Andrew L. Pruitt Ed.c. - Andy Pruitts Complete Medical Guide for Cyclists

Andy Pruitts
Medical Guide for
Cyclists

By Andrew L. Pruitt, Ed.D.,
with
Fred Matheny

This book is
compiled & gifted to book-lovers by
Vibhatsu

2001 RBR Publishing Company All Rights Reserved

Published by RBR Publishing Company,
3141 Forest Knolls Dr.,
Chapel Hill, NC 27516, USA.

Copyright 2001 Andrew L. Pruitt.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, magnetic, photographic including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system without the prior written permission of RBR Publishing Company. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained in this publication.
Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained in this publication. http://www.RoadBikeRider.com

This edition of ePub is created by Vibhatsu 2022

Photos by Nico Toutenhoofd and Ed Pavelka

Cover design by Mike Shaw

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By Chris Carmichael, President Carmichael Training Systems

I first met Andy Pruitt in 1981 when I was a young racer suffering from a stabbing pain along the side of my knee. Andy was the Head Athletic Trainer at the University of Colorado, and for Boulders expanding population of elite athletes, he was rapidly gaining a reputation as the medical professional to see if you had overuse injuries that no one else could fix.

Andy told me I had ilio-tibial band friction syndrome. It was the first time Id ever heard this term. With his treatment, the symptoms vanished quickly.

But unlike other medical pros I had seen, he was more interested in what was causing my symptoms. He carefully checked my position on the bike and modified it. I never had that injury again.

All through his career, Andys focus has been on finding and preventing the causes of injury.

When I started coaching, I sent my U.S. National Cycling Team athletes to Andy. Over the years, he worked with Lance Armstrong, Chann McRae, Fred Rodriguezall the riders who are at the top of the sport today.

His medical expertise is now legendary. He pioneered video analysis to determine bike fit. He has worked with Lance to increase his flexibility so he can achieve a more aerodynamic time trial position. The 1994 Worlds were in Sicily, where it was extremely hot. Karen Kur-reck was suffering from dehydration, but Andy solved the problem and Karen won the World Time Trial Championship.

Andy was never too busy to help. He never turned away an athlete because his appointment roster was filled or failed to return my phone calls because he was too involved with his own practice.

Andy can take his own advice, too. When we went to Colombia for the World Championships, he set up a detailed program so the riders wouldnt get sick. It worked. The cyclists stayed healthy. Andy didnt get sick, eitherbut he spent most of his time treating the staff. We had been so busy telling riders not to drink the water that we had forgotten to take care of ourselves!

Above all, Andy always puts the athlete first.

He was the Chief Medical Officer for U.S. Cycling when we were preparing for the 1996 Olympics. We wanted to use narrow bottom brackets on our time trial bikes for better aerodynamics, so Andy devised forcemeasuring pedals to see if riders could produce as much power with their feet closer together than in their normal stance.

But Andy wasnt just interested in power production. He also wanted to see if a narrow stance would cause injuries that might lead to long-term problems. He was looking beyond the riders performances in Atlanta and focusing on their health for the rest of their lives. That approach is the measure of the man.

Im happy that Andy has finally compiled his knowledge about cycling injuries in a book. He is unique among the worlds cycling medicine experts because he can diagnose and treat cycling problems for everyone recreational as well as elite cyclists.

If you love to ride and want to continue for your whole life, the information in this book is priceless.

By Fred Matheny

As Chris Carmichael notes, the advice and wisdom in this book comes from Andy Pruitts medical training and years of experience working with elite and recreational cyclists.

To convert Andys knowledge to book form, I spent hours interviewing him (on the bike and off) over the course of several years. Working with him also gave me the opportunity to attend numerous medical conferences on subjects like orthopedics and cardiology, thus giving this English major a substantial medical education.

Andy Pruitt is simply the most experienced and most expert bike fit authority in the U.S., if not the world. For 25 years, he has studied how the human body should sit on a bicycle for maximum comfort as well as to produce the most power.

In addition, he has ministered to thousands of cy-clistsfrom riders like us to elite performers, including Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong.