30th March 2022
At David Sisk Fitness we constantly keep up with evolving science when it comes to exercise, nutrition, etc. In a recent UK weekend section the headline ” As spinning bikes are linked to a rise in women’s pelvic problems, you could be …….Spinning into incontinence” appeared. In brief the article seemed to rely on one piece of research of 300 triathletes which found one in three suffered incontinence and pelvic pain from cycling.
Triathletes do a LOT of cycling. The article didn’t note whether the research included the age of the women, weekly mileage cycled, whether any of the sample already had incontinence issues,etc etc. Of course, incontinence in women has many other triggers such as strenuous exercise (especially if you don’t breath properly), running, jumping, sneezing. Plus the thing about spinning especially is that you are doing just 30-45 minutes in a group class and a decent percentage of that you’ll be off the saddle. Is this article enough to warrant giving up spinning or cycling? Definitely not. Is it good to raise awareness of potential issues? Yes. Even if you are just spinning you should probably wear padded cycling shorts rather than just leggings for example. The article – almost in passing – mentions a recent study which shows that men who cycle more than 8 hours per week have an increased risk of prostate cancer. Men take note.