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Neck Pain

19K views 10 replies 10 participants last post by  peteuga 
#1 ·
I thought after over a year of riding that the neck pain I often get from riding my MB more than 10 miles would go away. Much like the sore butt (which did thank God). However after my last 14 mile ride on Tuesday I had terrible neck pain again. Its the same feeling you get when you sit too far up in the movie theater. Its a dull ache, not an acute pain, so I know its not spinal related.

At first I thought it was my helmet being too heavy, but if that was the case I would think my neck would grow accustomed and not hurt after a while.

Im starting to wonder if its something with my bikes setup.

Maybe my seat too high? My handlebars being too far forward because of a long stem (120mm)? Maybe not enough rise in my stem (6d)?

Anyone have this problem before and find a solution?

Heres a pic of my bike. Any suggestions?
 

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#3 ·
It's difficult to say from a photo. The most obvious thing from that photo is your saddle angle looks like the saddle has slipped. Single bolt seat clamps are notorious for allowing the saddle to slip and it appears to be at its maximum angle, as though you've landed on it hard and it has moved.

If you put a spirit level on top of the saddle and adjust the saddle so that it's flat again then this will allow you to rotate your hips forwards and have a straighter back.

For neck pain are you wearing a pack or camelbak whilst riding? If it's heavy or the straps are too tight then it can dig in around your neck, causing strain and possibly neck pain.

How well is your suspension working? Are you getting shaken around and blurred vision on bumpy sections? If so, making some setup adjustments for a smoother ride will reduce neck strain.

Useful exercises to do for mountain biking would be to strengthen your neck muscles using a neck harness. If your neck muscles are fatiguing then workouts such as the ones in the link below could help. It's best to start with light weights and gradually build up.:)

Bodybuilding.com - Stick Your Neck Out With Larger Neck & Trap Muscles!

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#4 ·
Agreed. That saddle appears to be the Rocket V, which should be run level or slightly nose down.

I run it slightly nose down, but personal preference will vary.

Also, assuming the bike is your size, the seat is pretty slammed back, especially considering the setback setpost. That would maximize the length of the cockpit, thus making your body too leaned forward and your neck turned way up to see the trail.

We really need to see a pic of you on the bike. U should get a quickie bike fit at your local shop.
 
#5 ·
gonna have to agree. the saddle should be level to the ground for starters and then make micro adjustments as needed.

it would help to have someone fit you to that bike if you aren't too sure how it should be set up. it helps to have a second set of eyes.

.02
 
#6 ·
I sympathise. I get this sometimes as well, it's pretty painful. I'm not an expert on it but I read up on quite a few things and here's what's helped for me....

1) Saddle Angle / Pelvis angle / Back Straightness: As said above, your saddle is tilted back, this might mean your pelvis is tilted backwards and if your pelvis is tilted back, then your back is probably curving quite a bit. If your back is very curved then your neck will need to bend more than usual to get your head at a given angle, putting strain on it.

Try leveling your saddle, then sit on your bike and try to tilt your pelvis forward, this will help you have a straight back and your neck won't have to be so bent relative to the angle of your back.

2) Saddle fore / aft position: You have a lay back seatpost and your saddle is waaaay back there in the clamp. This means your position is more stretched out, again meaning you need to tilt your head up more to see the trail ahead. Try moving the saddle forward an inch or so. The general guideline is sit on bike, clipped in, with cranks parallel to ground. Hang a piece of string with a weight on it from your kneecap. It should be over the pedal axle. Of course that's only a rough guide but it will give you an idea of whereabouts your saddle should be.

Basically anything that either raises the handlebars and / or shortens the reach will help your neck. So that would be:
- move saddle foreward
- fit shorter stem
- fit higher rise stem
- fit riser bars

3) Helmet peak / Glasses: Make sure your helmet angle / peak or your glasses are not causing you to raise your head excessively to see down the trail, this will put added strain on your neck. A lighter helmet might help a bit too. I get worse neck ache when I use a helmet light on long night rides from the additional weight.

4) Head Position: I'm not sure about this but it seems that for me it's much better if I try to keep my head lower and use my eyes to look up the trail rather than raising my head to look all the time. I think the head is more comfortable in line with the back than "bent" up for long periods

5) Camelbak: As said above, a heavy camelbak will put added strain on the muscles at the base of your neck.

6) Stretching: I think part of the pain is caused by the muscles being locked in a load bearing position for long periods. Try moving your shoulders around, stretching your neck a bit, rotating your shoulders every ten minutes to give your neck muscles a break.

Hope that helps a bit...

This article about cycling posture has some really good illustrations that show curved back / bent neck vs straight back / straight neck position: http://www.francefrominside.com/FFI Bike Posture web.pdf

Also, as recommended above, a bike fit might be a good idea.
 
#7 ·
I dealt with neck soreness for years. Ultimately I was riding bikes that were just a little too long for me. They made me put too much weight on my hands which got transferred to my traps and neck. The sore neck was normally followed by a really bad headache.
 
#9 ·
If changing bike geometry and changing backpacks etc. doesn't work, muscle imbalances could be causing stuff to tweak, causing nerve impingement. Strengthening weaker muscles and stretching tight ones may help. Although your neck hurts, the problem may originate lower down in your back or shoulder area. Biking strengthens and tightens certain muscles while neglecting others, sometimes leading to imbalances, especially when combined with sitting and leaning over a desk for long periods. A good physical therapist or further research should point you in the right direction.
 
#11 ·
Unrelated to bike set up, I had a permeant really sore neck just below the base of my skull on my right side. Went to the Dr a few times and they gave me some workouts / stretches to do, really just made things worse. So I made up my own workout / stretch exercise I do every night just before bed. I lay with my head just just off the bed and extend all the way down then all the way back up 10x, then stretch all the way to the left 10x(turning my chin toward my shoulder) then all the way to the right 10x then do 10x loops one way then 10x another, takes about 1 minute to do. Neck feels like a normally persons neck, if I miss a few nights my neck starts hurting again.

Just something to try if you can't fix it on your bike
 
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