14 TALKBACK FEATURE
Get on that bike, but make sure C
ycling is really on a roll, as Green issues come to the fore and ownership of health is being taken more seriously. In London, for example, which is not the most cycle-friendly city, the number of cyclists in the rush hour is growing exponentially and a critical mass for safety, akin to Amsterdam or Copenhagen, is not far away. But my interest in the “How To” of pain-free cycling came about during three years of my Alexander Technique training in the early 1980s. At that time, I was living in central London and the Alexander Technique college I was attending was in east London. After cycling from home to the school, and then studying until around 2.30pm, it was off on my bike to be a part-time dental surgeon in north London, and then, around 7pm, a long pedal back home. I was probably averaging around 25 miles cycling a day. Progressively, my understanding of back pain and cycling issues evolved and clarified. Interestingly, in Issue 3 (2015) of TalkBack, the Alexander Technique teacher and social anthropologist Dr Sean Carey noted how “a well co-ordinated person with an extended S-shaped spine” is capable of standing pain-free for hours, “their body weight transmitted efficiently through to their feet to the centre of the Earth”. The issue that affects us all, whether
TALKBACK l ISSUE 4 2015
By Barry Collins waiting at a bus stop or queuing at a supermarket or sitting at an office computer or on a bike saddle, is the need to maintain that “extended S-shaped spine”. This is real “core strength”. Through observation of myself and others, it became clear to me that most of the back problems that Alexander Technique teachers routinely encounter in their teaching rooms were always in plain view on the streets; in particular, the tendency of many (or even most) cyclists to unknowingly or intentionally assume a C-shaped spinal curvature as they pedal along the roads. In short, they have lost that extended S-shaped spine, basically by “collapsing” the lower lumbar curve, while sitting in the saddle... or in front of the computer, for that matter!
The issue that affects us all… is the need to maintain that extended S-shaped spine. This is real core strength
Interestingly, even the Tour de France winning Sky Cycling team coaches now recommend that “the rider should cantilever their torso out from their pelvis with no more effort required of the upper body during periods of high intensity than the minimum necessary to steer and control the bike”. So the big question is: what advice could be given to a cyclist with or without back pain that could be understood without the need for one-to-one instruction from a qualified teacher of the Alexander Technique? Probably the best place to start is on a static cycle at the gym or in the home. The use of a full-length mirror is recommended so that you can be objective about what is happening rather than relying on sensation or feeling. A few points worthy of consideration are: First, when sitting in the saddle, your legs need to be fully extended, the knees fully open when the pedal is at its lowest position. Second, while sitting fully upright on the saddle with that extended S-shaped spine intact, place a forefinger from both hands on your hip joints in the deepest crease point that the fingers can find, when one at a time your knees are lifted upwards. I must stress the importance of performing this action and locating the hip joints