Neck pain

FWIW my neck and upper back problems are ussually caused by being high in potassium and/or low in sodium.

Ryan Byrnes said:

This is my first post to this group and I am going to scan past posts to see if this has been addressed. Anyways, I have been off the bike and was over seas for a few months and just recently got back on. My neck is hurting and I thought it might be from just getting back into the workouts but I had this same pain in my neck from months on end of cycling. What can I do to help alleviate this? Help me!

Thanks
Ryan
San diego

Ryan Byrnes said:

This is my first post to this group and I am going to scan past posts to see if this has been addressed. Anyways, I have been off the bike and was over seas for a few months and just recently got back on. My neck is hurting and I thought it might be from just getting back into the workouts but I had this same pain in my neck from months on end of cycling. What can I do to help alleviate this?

This is typically an issue of proper bike fitting, but can also happen to new riders who hunch their shoulders or have not learned to relax on the bike. In the road position, the rider's weight is ideally supported more by the hips and torso (core) so that the elbows are bent and the hands rest gently on the bars for stability. This allows the shoulders to drop and the neck to relax. Some riders place a lot of weight on their arms, and as a result straighten their elbows for support and force their shoulders into a hunched position -- hard on the neck.

How long have you had the bike? Did you have neck pain on this bike before going overseas? I'd first look at any changes to the bike or your riding since coming back, to see if your position has been affected. After that, I'd suggest reminding yourself to relax while on the bike to help keep things loose.

Ryan Byrnes said:

This is my first post to this group and I am going to scan past posts to see if this has been addressed. Anyways, I have been off the bike and was over seas for a few months and just recently got back on. My neck is hurting and I thought it might be from just getting back into the workouts but I had this same pain in my neck from months on end of cycling. What can I do to help alleviate this? Help me!

Thanks
Ryan
San diego

I find stretching helps me. Before I did these stretches I used to get more neck pain and, worse, I would periodically get a "crick" in my neck that be very painful and last a few days. Since I started stretching, I don't get that anymore at all (though I do still get a little bit of neck fatigue once in a while on a long ride).

Here are my stretches (takes no more than a couple minutes):

1) keeping head horizontal with the ground, turn as far as you can to the right and gently stretch your neck by pushing your chin right with your hand. Do the same to the left.

2) Looking straight forward the whole time, tilt your head to the right and stretch left side of neck by gently pulling with your right hand. Do the same to the left.

3) Drop your chin forward and gently stretch back of neck by pulling head forward with both hands (so that chin touches chest). After a bit, while still holding my head forward, I rock my head slightly to the left and right to stretch the rear sides a bit more.

4) Tilt your head back and gently push up on your chin to stretch the front of your neck.

Hope this helps.

Thank you thank you thank you. I never realized how tight my neck was until I started stretching it and *relaxing* on the ride. I've been battling a kink/stiff neck for 6 months and 3 days of stretching and chilling a bit on the trusty steed got me to mile 50 today w/ ZERO neck issues. 😄😄😄