While most are packing for the long-planned Ladakh bike trip in excitement, only sparse thinking goes into foreseeing the physical challenges you may encounter on the road. The health enthusiasts, in the meantime, busy themselves with doing the math for spinal health to minimise health troubles while riding for long hours.
Motorcycling in itself has been associated with musculoskeletal problems for a long time now. A study published in Nature’s Scientific Reports, among others, attests to how motorbike riders are more likely to develop spinal pain. A higher BMI, riding fatigue, and physical inactivity can be reasons contributing to the equation.
Knowing this, the question one really arrives at is: how does one prep physically to prevent spinal disorders and back pain during a Ladakh bike trip through the rough terrains of Ladakh? In this article, we’ll reveal the seven things your body, particularly the spine, must be prepared to endure and overcome when riding for long hours. Let’s take a look.
Bike Riding for Long Hours: Types of Spinal Pain It Causes
When new to bike riding and doing so for long hours, one might wonder what all the humdrum is about spinal health for bikers. After all, you’re simply taking a Ladakh bike trip for a few days and will possibly get plenty of time afterwards to recover from any strain you experience during the trip. However, research consistently reports that participating in even one motorcycle riding season can become a painful nightmare for at least 54% of riders.
Here are seven of them:
1.Posture Stagnancy
As a rider, you’re forced to sustain the same riding position for stretches of hours. The prolonged seated posture allows limited mobility and puts stress on your lower back (the lumbar discs) and the tissues surrounding it. Prolonged compression from maintaining the same position while you navigate tough roads to Ladakh can result in pain, numbness, and weakness in the lower back area, also known as a herniated disc.
2.Muscle Fatigue
While you look dashing riding your motorcycle in your specially curated gear, riding it requires special endurance. When the deep core muscles ensuring this endurance get tired, the spine can lose postural stability and feel “weighed down” and painful. Posture Control Strategy research states that in the worst cases, this type of muscle fatigue can also contribute to your posture control in the long run.
3. Nerve Irritability
The forward-leaning posture you maintain while riding the bike on easy as well as rough terrains can cause constant micro-vibrations. These irritate the nerve roots in your spine and can limit the blood flow to critical spinal tissues, overall contributing to a case of spine sensitivity. Too much of this and you end up with a compressed or inflamed spinal nerve that causes shooting pains, numbness, or back pain while riding a bike.
4. Stiffness in the Neck
Wind pressure generally decreases at higher altitude places such as Ladakh, but at the same time, wind speed also increases due to loss of friction. This makes neck pain common when you’re riding for long periods of time through the winding roads around Ladakh. Add a poorly fitting helmet to the mix, and you’ve got yourself a sizable spinal problem during the trip.
5. Grip Fatigue
This is a simple one that you may have already experienced during short road trips. Holding the handlebars of your motorcycle or doing so while wearing poorly fitting gloves can increase pressure on your hand and restrict blood flow. Continuous stress on the wrist can lead to hand fatigue and make the ride uncomfortable.
6. Hip-Related Problems
Low hip mobility or limited movement around your hip when riding a motorbike for long durations can lead to lower back pain. This is because, in the absence of hip mobility or strength, the lower back tries to compensate for the movement. The result is inflammation and tension in the lower back from extra stress.
7. Lower Limb Soreness
Leg fatigue and achy knees are another problem that you may have to encounter when seated on your bike for long hours. Poor body positioning on the bike and an odd relationship between the rider, the bike, and the footpegs can make your lower body overwork. This can contribute to soreness and aches in the calves, thighs, and knees, making rides painful.
Motorcycle Trip to Ladakh: How To Prepare Beforehand
Long-distance motorcycle riding needs a few guardrails so that your spine, as well as overall physical health, doesn’t take a downturn mid-vacation. It ensures that discomfort sets in late during the riding journey, and even when it does, you’re equipped with the tools to ease physical tension.
● Improve Endurance & Flexibility
The weeks prior to your trip to Ladakh need to be heavy on physical activity. Specific workouts and training routines that warm you up for the upcoming ride can help increase endurance. Focus on strengthening your core and resolving any existing stiffness. Exercises before a bike trip should include deadlifts and planks, which can help target core muscles, while squats and lunges can increase body power.
● Look into What You Eat
You are what you eat. Food and hydration are worth paying attention to before and during your road trip so that your body can stay in top shape throughout the trip. Load yourself with complex carbohydrates, lean proteins, and fruits in the week before the ride to increase your energy threshold. Protein bars, healthy nuts, and light sandwiches can be fulfilling snacks on the road. Additionally, drink enough water to prevent fluid loss and mental fatigue.
● Pay Attention to the Discomfort
Spinal injuries can escalate into serious conditions if you simply swat them away as temporary discomfort. Strong spasms in the arms or legs, sharp pain in the spinal region, extreme physical weakness, failing to walk or balance properly, and lack of bowel control can all be telltale signs. Make sure to stop riding immediately and get medical attention. Clinical physiotherapy can help identify the root cause of the pain, provide relief and improve function in such situations.
Wrapping Up
A Ladakh bike trip comes with significant prep, among which physical health ought to be a priority. Your regular workouts and diets may not be enough to help your body stretch to its maximum capacity without sustaining spinal or other bodily injuries. The right set of Exercises before a bike trip, proper nutrition, and post-trip recovery ensure your trip stays memorable. Often, recovery includes resetting your body’s alignment, unloading postures from your hip, and improving circulation. Our team at Painflame excels in exactly that!
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How expensive is physiotherapy in India?
Physiotherapy for back pain in India can be availed across a sliding price spectrum, depending on your city, your therapy needs, and your personal budget. It can start as low as ₹500 in government hospitals.
2. Should I take physiotherapy before or after my Ladakh road trip?
It’s best to have your physiotherapy session before, as well as a follow-up right after the Ladakh road trip. Professionals can help strengthen your body for the trip and treat muscle fatigue or minor spinal conditions in the aftermath.
3. Should I opt for physiotherapy for wellness?
Yes. Monthly physiotherapy sessions are ideal for physical wellness and can help detect spinal conditions before they become serious.
