Pain in the neck

[marcusjb]

Hello there

I have a problem when I ride (and only when I ride) considerable distances (anything more than 6-8 hours in the saddle).

The problem occurs on every bike I ride, so I don't think that it's purely a matter of changing bike setup.

I get a terrible pain in the left hand side of my neck, towards the back and just on top of the shoulder blade.

It's gone on for quite some time, and shows no signs of improving.  I rode the South Bucks Winter Warmer yesterday and it kicked in about 180kms in.  Sharp pain, hard to hold head up etc. - today, it's a little sore, but nothing much at all.

I know that this will make it very difficult to do longer rides, so time to do something about it.

The question is what is best to do to get this sorted out?  What can/will my GP do?  Or should I look at a chiropractor or sports physio?

Has anyone ever suffered similar pains (that come on with long periods in the saddle, but then dissapear within a few hours) and how was it treated?

I guess the answer is to see the GP and take it from there.  I just know that it can take 2-3 visits to the GP to actually get anywhere.

[MercuryKev]

I used to suffer from this pretty badly on any ride over about 80 miles.  I have managed to resolve it by raising my bars slightly (1cm) and wearing tops that stop cold wind going down the back of my neck - so for me is was a combination of position and wind-chill.

[numbnuts]

I had a pain in the neck once, she divorced me.... sorry 

[Wowbagger]

My experience of health professionals is that they think a 5-mile bike ride is a long way. When I first suffered from arthritis, which most days leaves me completely pain free but other days is totally debilitating, I used to do quite a bit of walking. When we discussed exercise, which is really important for arthritis sufferers, the consultant suggested that I restrict my walking to 2 miles a day. I think he just plucked a figure out of the air, not realising that that's just 40 minutes' worth.

I suspect that your GP will simply look at you in incredulity when you tell him the distances you cycle and tell you not to be so bloody stupid.

Having said that, I would suggest that you find yourself a teacher of the Alexander technique. Their raison d'être is to teach posture so that you don't put unnecessary pain-inducing stresses on the spine. The Complete Guide to the Alexander Technique refers.

[MattH]

Do you wear a helmet? Heavy ones can cause problems.
What kind of position do you ride in? Too low down with the neck craned (e.g. to peek out from under a cap or in a TT position) can cause problems.

Try googling for Shermers Neck. Some people say neck muscle exercises can help. Certainly avoiding holding your head in the same position for hours can (as thing1 was saying in the pub the other day, when on a long clear straight road try looking to the side and viewing from the corner of your eye for a while).

[marcusjb]

Do you wear a helmet? Heavy ones can cause problems.
What kind of position do you ride in? Too low down with the neck craned (e.g. to peek out from under a cap or in a TT position) can cause problems.

Try googling for Shermers Neck. Some people say neck muscle exercises can help. Certainly avoiding holding your head in the same position for hours can (as thing1 was saying in the pub the other day, when on a long clear straight road try looking to the side and viewing from the corner of your eye for a while).

I'm not sure it's an actual positioning thing, as I suffer on everything from the tandem (very upright) to the road bike. 

I do wear a helmet - pretty light one (MET Stradivarius)

What you've said about making an effort to move my head around makes a lot of sense though - as I think it is more to do with holding my head in one position for extended times.  Interestingly, I get the pain quicker on the tandem - possibly because I move my head around less (not having to look behind when moving out etc.).

I think I will pop and see the GP first. 

It's probably a matter of improving posture (will investigate Alexander Technique further - we have 4 or 5 practices local to me) and core strength in my neck muscles.

I know it's the one thing that could prevent me doing longer rides (I've hung on for a couple of hours on a 200km, as I know the pain soon subsides once I stop) - so need to get it sorted out.

[vorsprung]

I have had similar pains on different bikes but it takes further than 180km and sounds less pronounced than what you get.  I had one bike that was quite upright and one that was long and low.  Both gave me problems.  The neck pain was worse on the long low one.

As i got fitter the pain was less.  I did core exercises all winter one year. That seemed to help.

When I got a bike that fitted properly the pains went away

[LEE]

Welcome to my world. It's affected me for years.

I ended up in Physio after my 600s.  A good deep massage "untied the knots" I had got in my neck/shoulder but it doesn't prevent it.

Before PBP I'll get some massage just so I don't start the ride with any issues.

Here's what has helped me (it hasn't fixed it completely but it has helped a lot).

Handlebars - I got wider bars and set them higher.  For Audax my bars are now level with my seat. Handle bars need to fit your shoulder width.

Cold air - This is THE MAIN CAUSE (in my experience anyway).  I almost never get the condition on a nice warm day.  When the temperature drops, and especially if I've got wet, then cold air rushing over my shoulder can make my neck/shoulder cramp-up immediately.  From that point on I have a real problem ever getting rid of it.

WEAR A BUFF

This really worked wonders for me.  I wear a buff (YACF one works perfectly well) all day, warm or not.  When it gets colder I will pull it into a balaclava.  Yes, it may look odd.  No, I don't care.

This year I managed to get into the second day of a 600 before I had a problem.  I suspect some "Deep Heat" may help and I'll give it a try next year, but keeping the area warm has made things a lot better.  I wouldn't be doing PBP (or 600s) if I hadn't managed to mitigate the problem.

Edit:  I also try to ride no-handed every so often, this allows me to flex/rotate my shoulders in a sort of warm-up routine.  It's not good to be slumped into your bars for hours on end.  For this reason climbing hills seems to help as I tend to pull on the top of the bars.

Good luck, it's no fun.