FAQ Shoulder and Neck pain
What can I do when my shoulders or neck get tight and bothers me?
Hang on because there can be a lot going on with this issue, check out the answers below but come into CYCLEWERX and lets us watch you ride to best fix this problem.
The culprit here can be paired down to two things; your fit on the bike (is the bike set up for you) and your posture on the bike (how are you sitting on the bike.)
The most common of the two is Bike fit. With a proper bike fit you should naturally drape over the bike with your shoulder/ arm angle at 90 degrees. What you want is your skeleton to do the work of holding you up on your bike, not your muscles. When you are to stretched out (greater than 90 degrees) or crammed in (less than 90 degrees) you are forcing your muscles to be under constant tension, which can lead to discomfort.
The second culprit as stated above can be your posture on the bike. We mentioned above in the bike fit section that you should “drape” over the bike. There are instances when, although it seems obvious the problem is the bike, it is actually you. The most important thing you can think about is to concentrate on relaxing into the bike. You should not be pushing away from the handlebars with your shoulders. If you are doing this you “round” your back at the Shoulder blade area. Instead relax into the bike concentrate on allowing your shoulder blades to come together in the middle of your back. When you do this you may notice discomfort at the nose of your seat, that’s fine we may have found the root of the problem click here to go to Seat comfort. The last piece of advice concerning your posture on the bike is to have a firm yet relaxed grip on the handlebars. A tight “death grip” will run tension up your arm into your neck and shoulders, it can also cause you to fight the bike. Remember, you should be a part of the bike working together with it.
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