HELP!!!sore neck and shoulder area

jacobpeacock

so i was on a month long vacation and when i went home a few days later i rode 30km on my road bike. around halfway into the ride my neck started to fill sore or stiff. i couldnt see the road properly because it would hurt when i tilt my head up.i did ride the drops quite frequently but mostly on the hoods. what could be the problem? i will be upgrading my frame in a couple of weeks and hopefully the bike shop will help with my problem on my new frame as the mechanics are riders themselves..they dont offer bike fits though.thanks
(note: i wont be upgrading my frame because of this problem..thats just ridiculous haha)

airborne_warrior

Most probably a problem with your bike fit. You could try your own bike fit after buying your upgraded frame that suits you. Surely the guys in the bike shop will know a little about bike fitting (they should). Lots of videos on youtube etc on how to set up the bike and injury prevention. If that doesn't work then get a fit from a specialist.

yiannism

When i bought my 1st road bike i had the same issue. After a few rides all gone. Maybe its that case.

Stupot07

I've just had the same problem after doing 10 miles on the my first road bike. Never known neck pain like it. I bought a turbo trainer yesterday and watched a few videos and have now set up my saddle better (fingers crossed!). The weather was awful yesterday so I haven't ridden it outside yet. I am concerned that I might still be over-reaching slightly, so if the new seat position doesn't work, i'll be popping down to my LBS to get them to turn the stem over and try that. I must say i'm a tad worried I have the wrong size bike, but the LBS advised me on size. I have the M/L 54in, and I did think the S/M 52in would be more my size.

pete1336

Ive been riding for a couple of years now regularly but still suffer from this problem...but only on rides in excess of 50 mile. As a sufferer of neck pain, I did a little internet research. Assuming your problem is not caused by poor posture/position (possibly remedied by a bike fit) it may simply be due to having to hold your head in that position for an abnormal amount of time. The research that I did revealed that neck pain is a very common issue with cyclists. The head, housing the brain is quite a heavy thing. It's held when we cycle in an abnormal position and often done so for excessive periods of time. One thing my research suggested to improve the situation was trying to strengthen the trapezius muscles. They play a large part in supporting the head via the neck. The stronger they are the better they can help you. Ive done 'shrug' exercises with weights in the past and have being doing them for the last several weeks. I have found them to be of benefit.
Good luck.

jstrachan

I (probably stupidly) just rode through that to begin with but there's good guides for riding posture that are worth checking out, assuming your bike fit is good.

step83

Usually its a poor fit issue but, can also be as was my case over keeping the shoulders tense so they ache an stiffen and not looking up and around enough. go up to the centre of the bars from time to time so your as close to a sit up an beg position you can get. Consciously make an effort to drop and relax your shoulders an look around when its safe to do so. It does make a difference.

svetty

This is often ascribed to fit but in my view it - as has been suggested above - is more often an issue with inadequate neck muscle tone and strength. Regular neck exercises to improve strength and flexibility should help - trapezius and paravertebral muscle mainly.

cyberknight

I used to get similar on long rides and put a slightly shorter stem on , no issues since.