Shoulder and Neck Pain
reneepugh
Posts: 522 Member
Ride to work 6 miles there and back. Have started to have neck and shoulder pain. Has anyone had this and know a way to alleviate it. I am getting a basket for my heavy backpack this Friday and stretch before, during and after. The pain is a little better after my second week doing it. Is it just something I will have to get used to?
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Ride to work 6 miles there and back. Have started to have neck and shoulder pain. Has anyone had this and know a way to alleviate it. I am getting a basket for my heavy backpack this Friday and stretch before, during and after. The pain is a little better after my second week doing it. Is it just something I will have to get used to?
Stretching is good. A heavy backpack sounds like the culprit too. Can you be more specific about the location of the pain? You feel any pinches or is it just an overall muscle soreness? You should not have to get used to this pain. It should go away soon with out the backpack on.0 -
That sucks!
Could be a lot of things, but getting your back pack off your back and onto your bike should help, but, it could also be the fit of your bike. Have you ever had your bike fitted to your body? Most good bike shops will do this when you buy the bike, but not all. Find a good bike shop and get them to check your fit, this should not cost a lot of money, I got mine done here in Tokyo for about $15, a very basic fit, they put me on their computerized machine and it fit me up, so then I could take that info and a tape measure and check my bike and make any adjustments. For a little more money, maybe $30 and an hour of time, the would do the same thing on my bike and then recommend changes.
===>> THIS IS WORTH EVERY PENNY <<===
I cannot stress enough how important it is to get a bike fit done, once you are in the ball park of fitting the bike to your body, then you can slowly work on getting it to fit exactly how you like, this takes time and a lot of miles in the saddle.
Could be that your bars are too low, this is common, everyone wants to look like a racer, but for most riding most people do, this is not the best way to sit on your bike.
What kind of bike do you have?
Got a pic?
How high is your seat compared to your bars?
Six miles is not very far, so part of this can be your body complaining and getting used to a new level of activity.
Do you wear cycling gloves? The padding in them can help with pain, as the road shocks are not transfered to your body as sharply. Don't hold the bars with a death grip, make sure your elbows are not locked when riding.
I hope this helps, please come back with some more info, I'm sure we can sort your out!
Cheers!0 -
Oh yeah, about the backpack, a rear rack would be better than a front basket, the basket loaded can really screw up your handling. Also go do a Google image search punch in "Bicycle Touring" and look at the pictures, I bet you will see very few people touring with back packs, there is a reason for this! :bigsmile:
Cheers!0
