Bike Fitting
Revolutionize Your Ride with a Bike Fitting at PhysioFIT
Welcome to PhysioFIT's bike fitting service, where your cycling experience is transformed. Our expert, Tanner Sommers, PT, DPT, brings unparalleled expertise in physical therapy and bike fitting to ensure you get the most out of every ride. Whether you're a seasoned athlete, a weekend warrior, or a daily commuter, our bike fitting service is tailored to meet your unique needs and goals.
Bike fittings at PhysioFIT are not just for professional athletes; they are for everyone who rides a bike. Our individualized approach caters to commuters, recreational riders, local athletes, triathletes, and mountain bikers. No matter your skill level or training background, a custom bike fitting can significantly enhance your riding experience.
The Many Benefits of a Proper Bike Fit
For Athletes: A proper bike fit significantly enhances athletic performance by aligning the rider's posture and bike mechanics to prevent injuries.
It optimizes the engagement of the right muscle groups, leading to increased power output and efficiency in pedaling, which is crucial for competitive cycling.
For Recreational Riders: Personalized bike fitting elevates the overall biking experience, ensuring greater comfort and enjoyment during rides.
It minimizes the likelihood of overuse injuries by correctly distributing the rider's weight and improving riding technique.
Riders receive valuable education on making adjustments to their bikes, which can provide immediate pain relief and prevent future discomfort.
What Does a Bike Fitting Involve?
Embarking on a bike fitting session at PhysioFIT is a comprehensive process designed to tailor your cycling experience to your body's unique requirements, lasting between 60 to 90 minutes. Led by the skilled hands of Tanner Sommers, PT, DPT, each session begins with a detailed assessment of your cycling goals, physical attributes, and any specific needs arising from unique conditions such as disabilities or the necessity for adaptive equipment.
Tanner employs a holistic approach, ensuring that the bike fitting transcends traditional measurements. He meticulously analyzes your biomechanics, considering factors like flexibility, limb length, and joint mobility, to customize the bike to your physiology. This customization is crucial not only for comfort but also for efficiency and power optimization during your ride.
Throughout the fitting, Tanner also provides personalized interventions that may include corrective exercises, stretches, or technique adjustments to enhance your cycling posture and prevent injuries. Moreover, he offers tailored education on how to maintain the ideal bike fit, addressing any concerns related to bicycle ergonomics. This education often encompasses guidance on self-assessment and making minor adjustments at home, ensuring your bike continues to fit perfectly as your body adapts and cycling proficiency evolves.
The fitting session is not just a one-time adjustment; it's an educational experience that empowers you with knowledge about your body's interaction with your bike. This session ultimately aims to address and alleviate any bicycle-related injuries or discomforts, ensuring that every journey you take is both enjoyable and ergonomically beneficial.
The Importance of a Regular Bike Fitting
Cycling is not a static sport – as you pedal forward, your body is also advancing in its capabilities and conditioning. This dynamic progression calls for an equally dynamic approach to how you fit your bicycle. Regular bike fittings are a cornerstone of maintaining peak performance and comfort. Here's why making bike fittings a regular part of your cycling routine is indispensable:
Adaptation to Physical Changes: As you cycle more, your body will naturally develop in strength, flexibility, and endurance. Regular bike fittings ensure that your bicycle is always aligned with these evolving physical attributes.
Injury Prevention: Over time, even minor misalignments can lead to discomfort or injury. Consistent bike fittings can preemptively identify and correct these issues before they become problematic.
Optimized Performance: As your skills improve, you may benefit from different settings that a bike fitting can provide, such as adjusting the seat height or handlebar reach to improve power and efficiency.
Enhanced Comfort: With regular use, bike components can shift or wear down. Regular fittings check and adjust these components to maintain the comfort you’re accustomed to during rides.
Alignment with Training Goals: Whether you're training for a race or building endurance, your bike should complement your goals. Regular fittings tweak your bike to match your training intensity and objectives.
Seasonal Adjustments: Changes in weather and seasons can affect your bike's performance and your comfort. Regular fittings can account for these variables, ensuring a comfortable ride year-round.
Personal Growth: As your cycling technique refines, what worked for you initially may no longer be ideal. Regular bike fittings adjust to your improved technique and riding style.
Technological Upgrades: If you upgrade your bike with new components, a fitting will ensure these new additions are perfectly configured to your body.
Aging Gracefully: As we age, our bodies require different support. Regular fittings can adapt your bike to your changing ergonomic needs over the years.
Meet Tanner Sommers, PT, DPT - Your Bike Fitting Expert
Tanner Sommers, a highly experienced physical therapist from Springfield, Illinois, leads our bike fitting services. With a background in Exercise Science and a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Saint Louis University, Tanner is not only an expert in physical therapy but also a certified bike fitting specialist.
His holistic approach combines cutting-edge techniques like EMG/NCV, Level III dry needling, and virtual reality rehabilitation to provide a bike fitting experience that’s both scientific and personalized.
Please Note: The information provided on our website is intended for general education and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Each individual's situation and body is different. Therefore, what may work for one person may not work for another. We care about your well-being and advise you to reach out to us to discuss your specific needs before implementing any advice from our website.
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The PhysioBlog
Flexion-Intolerant Lower Back Pain in CrossFitters
Understanding Flexion-Intolerant Low Back Pain in Functional Fitness
Flexion-intolerant low back pain (FILBP) is a prevalent issue among individuals engaged in functional fitness activities, including CrossFit. This condition is characterized by discomfort or pain during movements that involve bending forward at the lumbar spine. Exercises such as deadlifts, kettlebell swings, rowing, toes-to-bar, burpees, and devil's presses, which require significant lumbar flexion, can exacerbate symptoms.
Mechanisms Behind Flexion Intolerance
The lumbar spine's intervertebral discs are particularly susceptible to flexion-related stress. Repeated or sustained forward bending increases pressure on the anterior portion of these discs, potentially leading to disc herniation or bulging. This can irritate adjacent nerve roots, resulting in pain that may radiate to the buttocks or legs, commonly known as sciatica. Individuals with FILBP often experience heightened discomfort during activities involving forward bending and may find relief in positions that promote lumbar extension. However, while stretches like the "prayer stretch" may provide temporary relief, they can potentially exacerbate the problem by repeatedly placing the lumbar spine in a flexed position, which may aggravate underlying issues over time.
Common lumbar extension exercises that may provide relief include the "cobra" pose, repeated cobra movements, and the backward phase of a Glute-Ham Developer (GHD) sit-up. These exercises encourage spinal extension, which can help alleviate pressure on affected discs and reduce pain.
Impact on Functional Fitness and CrossFit
Functional fitness and CrossFit routines frequently incorporate high-repetition, high-intensity movements involving lumbar flexion. For example, a typical workout might include a sequence of 21 kettlebell swings, 15 toes-to-bar, and 9 deadlifts performed in rapid succession. While this workout can be effective for increasing fitness in individuals without FILBP, it can place significant stress on the lumbar spine for those with this condition. When executed with improper form or under fatigue, such routines may provoke increased symptoms in the back or legs.
Conclusion
FILBP presents a significant challenge for individuals participating in functional fitness and CrossFit. Consulting with a physical therapist who understands weightlifting and CrossFit, and modifying workouts to reduce lumbar flexion, can be effective steps toward managing symptoms and maintaining fitness goals. Understanding the underlying mechanisms and recognizing the impact of specific movements on the lumbar spine are crucial steps toward effectively addressing this condition.
If you're experiencing any of these symptoms and cannot resolve them, give us a call to see how we can help
Get In Touch
Email: info@physiofitbend.com
Hours
Mon – Fri - 7:00am – 7:00pm
Saturday - Sunday – CLOSED
Phone Number:
(541) 697-4700
Location: 1334 Northeast 2nd Street, Bend, OR 97701
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