5 Reasons why cycling causes neck and shoulder pain, and what you can do about it

Reducing neck pain while cycling could boil down to how you engage a small muscle group near your eyes. Your ocular motor is a group of muscles that work in unison to control your eye movements and help both eyes to track an object as a pair. This is what allows you to seamlessly read words across page or copy something from a blackboard without confusion. It also helps your visual perception which lets you catch and throw objects normally, as well as become generally more aware, discriminating and perceptive in your perception of the space around you.

So what does this have to do with riding a bike?

You see, many riders look up and into the distance too much when riding, which means that their neck stabilisers aren’t working and they compensate by straining their shoulder muscles. The best position for neck stability is slightly tucking your chin and looking directly ahead, which strengthens your ocular motor response, further stabilising your neck and helping to hold the position. Looking ahead also prevents your shoulder blades from getting weak and unstable.

Just because your core is strong, it doesn’t mean you’re all set. When cycling, too many people focus only on strength and not muscular activation, which can potentially cause injury. Unless you’re activating your core muscle groups as you ride, you might experience strain in your shoulder blades and destabilisation in your neck. You can also lean too far forward on your bike’s handlebars, creating further neck tension which in turn creates a tension headache.

Gentle neck stretches are important if you’re over 40 years old, have had a neck or whiplash injury in the past, or spend hours in front of a computer every day, as this means you’ll already have a small amount of stiffness and tension present. Gentle stretches that don’t lead to instability on your bike are important. You can also include other gentle mobility movements that target your hips, lumbar/thoracic area, spine and shoulders before getting on your bike. This will make sure that your muscles are activated and that any lingering tightness has been released.

It’s important to be able to look out for oncoming traffic, but if you’re doing it too often and for more than a few seconds at a time, it can cause neck problems. It’s common for those who ride two abreast to experience this problem, as they’re constantly turning to chat toeach other. It’s best to avoid this as it can shorten certain muscles on the side of your neck, leading to an asymmetrical body and lower spine problems.