cularly if sustained for a long period of time. Overusing cervical extensors and upper trapezius muscles will lead to painful fatigue.
Tips for Good Posture
Keep your chest up and your chin down. Think of maintaining as straight a line as possible through your spine.
Shoulders should be relaxed, not hunched up to your ears.
Elbows should be unlocked, not collapsed, allowing a slight bend in your elbows to act as shock absorbers.
Look only a safe distance ahead down the road. You don’t need to see the clouds, only the potholes and other hazards in front of you.
Change your hand position regularly to reduce muscle fatigue.
Regularly stretch your neck during more relaxed parts of your ride.
The body makes contact with the bike at three points: the pedals, the saddle and the handlebars. Improper position of the seat and handlebars can place abnormal stress on the neck and shoulders. When everything on your bike is in the correct position, this neutral spine posture should be more natural and effortless. Here are a number of bike fitting faults that can cause neck pain.
Drop is too Low
The handlebars are set too low, relative to your seat height. In this position, if you need to crane your neck to see down the road, you will be forcing your neck into an overextended position. This can be even more of a problem when riding in lower aerobars. Over time this position will create joint strain from the sustained poor posture. The cervical extensor muscles which hold your head up will fatigue with prolonged use. Over time, this will lead to uncomfortable neck pain.
Raise your stem or change to a steeper angled stem.
As this is one of the most common position faults, many people jump to this conclusion when trying to address neck pain. But there are many more fitting faults that cause neck pain that get overlooked.
Saddle Tilt is too Nose Down
A saddle that is tilted too nose down will cause you to slide off the front of your saddle and you will place more weight on your hands to hold yourself up. Your upper trapezius and shoulder muscles will work unnecessarily hard to support your weight, leading to early fatigue and pain.
The saddle tilt should be either slightly nose down (1 degree) or level for a more upright rider.
Saddle Tilt is too Nose Up
A saddle that is too nose up will cause your pelvis and back to go into a poor slouched posture to avoid discomfort in the crotch area. Poor back posture will continue up the entire spine causing a poking chin, which in turn will strain the neck.
Correct the saddle tilt as described above.
An uncomfortable saddle will cause you to sit in poor posture, resulting in neck pain over time.
Your saddle can affect how the whole bike feels below and above it.
Buy a comfortable saddle that suits YOU.
In our next issue Mary covers how handlebar position, helmets and glasses can contribute to neck problems.
Mary Paterson is a physiotherapist and a certified bike fit professional. An avid road