Neck pain

[dachshund]

I've been experiencing pain while riding ever since I started in June. I think this comes under the heading of "neck pain", although it's actually lower, around the shoulder blades. It starts after about 5 miles and is really sore after 10. Whenever I stop & stand, and especially if I turn my head, I get intense sharp pains. I now have a chronic mild pain on the left side in this area. While I'm riding the pain is on both sides.

I brought the bike back to the LBS where I bought it, specifically to address this. They swapped out the stem, to raise the handlebars. They also slid the seat closer towards the handlebars. They went through the whole routine with taking measurements. These were fairly minor adjustments that haven't helped the situation.

This is the LBS that recommended a 44 cm frame. I've had a few people mention that the bike looks too small. I'm 5'4. In my reading about this, it seems that there are different camps on frame size - "smaller is better", especially for women, or - "get the largest frame you can stand". This makes me wonder if I've just got the wrong size frame.

At this point I'm not sure what to do. Has anyone else had to troubleshoot this?

[salsabike]

Did they measure your shoulders and discuss how your shoulder width corresponds with your handlebar width?

(My apologies in that I haven't had to troubleshoot this specifically, but just fyi, I am 5' 4 1/2", with short arms and torso, and have a 50 frame. My bike came with handlebars that were way too narrow for me, though, so had to switch to wider ones. Just another parameter to consider... )

[melissam]

Hey Amy,

Sorry to hear that you're experiencing neck & shoulder pain.

If the frame may be too small for you, have you tried moving the seat back rather than forward? Or maybe a longer stem?

Do you change hand positions while you ride? Is there any hand position (on the hoods, on the drops, on the flat part of the handlebars) that seems to exacerbate your problem?

Are there any neck or shoulder exercises that might help with strengthening or flexibility?

Sorry, lots of questions, but no answers.

-- Melissa

[dachshund]

Did they measure your shoulders and discuss how your shoulder width corresponds with your handlebar width?

Yes. I don't remember the measurement, but my shoulders are 1 cm wider than the handlebars. He said a wider handelbar would be the next thing to try.

[dachshund]

melissam,
I switch between the brake hoods and the ends of the handlebars. I've had the seat farther back, and I have noticed that I have to scoot my butt back as far as it will go to make my legs comfortable. After I bought the Brooks saddle I was stopping a lot to adjust its position. It seems like I've tried a lot micro-adjusting.

Yeah, exercise... (blank stare into the computer screen) I'm looking into that, too.

[Sheesh]

When I first started riding, I experienced a lot of pain in my shoulders. As it is, I already am susceptable to getting very tight shoulder and neck muscles due to stress (I carry it all in my shoulds) and ultimately that leads to major tension headaches. I had to spend a lot of time stretching my neck, shoulders, and back after each ride, and took a lot of long hot showers to make the pain go away. But, as I rode more, and the muscles in my neck and shoulders got stronger, I noticed that the pain slowly went away.

Do you experience tight neck/shoulder muscles at other times or just when riding?

[Dogmama]

See a doctor. This doesn't sound right. How old are you? Insist on an x-ray at minimum.

I had neck surgery in December. I had a couple of disks that were replaced & a fusion of C4-C6. One of the symptoms of cervical spinal problems is a pain in the shoulder areas.