Tips To Prevent Pain Caused by Motorcycle Riding

If you’re an avid motorcyclist who has experienced pain and discomfort while riding, you’re not alone! This activity is rather physically taxing, and if you have a chronic pain condition or have overdone it recently at the gym, then you can easily end up stiff and sore after even a short ride.

Fortunately, there are a lot of things you can do to ameliorate your discomfort and ride with less pain. Indian Motorcycle® of Orange County, located in Westminster, is happy to be your local motorcycle dealership. Here are some of our best tips for preventing and relieving the aches and pains that are sometimes caused by motorcycle riding.

Prevention Strategies

The best thing you can do is to try to prevent pain from developing by taking some precautions. These strategies will help you to reduce the potential for aches and soreness so that you can more fully enjoy your rides.

Warm Up

No one should ever exercise with cold muscles, and motorcycling is something of a workout. Do some stretches and take a brisk walk before your ride to limber yourself up and get yourself ready. Even some jumping jacks can loosen you up so that you don’t begin your ride stiff.

Take Frequent Breaks

While you’re riding, it can be tempting to push yourself to that next exit or see how long you can go at a time, but this can lead to worsening pain sensations very quickly. Try to take yourself off the road every hour or two to walk around, remove your helmet (that heavy weight can do a number on your neck!), stretch and drink some water. Don’t be afraid to cut a ride short if you feel like it’s only going to cause you more pain to keep going.

Pain Reduction Tips

If you’re already experiencing pain despite your best efforts, there are some ways to cope with it, depending on what type of pain it is. Try multiple strategies to relieve pain.

Take Over-the-Counter Medicine

OTC pain medications like ibuprofen, naproxen and acetaminophen can go a long way towards relieving motorcycle-riding pain because of their ability to reduce inflammation. You’ll want to make sure that you don’t take them on an empty stomach, that you discuss dosages with your doctor and that you don’t take more than is recommended in a 24-hour period.

Apply Ice

Icing sore muscles is another great way to reduce inflammation and pain, too. Wrap an ice pack or some loose ice cubes in a towel. Try to ice and elevate your sore joints as soon as possible after your ride. Ice your injury for approximately 20 minutes at a time so that you don’t damage your skin with too much cold.

Apply Heat

You can also use a heating pad to soothe sore muscles. You’ll want to do this in 20-minute sessions, too, and you can place a towel or blanket between the pad and your skin if it feels too hot. A hot shower or hot bath or a soak in a hot tub is also good for pain relief!

Use Creams

Pain-relief creams like IcyHot can target pain more directly. Apply these to your injury and rub them in gently. You can also get pain-relief patches that are medicated if you want to avoid sticky creams.

Avoid Drugs & Alcohol

Using alcohol or recreational drugs like marijuana is a common pain-relief strategy, but it’s not recommended, since you are simply dulling the pain without addressing the causes. You can even numb yourself with substances to the point that you feel fine, only to seriously aggravate an injury by overusing a muscle.

Do Some Exercises

Gentle stretching can also assist with pain relief. Try rocking your neck slowly back and forth, extending your arms and twisting your core. You can also try some yoga moves if your doctor approves!

We hope this guide helps to give you some relief so that you can ride pain-free. Looking for the perfect bike? Stop by our dealership located in Westminster, California, to browse our full selection of new and used motorcycles for sale. Indian Motorcycle® of Orange County proudly serves greater Los Angeles and all of Orange County, California.