NEcK & SHOULDERS
Adjustment of the bicycle:
Complaints of the neck and shoulders occur when the distance
from the saddle to the handlebars is too short and/or the difference
in height between these two is too large. In either situation,
the cyclist rides with a very curved spine which requires an
extra effort to keep his eyes pointed in a horizontal direction
in front of him.
When the distance from the saddle to the handlebars is too long
and, as a consequence, the sitting position is too stretched,
it could also lead to complaints of the neck and shoulders as
a result of increased tension on the muscles in the neck extensors.
Regularly changing the position of the hands on the handlebars
can prevent pain in the neck. This explains that, as a rule,
for long distances it is much more comfortable to use racing
handlebars because they offer a wider choice in the position
of the hands.
Handlebars that are too wide could lead to sagging of the shoulder
blades. This can eventually cause an irritating sense of pain.
The
handlebar-width should
always correspond with the width of the shoulders.
Physical causes:
Physical asymmetry leads to complaints of the neck. At this
point it is important to draw attention to the difference in
arm-length. Research among 100 cyclists illustrates that no
less than 81% appears to have arms of different lengths (Stevens,
1998). Placing the brake levers at different heights
and using extra layers of handlebar ribbon, can partly compensate
for the difference in arm-length.
Cyclists with scoliosis (lateral curving of the spinal column)
nearly always experience complaints of the neck and shoulders
when bending the upper part of their body on a racing bicycle.
Medical treatment could possibly offer a solution for these
complaints.