Trial reportBritish journal of sports medicine1999
Effect of changing the saddle angle on the incidence of low back pain in recreational bicyclists.
Trial report in British journal of sports medicine, 1999. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed.
- Correlations in Full-Body Postural Morphology: A Cross-Sectional Exploratory Pilot Study Using a Dual-Camera Structured Light System.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Surface Electromyography Reveals Subject-Specific Alterations in Lumbar Flexion-Relaxation Following Prolonged Cycling in Pain-Free Road Cyclists.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Review
- Bone morphology and physical characteristics of the pro-cyclist hip joint.International orthopaedics · 2024Article
- The Role of Physical Exercise in Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: Best Medicine-A Narrative Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Hamstring and lower back muscles flexibility as predictor of saddle pressures in young off-road cyclists.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2024Article
- Effects of Cycling on Spine: A Case-Control Study Using a 3D Scanning Method.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Nose-down saddle tilt improves gross efficiency during seated-uphill cycling.European journal of applied physiology · 2022Article
- THE ROLE of a BIKE FIT in CYCLISTS with HIP PAIN. A CLINICAL COMMENTARY.International journal of sports physical therapy · 2019Article
- Influence of hamstring muscles extensibility on spinal curvatures and pelvic tilt in highly trained cyclists.Journal of human kinetics · 2011Article
- Spinal posture of thoracic and lumbar spine and pelvic tilt in highly trained cyclists.Journal of sports science & medicine · 2011Article
- Non-traumatic bicycle injuries : a review of the literature.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2006Review
- Article
- Riding position and lumbar spine angle in recreational cyclists: A pilot study.International journal of exercise scienceArticle
- Recreational cyclists: The relationship between low back pain and training characteristics.International journal of exercise scienceArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveAccording to the literature, 30-70% of cyclists suffer from cervical, dorsal, or lumbar back pain. This study was conducted to evaluate one of the possible causes of low back pain and to suggest a solution by appropriate adjustments to the bicycle.
methodsSerial fluoroscopic studies were performed while cyclists sat on different types of bicycle (sports, mountain, and city). Pelvic/spine angles were measured at different seat angles, and the related force vectors analysed.
resultsThere was a tendency towards hyperextension of the pelvic/spine angle which resulted in an increase in tensile forces at the promontorium. These forces can easily be reduced by appropriate adjustment of the seat angle--that is, by creating an anterior inclining angle. The findings of the biomechanical analysis were then applied to a group of cyclists who were members of a cycling club and who complained of low back pain. After appropriate adjustment of the saddle angle, most of the cyclists (>70%) reported major improvement in the incidence and magnitude of their back pain.
conclusionsThe incidence and magnitude of back pain in cyclists can be reduced by appropriate adjustment of the angle of the saddle. It is important that these findings be conveyed to cyclists, bicycle salesmen, trainers, and members of the general public who engage in cycling, in order to decrease the prevalence of back pain.
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