Bicycling as Exercise for People With Osteoarthritis

Low-impact exercise is an ideal activity for people with osteoarthritis.Low-impact activities, such as swimming, walking, and bicycling, are less stressful for weight-bearing joints, especially the spine, hips, feet, knees, and ankles. Running and jogging are examples of high-impact exercise.

Benefits of Bicycling

Bicycling is a great exercise option for people with osteoarthritis. A regular routine of bicycling keeps your knees moving through their range of motion and, at the same time, strengthens the muscles that support your knees.

It makes sense to continue bicycling for as long as you can. However, if you have a significant amount of joint damage in your knees or hips, your ability to ride a bicycle may become increasingly limited.

A study in Disability and Rehabilitation classified cycling into three groups—knee osteoarthritis patients, knee replacement patients, and patients who had meniscal or ligament injury.

Results showed that as the patient aged, their ability to continue cycling decreased by 5% each year. People assigned male at birth had a 1.98 times greater chance of continuing cycling than those assigned female at birth. The chance of experiencing pain while cycling increased by 8% with each unit rise in body mass index. This study attributed increased pain during cycling to body mass index, rather than to a patient's diagnosis.

A 2020 study conducted a 6-week cycling and educational intervention for patients with hip osteoarthritis and found that this combined strategy resulted in improved quality of life and functioning and reduced pain associated with osteoarthritis.

Adapting the Bike

Rather than giving up bicycling when it becomes increasingly difficult, try to adapt the activity to your needs. If bicycling outdoors is a problem because of uneven ground, steep hills and other challenges that come with the great outdoors, bring bicycling indoors.

For outdoor bicycling, be sure you have a bike that feels comfortable. Some people advise having a range of gears.

There are also bicyclists who recommend Granny gears (small chain wheel on a triple crankset). Granny gears allow for spinning at a high rate of revolutions per minute. The Granny gear is so-named because, theoretically, even a granny can climb hills in this gear.

Upright vs. Recumbent Stationary Bike

An upright stationary bicycle is a bike used for exercise rather than for transportation. It is equipped with handles, pedals, and a typical bicycle seat, but it's built on a stationary platform. If such a bike has wheels, they are raised from the ground.

The design closely mirrors outdoor bicycles. Some stationary bicycles have an ergometer to measure the work you've done while pedaling.

A recumbent stationary bicycle is equipped with a larger, chair-like seat. A person riding a recumbent bike sits back and rests his or her spine. The pedals on a recumbent bicycle are typically located toward the front, and hand-grips are in a position that requires less reaching.

It's a more comfortable experience, but some experts question if exercising on a recumbent stationary bicycle provides as many benefits as exercising on an upright stationary bike. However, for people with osteoarthritis, a recumbent stationary bike may make the difference between exercising and not exercising.

A Word From Verywell

The goal is to make bicycling an activity you will enjoy and stick with so that you can reap the many benefits. Choose your equipment carefully. And remember, pace yourself when riding!