Shoulder and neck pain, driving me mad!!

[Mark_Robson]

In that case I would recommend regular breaks. preferably with a cup of tea.

 

[Globalti]

I lifted a sack of coal at Christmas and pulled a muscle in my lower back. Struggled with it for weeks, went to see my physio but his hands and the head of his ultrasound machine were so damned cold that I came out feeling worse. The I went to see a different physio and she seemed to have a really good understanding of the anatomy of the upper pelvis, she prodded me and make me yelp and squirm but when I walked out the pain had almost gone, it was amazing. I am now pain free, thank God (but got a knee problem instead!) My advice would be to try somebody else.

 

[Bandini]

If you use your laptop to type with you should really have the keyboard flat, as trying to type with the wrists bent upwards can lead to RSI's and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Thanks for reminding me about that - got a usb keyboard plugged in now.

 

[Bayerd]

I suffer from time to time with this, last year I had the problem for about 9 months. I tried allsorts to get rid of it. There are two things I can suggest that helped me-

1) Memoryfoam pillow. They take a bit of getting used to, but they certainly help reduce ahem..morning stiffness.

2) I got referred by my doctor to the hospitals occupational therapy service. They tried acupuncture, which got rid of it after about 5 sessions.

 

[bigjim]

I'm never sure about this bad posture sit up straight thing. Is it natural? All your weight would compress the spinal discs and coccyx. I find an upright position on my motorcycle or MTB uncomfortable after a while. I'm sure the spinal discs are meant to hang almost vertically in a natural position. Don't see many of the great apes walking around with a ramrod straight back and they seem to remain strong and supple into old age.

 

[Fiona N]

... Don't see many of the great apes walking around with a ramrod straight back and they seem to remain strong and supple into old age.

Good lord, mate, haven't you heard of evolution ?
Homo sapiens has evolved quite a bit since we left our chimp cousins and came down out of the trees - modification to the spine/pelvis to facilitate upright locomotion is one of the primary changes. Chimps can walk on two legs at a push but it doesn't compare to the efficient way we walk around fully upright and balanced. Our spine has developed to form a rather strong and lovely upright structure with curves which distributes the stresses really rather cleverly. Discs are shock absorbers between vertebrae and work best when the forces are applied perpendicular to the top and bottom faces, not obliquely, as happens when you're bent over as on a bike. In this position, much more effort is required by the muscles which provide stability to the bony structure. When these muscles tire, the spine loses it's ideal alignment causing deformed discs, trapped nerves and whatnot.

Sitting with your head balanced atop an upright spine, your shoulders relaxed and shoulder blades neatly down the back (i.e. no hunched shoulders) but with your upper legs at about 135 degrees (i.e. knees below bum height not knees at right angles) to your upper body will give you the most ergonomically efficient position - one of the reasons why those kneeling chairs are said to be good although many people find they're too hard on the shins to be usable as an everyday office chair.

 

[bigjim]

as happens when you're bent over as on a bike

So like I said not ramrod straight. And why I am more comfortable bent over on my racing cycle/motorbike rather than with bikes that make you assume the more upright position.

 

[Fiona N]

So like I said not ramrod straight. And why I am more comfortable bent over on my racing cycle/motorbike rather than with bikes that make you assume the more upright position.

Probably because an upright position on a bike isn't really upright relative to a normal (good) sitting position, it's just upright compared to a lower riding position so it's the worst of both worlds. If you really do sit upright (vicar on a sit-up-and-beg scenario), you probably need a very well sprung saddle as the structure of the back isn't made for road shock absorbing in that vertical position - the shock of upright running/jumping/skipping is mitigated by using the muscles of the legs and feet primarily.

 

[bigjim]

Hmmm.
Not sure on that one. Does not the presence of air filled tyres and some leg support, mitigate the pressure associated with an upright riding position? Of course we all walk run differently and I suppose our skeletons differ as well in regard to age, wear, bone density etc. I actually experience quite a bit of back pain whilst walking and running. So for me an upright position does not seem to work.

 

[Fiona N]

Well, I don't know what pressure you run your tyres at but mine are mostly 100-110psi - not an awful lot of shock-absorbing going on there. There's no 'leg support' as such unless you're pressing the pedals so hard you're rising out of the saddle - otherwise your weight is borne by the saddle somewhere.
The more bent over position you prefer is likely to be more comfortable because you get arm support - your back forms a nice arch which is supported at one end by your arms and the other by bum on saddle. As you move to more upright, you lose the arm support and thus the 'arch' formation. For most people the optimum position is where the arms just take enough weight for the back to be relaxed even when pedalling reasonably strenuously. With less weight on the arms it's hard to pedal strenuously while maintaining stability but with more, your hands and wrists get sore.

If you get back pain while standing/walking etc. you ought to get it checked out - it sounds like you've maybe got weak core muscles and tight hamstrings which cause the back to 'flatten' (i.e. pelvis to be rotated back) or just weak abdominals which allow the pelvis to rotate forwards causing too much curve in the lumbar spine - either way gives problems and needs sorting.

 

[zacklaws]

Whilst I was reading up on the results for the Giro, I came across the following on a website that I browsed through, it may give you some clues:-

http://www.roadcycling.com/training/Neck_and_Back_Pain_in_Cycling_002694.shtml

 

[monnet]

I've recently been suffering with nasty neck/ shoulder pain. This coincided with fitting new handlebars (which initially seemed much more comfortable). After playing with position and taking many measurements I was really struggling to resolve the problem. IN the end it turned out that the levers were not quite level (the right was 4mm higher than the left). I'm hoping that's the end of it now!

 

[bigjim]

If you get back pain while standing/walking etc. you ought to get it checked out - it sounds like you've maybe got weak core muscles and tight hamstrings which cause the back to 'flatten' (i.e. pelvis to be rotated back) or just weak abdominals which allow the pelvis to rotate forwards causing too much curve in the lumbar spine - either way gives problems and needs sorting.

Thanks for the info. Consultant thinks my pain is sciatic, had all the scans etc. Started in the knee, lower leg. Nothing found apart from some cartilige damage. I find the bike to be pain free probably because it is not weight bearing. My core and abs are good as I do a fair amount of gym work including plenty of 60K plus squats. Although the knees do complain sometimes if I pile too muchweight on.

Jim.

 

[Browser]

I've got the same problem at the mo, which I'm putting down to having my first drop-bar bike for years. That and the fact that (a) I've been riding into a headwind on the way home so have been using the drops, leading to ( realising that I need to position my helmet better so the peak doesn't obscure by forward view or (more corectly) force me to adopt a horrid neck angle to be able to see where the hell I'm going and (c) whilst my Probikekit cycling glasses might have been nice and cheap, the thick top frame exacerbates the problem described in part (, so I think they're going to have to be replaced with some better fitting/suited ones.

I've recently been suffering with nasty neck/ shoulder pain. This coincided with fitting new handlebars (which initially seemed much more comfortable). After playing with position and taking many measurements I was really struggling to resolve the problem. In the end it turned out that the levers were not quite level (the right was 4mm higher than the left). I'm hoping that's the end of it now!

Havign just altered the angle of my bars slightly (pointing the ends more toward my rear wheel spindle) because of the pain in my thumb webs from being shunted hard up against the brake hoods, I've noticed mine aren't quite bang on either, but was telling myself not to be an obsessive. I think I'll try adjusting them now

 

[e-rider]

one reason why you don't see many roadies wearing peaked helmets