Tight & Knotted Back Muscles When Riding

[Mr_Cheeze]

I get varying degrees of tightness and knotted muscles in my upper traps and neck area when riding. Some days are worse than others. It usually depends on type of riding (constant hunched over the handlebars is not good for me) and amount of rest stops. I can usually start feeling it after about 90 minutes. Sometimes it gets so tight that I have to stop and try to stretch it out. On a good day I can ride for 2 1/2 hours before the pain is too much. I've tried massages, and I'm sure they would help me if I could afford to go every two weeks to work out the knots. Every time I go I get the same thing."You have so many knots. You're going to need 3 or 4 visits to get it all worked out." Bleh.

Those of you who also suffer from back or other muscle pains, I'm curious what you do. Please put aside the obvious chiropractor/massage recommendations. What remedies, balm or ointments do you use before, during and after riding?
What have you tried that worked great, not so great?

Yesterday I rode with a couple of folks who recommended some ointment that they claim lots of cyclers use. For the life of me I can't remember the name of it.

Anybody try Tiger Balm?

[bikapelli]

I have some stuff for you to try. Do you squint your eyes? you may need to wear perscription glasses or maybe just sunglasses. Belive it or not squinting your eyes uses neck and back muscles. a visor may help but not as much.
When you ride keep a small bend in your elbows and keep your hands loose on the grips, your body absorbs a lot of shock through your arms. Last check out your bike, be sure seat is level and not sliding you forward. Softer grips or gloves could help. Grip shift? move it or just lose it over extending your wrist can effect the back. Don't extend your hands to much to shift or brake check that positioning too. also get fitted and stretch, stretch stretch.

[AA]

Ointments / Balms generally give the sensation of loosening the muscles by adding heat to the skin and usually are not a remedy for anything. My suggestion is a visit to a physical therapist. PT folks are really good at pin pointing the cause of problems. The majority of times it is a muscle imbalance that can be remedied with regular stretching or simple exercises.

Many people have success with massage and chiropractic but IMO they often dont address the cause of the problem.

[9.8m/s/s]

How wide are your handlebars? If it doesn't set in for 90 minutes it seems like it's just muscle soreness. I had the same problem- solved it by going with a wider bar. My old bar had my hand placement way too tight was causing me to use the muscles in my traps way too much. Try different hand position ( I was riding barends at the time which actually helped).

Also, I have a reusable heating pad that I use. Not sure how much long term relief it's giving, but it sure feels good.

[hogboy]

a one week regimen of:

riding a lot, at least 1 hour a day, and ride hard 2 or 3 days

3 advils for breakfast

3 advils before bed

7 days straight, then stop the advil for at least 2 weeks


should fix you up. this will let the muscles grow better as you
get stronger. it cuts some of the normal inflammation and the muscles
will definitely toughen up faster

[MTBME]

I have a similar problem when riding on the road. I get a burning sensation around the lower neck area between the shoulder blades. It only happens at around the 25 - 30 mile mark. I sit up and stretch and constantly change hand positions. I'm thinking its more of a bike fit problem somewhere. I do think the advice about not squinting has some merit. I'll have to notice if it happens on cloudy days.

[kmdmac]

after years of back problems and seeking a "cure", I recommend the following:

look hard at your bike fit. get some professional advise. well worth the effort. if your issues only appear when you ride, this is likely what's wrong. people get adjusted to the fit that they are used to, even if it is incorrect.

every ride, warm up for 20 minutes or so, stop and do some extensive stretching. get some pro help on what types of stretching is best for your particular conditions.

after every ride, stretch again. also apply a cold pack to the most offending areas. helps to relieve the swelling.

do some core exercise work. takes the strain off of the back muscles.

you can also try some capsaicin arthritis cream on the area that's affected. it's some deep heat!

that's my 2 cents. now don't go thinkin' that I abide by all this mind you! but I should!

kmd

[woody7795]

i agree with the advil regimen although i use aleve. i had a doctor tell me that if i had a higher amount of naprosyn aka aleve in my system it would help any oncomings of pain and he was right. i was having constant back and neck pains when they were trying to figure out that i actually had lyme disease. so my thought is go with the aleve in the morninga and the evening

[edge]

Lose the camel back if you're using one. And take the wider bar advice. Worked for me.

[Longshanks]

Yoga has helped me. I've had neck and low back problems. My wife's a yoga instructor and taught me warm ups and stretches. So I do a quick warmup and some stretches before every ride and it's made a huge difference. Only takes about 7 mins. And I do yoga once a week - that's helped also.

[Mr_Cheeze]

Based on what some of you are saying, I'm likely dealing with a bike fit issue. Although, I'm not sure how that can be remedied. I have wide, riser bars. Tried the bar ends, hated them. A new bike isn't in the offing anytime soon. I ride once or twice a week, and am in the gym 4 or 5 days, so neither weak back nor core are an issue. Also, I happen to like my stomach too much to use any NSAIDs on a regular basis. I admittedly don't stretch enough, and am sure I'm not alone in this.

I still would like to try a topical remedy, preferably all natural essential oil based. Can't hurt.

[AA]

jeez all you need to do is..... change your bars, ditch the camel back, stretch, go to PT, take some advil, stop squinting, get a bike fit, do yoga and you will be all set. Did I miss anything?

[heckler]

OK, here is an odd-ball recommendation. Find a gold ball. :)

Seriously.

If massage helps then you need to figure out a way to deal with it on your own. With a gold ball, lean back against the ball in a high backed chair and simply let the ball press against the tight spots. It will hurt! But then it wont. Think of it as a poor man's accupressure. Move the ball around to the various tight spots. You will be blown away at how well that can work.

I agree, it sounds like a possible bike fit issue, or a core strength issue but if you can get the muscles loose it can only help!

[Graphics]

well as a massage therapist...i gotta go with the massage route. however there ARE various things you need to know about massage. there are different types of massages out there and therapist can lean towards one more than the other. you definitely need to find someone that specializes in sports massage first off. secondly...depending on where you are located...you may be able to find a massage school to get weekly massages (my particular school has 3 locations within CT). Our last term was mostly hands on in a "clinic" form where people came to the school and paid $35 for an hour massage.

finally...you may want to try something called contrast bathing...during the evenings after a ride. for 30 minutes you want to alternate every 5 minutes between icing and heat. start with ice and end with ice. what this does is it floods your muscles with oxygenated, nutrient filled blood which is what your muscles need to recover.

one other thing to remember about massage...no one massage can alter what you've done to your body over years. your tight back and neck muscles could be caused by your riding...however it would sound to me like it's being aggrevated by riding, but the "cause" might not be. if your tight in the back, the likelihood is that your issue could be stemming from pec muscles in the front that need loosing up to loosen their pull on your traps. become aware of how your body is positioned during the day. are you hunched over at work?

just some things to think about. there is no quick fix cream that is going to bring your muscles back to a healthy state. don't be so quick to give up on massage.

PM me where you're located and i can tell you if the school i graduated at has any locations near you.

[Slappy]

jeez all you need to do is..... change your bars, ditch the camel back, stretch, go to PT, take some advil, stop squinting, get a bike fit, do yoga and you will be all set. Did I miss anything?

Suck it up?

You're old, **** hurts, it's gonna hurt more and more, then eventually, you're gonna die.

:fat:

[Doro]

if your in the gym 4-5 days a week maybe the problem is not the bike but what you are doing in the gym. And if your in the gym that much not stretching is pretty poor. Yoga is your remedy. If your in boston I suggest going to kennedy brothers for in downtown. A mix of of electric stim, heat, cold compress, and the correct exercises should be aleviate alot of your issues.

[Mr_Cheeze]

Yoga - not gonna happen. Tried it. Not for me. In the same category as spinning; i.e. training that I hate.
Massages - see 1st post
Stretching - guilty as charged. I've known for some time that I need to do more of it. What's worse, I am a certified personal trainer and know the theory and the benefits. I'm just not practicing often enough what I'm preaching. Old habits, or lack thereof, are hard to break. Guess now is a good time to start.

However...

Found out the name of the stuff that someone recommended.
Freddy's Choice (http://www.freddyschoice.com/)


(note to self: perhaps Floyd Landis isn't the best choice these days to promote my cycling related, patented product.)

[Doro]

[QUOTE=Mr_Cheeze;159834]Yoga - not gonna happen. Tried it. Not for me. In the same category as spinning; i.e. training that I hate.
Massages - see 1st post
Stretching - guilty as charged. I've known for some time that I need to do more of it. What's worse, I am a certified personal trainer and know the theory and the benefits. I'm just not practicing often enough what I'm preaching. Old habits, or lack thereof, are hard to break. Guess now is a good time to start. [QUOTE]

its not about taking yoga class. Its about incorparating Yoga into your current work out routine. I lift weights and after a full set I incorporate a movement from yoga to stretch and stabalize that area that was hit hard. my $.02

[leebo]

Yoga and stretching at least 3 or 4 mornings a week. Really helps with the core muscles. Try raising yours bars.