Cycling with cervical

Since 2001, over 90,000 cyclist's have joined Cycling Forums to discuss topics from general cycling to equipment, training, racing and travel or vacation destinations (especially in europe during the tour de france). We also feature an great deals in our online store, 100's of articles, classifieds and product reviews.

Hi everybody,

I was wondering if there could be any connection between cervical problem and cycling.

Two month ago, I woke up in the early morning with a terrible pain on my neck.

The day before I cycled back home in a quite freeze night… could it be the cause?



It was so painful that I couldn’t move for almost a week and since then, I never cycle again.

Now the weather is getting better and I’d like to try again.



Did anybody ever have such a problem?



Thanks

Maybe yes, maybe no. There's no absolute proof either way.

You can end up with quite bad muscle pain in the neck from a bad riding position especially if your shoulders are tense. Next time you get on the bike, try and think about what your arms and shoulders are doing and try and consciously relax your shoulders. The other thing you need to look at is whether or not you are hyper-extending your neck to look forward as this can also cause neck pain.

However, if you think the pain is somehow associated with your cervical spine, then you need to go and see a doctor and have the appropriate investigations done.

You can end up with quite bad muscle pain in the neck from a bad riding position especially if your shoulders are tense. Next time you get on the bike, try and think about what your arms and shoulders are doing and try and consciously relax your shoulders. The other thing you need to look at is whether or not you are hyper-extending your neck to look forward as this can also cause neck pain.

However, if you think the pain is somehow associated with your cervical spine, then you need to go and see a doctor and have the appropriate investigations done.Thanks matagi,
I never thought about my bad riding posture... and probably that day I was quite tense to avoid the freezing air coming into my neck.
I was wondering what do you guys wear when you ride in a cold day?
Is it a good idea go put on many cloths?

Hi,

Cycling for most of us is quite tough on the neck, when we are pedalling hard is is very common for the lumbar spine to become very arched up ( kyphosis or flexion) like a cat, this in turn increases the demands on the upper thoracic spine and upper cervical regions to allow us to see ahead to the obstacles in front ( this is called extension ) so they can become strained and the joints can become fixated in a position.

You may find a chiro helpful in restoring normal movement to the spine. Perhaps someone to help set up your bike and teach better positioning of your body eg less flexion in your lumbar spine and more extension from your mid thoracic spine to take load away from the neck.

All the best

Ian.