How annoying is it to limit your riding time because of neck and upper back soreness, fatigue or even pain? What can you do to prevent your neck from stopping you riding without having to sit straight up or support your head with a pole?

The neck structures have an essential role which is to hold the head in an optimal position to move quickly and see the road hazards to avoid incident. Unfortunately, the best position for cycling puts a lot of load on the muscles and joints of the neck and upper thoracic spine. However, there are a few ways to avoid or at least to delay the onset of neck discomfort while cycling. The main factors affecting the neck comfort are everyday postures, the bike fitting, the variation of positions and the neck muscles endurance and strength.

Posture: Every cyclist who isn’t a world tour professional works or studies more hours than they cycle most weeks in a year. This situation explains why it is important to have a good posture that avoid strain on your neck and back for prolonged hours every day. Maintaining a good posture will help you start your ride without a neck already sore.

The worse example of sustained posture leading to neck pain and soreness is related to computer use. The most common position people adopt after a few minutes or hours on the computer is a forward head posture. This posture puts a lot of strain on the cervical spine and the muscles at the back of the neck. This posture can be prevented or minimised by having a desk properly adapted for your height and by being aware of your incorrect postural habits (slouching, sitting on the edge of the chair, leaning on one side, holding the phone between the ear and the shoulder…)

Some simple modifications can be done to improve your working station without the need of new furniture; boxes and books can usually be used to address the main problems.

Bike fitting: Make sure the reach is not too far forward or too low for your arm and trunk length. It is possible to have an aerodynamic position if needed without being outstretched to a level straining your neck. Refer to the article on bike fitting and position of handlebar for more details on this topic.

Standard racing position

“Chin in” position to decrease the load on the structures at the back of the neck

Simple stretch for muscle at the back of the neck while riding. Keep looking where you are going!

Variation of positions: In sport engineering, the most comfortable position has been described as one you can slightly modify regularly without affecting your action or simply the next position you are going to adopt. Therefore, changing your hand position during a ride, will modify the neck position. When you can’t change your hand position (e.g. time trial), relaxing and lowering the shoulders and bringing the chin down is the best position to decrease the stress on the muscles and joints at the back of the neck. However, if you are wearing an aero helmet with a long tail, the aerodynamics will be affected. This position also requires sufficient endurance of the deep neck flexors which are important neck stabilisers.

Standard time trial position

More relaxed time trial position (not optimal for aerodynamics)

Neck muscles strength and endurance: There are a great number of small and big muscles in the neck to support the head which is quite heavy and mainly supported by muscles because of the anatomy of the cervical spine. Two exercises can be performed to strengthen the key muscles in the neck.

Deep Neck Flexors Exercise

Deep neck flexors: Lying on your back on a flat surface, slowly bring the chin back without tensing up superficial muscles of the neck and shoulders such as SCM, scalenes and trapezius. This movement is called the upper cervical flexion.

Stay in this position for 10 seconds and feel the superficial muscles to make sure they remain relax all along. This exercise is also gently stretching the small muscle at the base of the skull and in the upper cervical region. Therefore, it is important to stop the flexion movement as soon as you feel a little stretch or increase in tension of the muscle at the back of the head since putting too much strain on these little muscles can lead to headache. Repeat movement 5-10X.

This is an excellent exercise to start with. There are numerous ways to progress this exercise and make it more functional for cyclists that will be the topic of a future post.

Neck Extensors Exercise

Neck extensors: Crook lying on your back on a stable but soft surface (mat, carpet, etc.), lift the pelvis to be in a bridging position and push back with your head and push down with your elbow like if you wanted to lift the shoulders from the ground. Hold the contraction for 5 seconds, a good start is to o a set of 10 repetitions. The support from the arm is quite significant when performing this exercise initially and only a small movement if any should be done. As the neck gets stronger, the load is more on the neck and less on the arms and the range of movement increases.

Progression of this exercise is to do it without the support of the arms

Remember that all strengthening exercises shouldn’t cause pain or discomfort. If you are not sure if these exercises are appropriate for you or you have trouble performing them, please contact me and I will be happy to help.