Many racing cyclists know how muscular tension can make particularly longer bike trips excruciating. The best tips to combat neck pain.

Ambitious cyclists inevitably find themselves in a dilemma: on the one hand, they want a compact and aerodynamic posture to beat the air resistance and fly as swift as an arrow over the asphalt, on the other hand, a racy, forward flat-back posture strains the back and shoulder muscles in such a way that the neck often begins to hurt. 

This therefore gives rise to the following questions: to what degree should they compromise their aerodynamic requirements in favour of a comfortable sitting position? Or to what extent can mobilisation and strengthening exercises support a racy posture or even make it possible in the first place? One thing is for sure: there are no numbers or formulas to breakdown the perfect sitting position. Experienced triathletes can conquer an Ironman in a sitting position that would already give others a neck pain from just watching.

Comfort before tempo

As a general tip: for amateur cyclists who are primarily planning longer trips, a slightly shorter top tube and longer head tube as opposed to the classic racing bike geometries are advisable, both of which will ensure a more upright posture. Such a sitting position is also suitable for bike tours and road bike marathons in undulating terrain or mountains. More and more manufacturers are responding to the amateur cyclists’ needs for a comfortable frame geometry. Such models are usually labelled as “endurance racers”.

In order to determine the ideal frame size and suitable angle, a sitting test is necessary. For all those who already have a bike, however, «cosmetic changes» can also achieve an improvement because just a few centimetres are often enough to significantly change the position of the head. You can correct your posture with a steeper and shorter stem (turning the existing stem can be enough) or by properly adjusting the saddle position. Flat and long stems, however, give you a stretched body position, which means you need to press your head into the nape of your neck to be able to see the road. And if the saddle is too high, your legs will be fully stretched when pedalling, which tilts the pelvis to the side each time. This rocking motion strains the lower back and consequently the neck and shoulder muscles.

Hardware people

However, not only the racing bike can be responsible for neck pain due to its different dimensions and the consequent poor posture – people themselves are also a crucial weak point. Cyclists in particular are often very lopsided and pay little attention to their back and shoulder muscles, although they are put under particular strain when cycling. What’s more, as most touring cyclists get older, they find that their cervical spine is no longer as flexible as when they were younger, so the surrounding muscles get overloaded much faster.

What can you do about it? To remedy or prevent this, you should focus less on stretching exercises and more on mobilisation and strengthening exercises, which will make the neck area stronger and more flexible. You can already start with simple exercises by doing active side-to-side and up-and-down head rotations. Or you can use a Thera-band (or mini-band), by attaching it to a fixed point and placing it on your head (forehead) at the same time so it is under tension. Now push your head forwards and backwards or even to the side and actively seek the resistance. Fitness centres also have suitable machines or equipment to strengthen the back and neck (ask the training instructor). 

It is crucial to do the exercises with some degree of regularity, especially during the start of the season if you are not yet accustomed to trips that last several hours. However, even well-trained athletes are not always immune to pain caused by overloading, and you can observe how the professionals perform acrobatic relaxation exercises when cycling at rapid speeds (usually downhill). Somewhat more moderate measures can also bring amateur cyclists relief, such as briefly getting out of the saddle and doing alternate hump and hollow back exercises.

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