Session Information
Session Time: None. Available on demand.
Disclosures: Marie Christine. Leisz, DO: No financial relationships or conflicts of interest
Objective: The investigators’ clinical experience and prior demographic and descriptive research study (Dahlquist, M., Leisz, M. C., & Finkelstein, M. (2015). The club-level road cyclist: injury, pain, and performance. Clinical journal of sport medicine, 25(2), 88-94), .suggested that cyclists exhibit a high prevalence of injury, ability to tolerate chronic pain and reluctance to seek treatment. The objective of this follow-up qualitative study was to explore the perceptions and behavior of cyclists experiencing pain and longstanding injuries and propose strategies to more effectively evaluate and treat these athletes.
Design: Qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews.Setting : Convenience sample of ten cyclistsParticipants : Cyclists were recruited at a local bicycle shop
Interventions: Semi-structured interviews.
Main Outcome Measures: Themes related to the perceptions and behavior of injured cyclists around pain and decision to seek medical treatment.
Results: The analysis of interview transcripts generated four themes related to cyclists’ experience of pain and response to pain. 1) High tolerance for pain and discomfort. 2) Self-management strategies employed in response to discomfort. 3) Redefinition of pain. 4) Unique experience from cycling.Conclusions: In our first demographic and descriptive study, we found cyclists often rode with pain from unresolved injuries and often did not seek treatment. . Findings in our follow-up study suggest that cyclists have a unique perception, acceptance and response to pain. The positive experience riding their bikes seems to supersede the pain they experience. Our approach interviewing these athletes was more successful when we inquired about “discomfort” or “problems” instead of “pain”, while obtaining a medical history. This approach may lead to a more complete injury history and more efficient treatment.
Level of Evidence: Level IV
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Leisz MC, Dahlquist M, Sanville E. Shut up Legs! Injury and Pain Response in Club-Level Cyclists: A Qualitative Study [abstract]. PM R. 2021; 13(S1)(suppl 1). https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/shut-up-legs-injury-and-pain-response-in-club-level-cyclists-a-qualitative-study/. Accessed May 11, 2025.« Back to AAPM&R Annual Assembly 2021
PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/shut-up-legs-injury-and-pain-response-in-club-level-cyclists-a-qualitative-study/