Originally Posted by
iamthenoise
over time it could....its the same as doing heavy lifting from the knees. you're exerting a lot of strain on your legs against the forward momentum of the bike. the bigger the gear ratio the bigger the strain would be.
+ 1
Use a front break and let your legs go dead (I think some people say "go gumby"). Minimal backpedaling isn't going to do much damage, but your main means of stopping should be your front break. With that said, some factors that predispose you to a higher chance of injury include an improper fit, really high gears, and genetics (seriously). If you want to understand the physiology behind it, look up eccentric contraction in google.