or semi-pro atheletes riding a lot more than many of us do! That said, cycling is good for building muscle strength but not that great at strengthening connective tissues or bones due to the lack of impact. You will be fitter overall and have reduced likelihood of later problems if you do a bit of running or weightlifting or anything else that involves impact and load on your bones and joints.

I eat masses of cheese and yougharts and a lot of milk. Hope that will help

So BMX and mountainbiking is officially better for you than road riding?

Actually, cyclists are thought to be at a higher risk of boner loss than bone loss.

I eat masses of cheese and yougharts and a lot of milk. Hope that will help

Don't forget to eat lots of sunlight, which makes you produce vitamin D, which facilitates calcium absorption

Thing is... How can us casual cyclists see any greater bone loss than your average joe commuter? Yes we cycle to our desired destinations, but everyone else sits still in a car/bus/tube/train/cab/UFO, and we all probably do as much walking once we get to our destinations?

Surely you will only see bone deterioration vs a normal person if you cycle more than you walk?

Or am I missing something..

I like asm's point, htfu and get some real bones.

btfu

Some wanker in the dairy industry is probably planning to launch a supplement for the lucrative cyclo-sportive market. £££ for 'research'. Meh.

Thing is... How can us casual cyclists see any greater bone loss than your average joe commuter? Yes we cycle to our desired destinations, but everyone else sits still in a car/bus/tube/train/cab/UFO, and we all probably do as much walking once we get to our destinations?

Surely you will only see bone deterioration vs a normal person if you cycle more than you walk?

Or am I missing something..

You know I can't help but think of Wall-E when you mentioned that.

Its mostly to due with loss of calcium through prolonged aerobic exercise, such as road cycling where riders are sweating away for several hours. The fact that they seldom do other (impact) exercise just worsens matters. Also, coca cola = evil, but thats another matter.

http://cyclingnutrition.blogspot.com/2007/11/cycling-and-osteoporosis.html

phosphoric acid FTW

just do lots of bunny-hops problem solved

I've seen this reported a few times in the past and had weight training suggested as a means to ensure healthier bones. I doubt the affect on your average cyclist will be very noticeable, especially one who lives a relatively active lifestyle anyway, e.g. someone who will walk the 5 mins to the shop rather than drive. But for the people who eat, sleep and work on the bike, it could cause issues if no preventative action is taken.

I'm not an expert so I could be completely bulshitting here, but that's what I've read.

I've cycled a hundred miles in a day before, but after I ran half a mile to Tesco Express, I couldn't walk for about a fortnight.

:S

Bone responds to continual and repeated shock and stress by become stronger (denser).
A Karate expert who chops bricks day in day out will have considerably harder and stronger wrist bones.

This is why it's so important to start small and work yourself up to big. In anything physical.

However, the benefits of cycling far outweigh any bone disadvantage that may accompany it, if you compare it to say running sports.

should cyclists be concerned with a loss of bone density ? No.

A Karate expert who chops bricks day in day out will have considerably harder and stronger wrist bones.

That's maybe a bit extreme, I'm sure the threshold for fracture would be reached with that kind of repeated loading. Will certainly be true of a track athlete though.

Fisting promotes bone stiffness.

That's maybe a bit extreme, I'm sure the threshold for fracture would be reached with that kind of repeated loading. Will certainly be true of a track athlete though.

Not so, it creates lots of micro traumas and the body responds by making the bone much much stronger.

But thats not the issue at hand here. Lots of weight training & running will not rule out these bone weakening issues for 'proper cyclists' as in ones who do long races and a re sweating for hours on end.

Its to do with mineral loss mostly. So adjusting diet/taking supplements is what is needed and of course regular impact exercise will help too.

That's maybe a bit extreme, I'm sure the threshold for fracture would be reached with that kind of repeated loading. Will certainly be true of a track athlete though.

that's 100% true what i said. that's why THEY can do it, and and WE can't.
If we tried we would break our wrists, it's that simple.

They have evidence of this with xray scans and MRI scans which prove that their bone density is greater.
It just shows basically that bones respond to their environment and are not inert solid structures in our bodies.

or you could jump down stairs and shit on your bike like the us cool cats

Are all the us cool cats jumping down stairs and then shitting on their bikes nowadays? I'm so 2008 must get into that ASAP. I don't see how that's gonna help my fucked knees but I'm gonna give it a go

130psi should fix the 'not enough impact' thing.

A Karate expert who shits bricks day in day out will have considerably harder and stronger nerves.

Really?

Fisting promotes bone stiffness.

Surely fisting makes bone stiffness irrelevant?