Dealing with Pain From Motorcycle Riding
Plenty of riders experience pain while riding, whether it’s an older individual with arthritis or a younger rider who is sore from yesterday’s gym session. Then add in the fact that the act of riding is physically exhausting and can get painful fast. Your friends at Biggs Harley-Davidson in San Marcos have rounded up the top tips for preventing and reducing pain caused by motorcycle riding below. Whether you’re cruising through the city or riding your favorite touring motorcycle, it’s important that you be able to do it in comfort!
Preventing Pain
Your best strategy is to try to keep pain from creeping up in the first place. No one wants to suffer through pain during or after a motorcycle ride! The following strategies help you limit pain as much as you can.
Before You Ride
You wouldn't hit the heavy weights or sprint on the treadmill without warming up first. Why is a motorcycle ride, which is also highly athletic, any different? Hint: it's not. You should always stretch before hitting the road. It'll help reduce the risk of back pain, shoulder pain, neck pain, and muscle fatigue.
While You Ride
It's hard on your body to be in the same position for hours on end. Take breaks throughout a long ride to shake up your position and stretch. Find rest stops or parks along your route to pull off into.
It's also important that you know your limits. Don't embark on a ten-hour ride when your previous record was two. Be honest about your ability and stay within your bounds. You can slowly build up your endurance rather than dive in headfirst into a drastically longer ride than your body is used to.
Reducing Pain
Try as you might to prevent pain, you may still end up experiencing some. There are many different ways you can cope with it depending on the type of pain (and you can often do more than one approach to get even better relief).
Over the Counter Medications
The most commonly known ones are acetaminophen and ibuprofen. They work by reducing inflammation, which is a big cause and contributor to pain. They are safe to take, but if you have any relevant health issues you will want to talk to your doctor first. Try to avoid taking them on an empty stomach (otherwise, you may get a stomachache).
Ice
The cooling power of ice is a great anti-inflammatory agent. All you need is some ice from the freezer and a material to protect your skin (such as a towel). Never put the ice directly on your skin. You can buy chemical ice packs, but cheap ice works just fine. If you can, try to use this as soon as possible after the injury or soreness. You can use it for about twenty minutes every hour (that way, the cold won't give you side effects).
Heat
The opposite approach is to use heat. It can give relief, especially to sore muscles. Take a hot shower or use a heating pad.
Creams
Creams offer targeted relief, which you can't do with pills. Plus you won't have to worry about using it on an empty stomach. There are plenty of choices out there, so you can shop around to find the best option for you.
Don’t Use Alcohol or Marijuana
Okay, this is what you don't want to do! A surprising number of riders try to use this to numb their pain, but it's a bad idea. First, it makes it so that you can no longer safely ride your motorcycle until the effects wear off. Second, it can cause an overestimation of how "fine" you are. It's all too easy to injure yourself further because your senses are too dulled to realize you shouldn't keep using that muscle, stepping with that foot, etc.
Exercises
Sometimes all your muscles need is a bit of gentle stretching to relieve their pain. Different areas require different stretches.
- Neck: move your head from left to right in a controlled smooth motion as if you are trying to touch your ear to your shoulder
- Lower back: hold your handlebars with your left hand, turn to the right and place your right hand on the back seat. Repeat on the other side. Do this a few times.
- Shoulders: place your hands on the back of your neck and open your arms slowly as widely as you can and repeat a few times.
We hope you found our guide helpful! Ready to check out some Harley-Davidson® Touring motorcycles for sale? Visit our dealership in San Marcos to see the touring bikes we have available. Biggs Harley-Davidson® proudly serves the cities of San Diego and Oceanside, California.