Neck pains

nicknick

Hi people,

recently, since i started riding my race bike again, ive been feeling really uncomfortable on it. It was OK when it went away last year! The back of my neck is feeling really sore and so is the area around my shoulder blades. Ive played with the height of my bars etc but its made no difference.

Anybody got any similar experience/suggestions? Any answers much appreciated as its making my rides pretty miserable right now

LeighB

Every 20 mins sit up have a stretch and roll your head around your shoulders. Being able to ride with no hands helps. I find standing up and using your upper body now and again helps. Also it can be caused by tension-are you relaxed when you ride or is your body rigid.

Mike Willcox

nicknick wrote:

Hi people,

recently, since i started riding my race bike again, ive been feeling really uncomfortable on it. It was OK when it went away last year! The back of my neck is feeling really sore and so is the area around my shoulder blades. Ive played with the height of my bars etc but its made no difference.

Anybody got any similar experience/suggestions? Any answers much appreciated as its making my rides pretty miserable right now

You may have tension in the neck and shoulders. If you make a concious effort to relax your shoulders (not hunched up), then this might make a diffrence.

nicknick

thanks to both replies.

I have done both things suggested, i used to get headaches on longer rides and concentrated on relaxing my shoulders which helped. Ill try be more concious of that tommorow too.

I compared my race bike with my winter bike and they are set up almost identical but yet i have been fine all winter. Maybe 'cos im on my race bike i sub-conciously try and ride harder? I know i was today as my HRM has packed up yet again-yes, its a Polar :evil:

Have any of you had your positions checked by someone who knows what they're doing?

nicknick

Another thing possible-on long commutes with my backpack on, i get the same aches but thats due to the bag. I reckon. But today as its been sooo cold, i had a gore jacket on which with stuff in the back pockets pulls it down at the back, am i just clutching at straws here or is that possibly a cause? Its not a very comfy jacket for £100 either!

portuguese mike

I've had the same problem in the past and it was because as i got tired or needed to put in more effort i would really hunch my shoulders making them very tense. the result was a stiff neck and headaches. now i rely on my core muscles much more to support my upper body which hepls keep my shoulders relaxed. in addition when i'm pushing it - say into a head wind - i make a concious effort to keep my upper body still as well as my shoulders relaxed.

a well fitting bike along with a good riding position is an important starting point however - i have had a full cyclefit session and have a custom frame which has all contributed t my comfort levels. if you haven't had a proper fitting session it may well be the best money you ever spent on cyling, it definately was for me.

nicknick

Thanks very much Mike

APIII

I developed a similar problem last year, a realy nasty pain in my neck after a couple of hours riding. I got myself checked out by a chriopractor in the end. I had limited movement in the lower vertabrae which meant that all the flexing required to ride in my normal position was coming from the top half of my back - hence the problems. Some simple manipulation was all that was needed to free up the lower vertabrae and give me the full range of movement again. It's been much better since.
I would recommend to anyone to get themselves checked over now and again by a professional . I learnt some interesting things about my physical condition.

nicknick

That actually crossed my mind yesterday but the cost of chiropractors isn't appealing! How many times did you go and what was the cost of yours?
Thanks

milese

I've started riding a road bike recently and suffered from similar pain between my shoulders and base of my neck. It wasn't major by any means, but after a knee problem stopped me from running, I dont want to risk a back problem stopping me from cycling.

I went to see a Chiropractor 2 weeks ago, she charged £35 for the first assessment (1hr) and £25 for following sessions (1/2hr).

She checked all my ranges of movements, tightnesses etc and said that I'm fine except for a tightness in my trepesia (sp), which is a triangular muscles between your shoulder, back of head and about half way down your spine. Called it classic 'desk back' due to poor posiiton at work. She free'd the joints up, and gave me stretches to do.

Basically:

Pull head down, chin into chest - hold 20 secs.
Pull head sideways ear to shoulder, drop opposing shoulder to stretch - hold 20 secs.
Roll shoulders, get shoulders as close to ears as poss, 15 forward, 15 back.
Pull head back to give yourself a double chin. 20 times.

In order to see where your cycling, given the forward leaning position, your neck is always going to be stretched at the front / compressed at the rear which is what causes the problems I assume.

I asked her about cycling specifically, and she said to make sure that I do the above exercises before and after riding to help.

nicknick

Milese-just tried those stretches, wow that was painful! Im bad at stretching and im about as flexible as a broom handle. My back does feel quite tight too but cant be from my job, im hardly sat down as a car mechanic.

this morning a did a shorter ride and did the things suggested by everyone (thanks) and felt better. Reaslised there was a lot of pressure on my hands while riding so fiddled with my seat fore-aft and that improved it. Think im gonna have to get my wallet out and get some professional help!

ut_och_cykla

Bike fit (even if its just a bit out will make a big difference as will hunching against cold7hard efforts etc. But don't forget the minor sillies like tight clothing round back of neck which you have to pull your head up against, as well as glasses which you have to adjuct head posotion for.
Any changes you make to your postion should be small and systematic. Remeber you say your other bike is set up almost identiclly and has been ok so don't make too many changes all at once!
The pain you describe is almost certainly from holding head up so you might be too low on the bars or stretched out. Stretching during afterwards will also help but only a bit.

APIII

nicknick wrote:

That actually crossed my mind yesterday but the cost of chiropractors isn't appealing! How many times did you go and what was the cost of yours?
Thanks

Like Milese, my intial 1 hour assessment was £35, followed up with a half hour at £25. After the manipulation, I was given similar exercises to do pre and post ride.

sem69

APIII wrote:

I developed a similar problem last year, a realy nasty pain in my neck after a couple of hours riding. I got myself checked out by a chriopractor in the end. I had limited movement in the lower vertabrae which meant that all the flexing required to ride in my normal position was coming from the top half of my back - hence the problems. Some simple manipulation was all that was needed to free up the lower vertabrae and give me the full range of movement again. It's been much better since.
I would recommend to anyone to get themselves checked over now and again by a professional . I learnt some interesting things about my physical condition.

I had exactly the same problem. Chiropractic treatment definitely recommended it really helps, and worth the cost!
Anyone had back/neck problems and noticed a big improvement when using panniers rather than a back pack?

nicknick

Just to say, thanks to everyone who replied, got a lot to go off now. Im only 23 but feel like a little old man!
Cheers, Nick

ekimq

I too have been suffering neck pains. After a long chat with my LBS, I was all set to spend my way out of the pain. On my way home from work, I was thinking about the problem and I noticed that I wasn't holding the handlebars the same with both hands - one hand had pressure on the base of the thumb, the other across the base of the fingers. As a result, I'm not sat straight on the bike :roll:

Check your posture on the bike - we all get lazy and I was amazed how quickly I drifted back to the bad habits of old.

Smeggers

Same problem here.

Just time and core exercise in the gym cleared it up for me.

grahamcp

Hi everyone,
I was about to write a very similar post, but came across this one. Hopefully it can be revived a little bit - perhaps the OP (and others) could report their progress (if any).
For me, the pain across my shoulders and the back of my neck has been a constant problem on rides of any more than a couple of hours (and sometimes less) to the point where I will end up cutting rides short because of it even though my legs feel fine. After a long ride, I feel as though it is this pain that is making me feel whacked out more than anything else.
I do some stretching and went to a fitting session a while ago at Paul Hewitt, but that has not made any difference. In any case, my riding position does not seem too stretched, any less so and I would feel too upright for a road bike, and I don't use the drops much.
Perhaps I do need professional help(!)... Before I take that forward, are there any other experiences to be shared or suggestions as to the right kind of professional?
To me, this is the single most important thing that I wish could be sorted out - it would enhance my cycling pleasure by a huge amount - so any advice/suggestions gratefully received.
Thanks all,
Graham.

nicknick

Hi graham.
I have been ok recently, i have been stretching a lot more (i wasn't doing anything before) and feel better for it in some ways. I dont think its doing my legs much good. Last wkend i went out on my TT bike and did 5 min efforts, after each effort i stopped and stretched my legs, back and neck. By the fourth one i was feeling better and started to loosen up. Obviously your neck and shoulders generally hurt on a TT bike! I think the trick is stretch and alter your position regularly, ie on the drops etc.

Maybe the final straw the other week was the top i had on pulling on my neck. And just a few off days in general.
Hope you get somewhere!