Neck and between-the-shoulder-blades pain??

[sooz]

Buffybike,
All the replies you've read are good.....I had enormous pain between my shoulder blades & also my neck too. Stressful rides & hunching the shoulders was a real issue for me. Like Bikechick, my bike was too big & my custom Luna w/ a WAY shorter top tube has helped eliminate 90% of it (as well as my hand pain & girly bits pain ).
I try, when I am riding along & know I'm headed for a big hill or something stressful, to lower my shoulders--I lower the elbows to lower the shoulders, or think of lengthening the distance between earlobes & shoulders. I try to relax.
Another thing I hadn't read on this post is this: look down the road / up the hill by moving your eyeballs, not by raising your chin. Try as much as possible to keep the neck vertebrae a straight extension of the back vertebrae. This helps me ALOT.
good luck
Sooz

[buffybike]

thanks for all the advice...I'll try your suggestions on my long ride this weekend. If it still hurts, I'll go to the LBS to discuss stem height.

[buffybike]

Buffybike,
All the replies you've read are good.....I had enormous pain between my shoulder blades & also my neck too. Stressful rides & hunching the shoulders was a real issue for me. Like Bikechick, my bike was too big & my custom Luna w/ a WAY shorter top tube has helped eliminate 90% of it (as well as my hand pain & girly bits pain ).
I try, when I am riding along & know I'm headed for a big hill or something stressful, to lower my shoulders--I lower the elbows to lower the shoulders, or think of lengthening the distance between earlobes & shoulders. I try to relax.
Another thing I hadn't read on this post is this: look down the road / up the hill by moving your eyeballs, not by raising your chin. Try as much as possible to keep the neck vertebrae a straight extension of the back vertebrae. This helps me ALOT.
good luck
Sooz

I really focused today on relaxing my shoulders and looking up without lifting my chin...what a difference. NO neck soreness at the end of the ride!!! Thanks!!

[Xrayted]

Yup, remember to relax those shoulders when riding, keep the torso tighter so your back doesn't feel it at the end of the day, and don't stress your neck so much, use your eyes more. If it's still not right, then go get your sizing/positioning on the bike checked. It may just be a slightly bad fit that can be tweaked.

[Jiffer]

Have you ever had a professional bike fit? It worked wonders for me when I was experiencing pain in my neck and back when on the bike for extended periods. Bike position makes a big difference, too. You aren't supposed to be putting all your weight down on your handlebars, as I used to do, and probably still do sometimes when I'm not conscious of it. This causes neck and shoulder pain. You're supposed to have the bulk of your weight on the saddle, which means a good core and, hopefully, a descent saddle. Things like this and pedaling efficiency are things I learned about at my bike fit. You don't always know what you're doing right or wrong, but my bike fit guy was able to tell me. He told me how to improve my pedaling and WOW what a difference in speed.

I also get fairly regular messages to help keep my muscles loosened up. Particularly before and/or after a big event. My husband and I have a membership at Massage Envy. I don't know where all they are located, but there are several in So. Cal. Very reasonable prices for members, which helps a ton when you need them fairly often. Sometimes I go a few months without one and then I have three one hour massages coming to me at no charge (except my monthly fee of like $39, I think). The gal my husband and I go to has a lot of clients involved in sports, so she is very good with working muscles specific to me for cycling. I'm seeing her tomorrow. YAY! And then my sports chiropractor on Friday. I'm getting more serious about working out some issues I have that aren't going away on their own, like lower left back pain when I ride (only sometimes), which is caused by a tight hamstring. It takes a lot more than stretching it, apparently.