Neck/Shoulder pain while riding: Need advice

[Choprocker]

i had a bit of neck arm pain, i found it was how i was sleeping at night etc, i use to stick my arm under the pillow out stretched with my head on it too, stopped doing it and found it ok now.
worth a try.

[theneverman]

It seems to me you have a number of reasons why you are experiencing pain and in my experience; any back or neck pains from things not related to riding are definitely magnified after riding. Your pain also may be transferring around as you compensate positions for relief. The massage therapist idea is a good one. One thing massage therapists are really good at is isolating the location based upon muscle tension and if it's muscle related, they can usually work it out. Good luck, I hope you can get back on the road pain free.

Also, sometimes what's bothering you is temporary but lingers because you're not allowing yourself to heal.

[spynage]

It's probably your bike combined with your height.

I've been riding my sportster for a about 3 months with flat handlebars. In the last few weeks I've developed a very stiff neck. I've never had this before, it feels like I've slept very badly and I can hardly turn my head without pain and soreness.

The sporty definatley has an awkward position for me to ride, I'm 5'7. I'm going to give it a rest for a bit and see what happens. I may have to fit pull back bars although I prefer the look of the bike at the moment.

I'll keep you posted.

[XLBolivia]

Originally Posted by mdmitchell2

First off, let my start by saying I am only 24 years old. Hopefully this helps set the stage.

I am soon to graduate with my BS in CIS and work construction (Carpentry) on the side. Im not really sure when this pain began but I surely know when it got the worst.

The pain moves around a bit. It first started right where my neck meets my right shoulder. It would be this throbbing, almost stabbing pain. It has since almost moved to the entire base of my neck and varies in location. The pain is only present when Im doing something where my arms are above my head (doing over head work) or suspended in front of me (aka riding, and using a computer). Being that i LOVE riding my sporty, i LOVE riding my atv, and im going into the IT field (where i will obviously use computers) this pain has to go. I believe Im far too young for there not to be a solution.

Ive seen a dr, a chiropractor, a physical therapist, and finally a neurosurgeon. Ive had an MRI done, tried anti inflamatorys, chiro work, steroid pack, and nothinhg has helped. I was told by the neurosurgeon that I do have some bone spurring in my neck but its minor at most. He said the cause of my pain is not related to my spine but rather my muscles. This left me almost ready to scream. I was so sick of the pain i was ready to go under the knife. I just knew it would be neurological. SO i get sent home with a lousy anti inlammatory and a pat on the back

Currently Im going back to PT to give it a second try since the last time i basically did it just to get the dr off my back and give me the ok to see a surgeon. Well after reading online i felt more and more confident that strengthening muscles across my back would help alleviate the pain. Im 3 weeks into PT. Hoping that all these exercises pay off

Lets be clear, Im pretty sure this isnt riding position thing. It hurt like this when i rode fourwheelers, drove, and so on. BUT i did just get some taller 9 in T bars because im 6'3" and i was slouching with the drag bars. And i also switched to a badlander seat from a pillow seat so the bars really hit me just right now

Im writing all of this because im simply looking for any advice from anyone who has dealt with similar problems and what you did/do to fix it. At this point, I will do anything to fix it. I feel like this is a group of guys that could understand my aggravation of having to ride in pain. especially since im not even old

Been living with back and neck pain for years, since my 20's. A few things come to mind seeing as how the doc says you don't have any spine issues.

1) There can be a big psychosomatic component to back and neck pain. Dr. John Sarno has done quite a bit of writing on this subject. A lot of people consider him "non mainstream". I don't really agree with him on the extent of the influence of psychosomatic effects (at least not in my case), but I do think he is on to something. His book is worth a read.

2) Referred Pain - the source of the pain isn't always where you feel it. It can be caused by trigger points a distance away from the pain. Massaging these trigger points can help a LOT. Theracane's are awesome for this. JFK's back Doctor (Dr Travell) did extensive work on this subject. "The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook" is based on her work, maps out common trigger points, and is worth a read.

3) I would guess that sooner or later you're going to run into a doc that wants to cut. Get more opinions if that happens. Personally I do not trust private bone and joint clinics (or any other kind of private clinic). I prefer to go to doctors at teaching hospitals. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but the private clinics seem way too quick to want to operate to me. I liked Dr. Riley at Johns Hopkins. He wrote "The Back Pain Book" along with another doc which is a very good read.