How can i avoid lower neck / lower back pain ?

[mikeyw]

Hi,

I'm not a novice having cycled mtb & road occasionally for the past 20yrs but am now training for a coast to coast ride in the summer.

Today I did my longest training ride this year of 25 miles and was in the saddle for just over 90mins, however I struggled quite badly with neck pain at the base of my neck and towards the end of the ride lower back pain.

Admittedly i probably rode quicker than the pace of the coast to coast but i'd love to know if there are ways to alleviate these pains ?

My Bike is a Trek 1.2 and was set up for me by computer measurements so should be accurate.

I do relax my arms to try and stop any tension between the shoulder blades.

My concern is that if i get these pains after a 90min ride what am i going to be like after 3 days in the sadlle !

I'm 40 but fairly fit still.

Thanks for any advice

Mike.

 

[GrasB]

May be worth getting a 'proper' bike fit. A £20-£50 fit from a sports physiotherapist should do the trick & take 30 min to an hour, your best bet is your regular physio if you have one. You won't get top draw bike fit but what you'll get is something that makes the bike fit you rather well. If you don't want to spend the money you can get a friend to help you & fit your self, there are various guides on-line but I've not got any links to hand, try searching the forum.

There are some basic rules to see if you're about right on the bike
1) you leg should be straight without leaning off the saddle with your heal on the pedal.
2) on the top & hoods you should be able to take your hands away from the handle bars & your torso not move with any extra effort in your trunk, on the drops you should be able to hold your position but it'll require extra tension in your trunk.
3) Your knee should be over the spindle of the pedal with the pedals at the quarter passed 9 position.

 

[HLaB]

Mike, the bike fit you had might have been setting the position up for the most aggressive race position, so might not be the best for you (it certainly doesnt sound so). I'd also suggest that you build your core muscles of the bike, if pain persists contact a physio.

 

[mikeyw]

Thanks - I do a lot of gym work so my core muscle strength is very good.

I do feel i may be over stretching to reach the hoods which may cause the resultant neck strain

Sounds like I need another opinion on the set up

 

[Garz]

Everyone's body is different, but you may just need to move your saddle and have say a shorter stem to cure any back problems.

As Gras has mentioned get a proper bike fit, it's not worth suffering any pain if it can be helped so early on right now.

 

[Philk]

For me a spinal fusion sorted the problem of neck pain....

Ended my Motorcycling , but re sparked my interest in cycling.
so some good came out of it.

 

[davidg]

raisers

 

[zacklaws]

I do feel i may be over stretching to reach the hoods which may cause the resultant neck strain

I felt that I was over stretching on my Trek 4.5 and it was causing me a severe pain on the lower left of my back. I went to buy a shorter stem but the shop advised me to turn my existing stem upside down as this will have the effect of raising the bars and also shortening the stem. It raised the bars by about 4 cm and shortened it by about 10mm but I felt it was a bit high, so I lowered the overall height by one spacer (removed one from the bottom and placed it above the stem) and it solved the problem. I occasionally get the odd pain now when climbing steep hills but I only have to move my position from my hoods to the drops or vice versa and the pain goes away almost instantly.

As for the neck pain, if I recall I read an article in a magazine a few months back as they had an article on neck pain, and the main cause if I remember right is too low a position and stretching forward and having to hold your head up to look forward. I shall have to look for the magazine.

 

[Philk]

On a serious note, I find the Racing bike far more comfortable to ride than the hybrid.
The fact that the LBS helped and set the bike up for me before i took it away helped alot.

 

[Banjo]

I had lower back and neck pain.Shorter stem with raised angle sorted it.

 

[mr Mag00]

additional stretching too