Cervical stenosis; need to change bike fit
06-09-21, 10:50 AM
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Cervical stenosis; need to change bike fit
I am 65 F, recreational rider. I have been off of bike for a year due to neck issues (but do stay fit on a lifecycle in upright position) As I知 improving and thinking about getting back onto my bike (specialized ruby pro) I知 trying to determine if I need to switch to a hybrid type bicycle in order to relieve stress on neck and upper back. I otherwise love the female fit of my ruby.
06-09-21, 12:10 PM
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I'd start with a riser stem to get the bars higher. A professional fitting session could be worthwhile.
06-09-21, 01:04 PM
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My cervical spine is messed up and no amount of risers or going to a more upright position will take the pressure off the impinged nerves.
Nobody here can tell you what bike change might work, even if they saw your MRI and knew what procedures or treatments you have had. More upright or reclined might work. I had to go reclined. GL.
Nobody here can tell you what bike change might work, even if they saw your MRI and knew what procedures or treatments you have had. More upright or reclined might work. I had to go reclined. GL.
06-09-21, 04:25 PM
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thank you
06-09-21, 04:36 PM
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I have a similar problem in my neck and some herniated lumbar disks.
too upright hurts my back
too low hurts my neck
eventually I found comfort on two of my bikes, but my bikes are set up differently from each other so there is more to it than just a height adjustment.
Some gentle trial and error adjustments and tides Up and Down the street and then longer rides.
With the right position and wide tires on a steel frame I can now happily commute about 15 miles to work with most of that off pavement.
min days I drive my truck to work I do the miles at night just for fun.
some days are still bad, but hey they were when young too, and if you have the right surgeon, rhizotomies can be magical.
too upright hurts my back
too low hurts my neck
eventually I found comfort on two of my bikes, but my bikes are set up differently from each other so there is more to it than just a height adjustment.
Some gentle trial and error adjustments and tides Up and Down the street and then longer rides.
With the right position and wide tires on a steel frame I can now happily commute about 15 miles to work with most of that off pavement.
min days I drive my truck to work I do the miles at night just for fun.
some days are still bad, but hey they were when young too, and if you have the right surgeon, rhizotomies can be magical.
06-09-21, 06:51 PM
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My spine is screwed up from atlas to coccyx from a 2001 wreck, with permanently damaged C1-C2 and stenosis in some cervical, thoracic and lumbar vertebrae.
So I spent about three months in physical therapy in spring/summer 2019, and got some good advice from the PT and exercises that I've continued to do at home. All it does is keep the neck fairly stable, but can't fully compensate for the spine damage. The PT noted that my neck muscles were already pretty well toned and flexible from bike riding, so we mostly worked on the opposing and supporting muscles that don't get worked much from bike riding.
I was surprised to discover that a more upright bike isn't necessary more comfortable. I have a very narrow window of comfort where my neck is in the right position. If the bar drop is too low I get neck spasms from muscular strain. If the bar is too upright, I feel bone-on-bone jolts and grinding, which is worse for me.
For the past few years I've been most comfortable with around a 2" drop from saddle to handlebar.
However reach is critical as well. I have several stems in different lengths and heights and have swapped them around quite a bit to find the optimal position for each bike. My three road bikes have slightly different dimensions and geometry so I can't simply duplicate the fit of my most comfortable bike and apply it to the others.
I prefer the stability of somewhat longer stems so I usually prefer stems of 100mm-120mm. But with longer stems I need compact drop bars. So I've replaced the original classic drops with compact drops from FSA Omega Compact and Soma Highway One. Both bars have nearly identical dimensions but the Soma bar is smaller diameter for my older 1" quill and early threadless headsets.
The length of the hoods for the brakes/shifters is also crucial. When I switched from old school aero brakes/hoods (brakes only, with downtube shifters), to brifters, the hood length of the brifters was about an inch longer. So I had to compensate either with a shorter stem or compact drops. As I said, I prefer a longer stem for stability, so the compact drops and slightly shorter reach solved that problem.
Less weight on the head can help too. I've been accustomed to mounting lights and a video camera on my helmets, but I'm going to need to quit that and mount the camera on the bike itself. Any additional weight really hurts after about 90 minutes into a ride. Moving the camera as far back as possible helped a bit, but I'd rather get it off my helmet completely.
So I spent about three months in physical therapy in spring/summer 2019, and got some good advice from the PT and exercises that I've continued to do at home. All it does is keep the neck fairly stable, but can't fully compensate for the spine damage. The PT noted that my neck muscles were already pretty well toned and flexible from bike riding, so we mostly worked on the opposing and supporting muscles that don't get worked much from bike riding.
I was surprised to discover that a more upright bike isn't necessary more comfortable. I have a very narrow window of comfort where my neck is in the right position. If the bar drop is too low I get neck spasms from muscular strain. If the bar is too upright, I feel bone-on-bone jolts and grinding, which is worse for me.
For the past few years I've been most comfortable with around a 2" drop from saddle to handlebar.
However reach is critical as well. I have several stems in different lengths and heights and have swapped them around quite a bit to find the optimal position for each bike. My three road bikes have slightly different dimensions and geometry so I can't simply duplicate the fit of my most comfortable bike and apply it to the others.
I prefer the stability of somewhat longer stems so I usually prefer stems of 100mm-120mm. But with longer stems I need compact drop bars. So I've replaced the original classic drops with compact drops from FSA Omega Compact and Soma Highway One. Both bars have nearly identical dimensions but the Soma bar is smaller diameter for my older 1" quill and early threadless headsets.
The length of the hoods for the brakes/shifters is also crucial. When I switched from old school aero brakes/hoods (brakes only, with downtube shifters), to brifters, the hood length of the brifters was about an inch longer. So I had to compensate either with a shorter stem or compact drops. As I said, I prefer a longer stem for stability, so the compact drops and slightly shorter reach solved that problem.
Less weight on the head can help too. I've been accustomed to mounting lights and a video camera on my helmets, but I'm going to need to quit that and mount the camera on the bike itself. Any additional weight really hurts after about 90 minutes into a ride. Moving the camera as far back as possible helped a bit, but I'd rather get it off my helmet completely.
Last edited by canklecat; 06-09-21 at 06:58 PM.
10-10-21, 03:40 PM
#7
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Kind of thread jacking here, sorry. This summer I have been really suffering from neck pain; loss of sleep, not able to turn neck, daily constant pain. I tried osteo treatment, massage and PT. It seemed like the only thing I could do without minimal pain was ride my road bike. However, after a period of not being able to ride because of work an weather, I noticed that my neck pain improved. So I stayed off the bike for another week and continued improvement. Then I road back to back days, hilly 15 mile circuit. Sure enough pain started to return. Now I’m wondering if I continue to ride, what should I do? I raised the handlebars with a tube extender and rode today; less pain but still creating an issue.
Anyone have any ideas? Go to flat bar bike?
Anyone have any ideas? Go to flat bar bike?
10-10-21, 05:15 PM
#8
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My spine is screwed up from atlas to coccyx from a 2001 wreck, with permanently damaged C1-C2 and stenosis in some cervical, thoracic and lumbar vertebrae.
So I spent about three months in physical therapy in spring/summer 2019, and got some good advice from the PT and exercises that I've continued to do at home. All it does is keep the neck fairly stable, but can't fully compensate for the spine damage. The PT noted that my neck muscles were already pretty well toned and flexible from bike riding, so we mostly worked on the opposing and supporting muscles that don't get worked much from bike riding.
I was surprised to discover that a more upright bike isn't necessary more comfortable. I have a very narrow window of comfort where my neck is in the right position. If the bar drop is too low I get neck spasms from muscular strain. If the bar is too upright, I feel bone-on-bone jolts and grinding, which is worse for me.
For the past few years I've been most comfortable with around a 2" drop from saddle to handlebar.
However reach is critical as well. I have several stems in different lengths and heights and have swapped them around quite a bit to find the optimal position for each bike. My three road bikes have slightly different dimensions and geometry so I can't simply duplicate the fit of my most comfortable bike and apply it to the others.
I prefer the stability of somewhat longer stems so I usually prefer stems of 100mm-120mm. But with longer stems I need compact drop bars. So I've replaced the original classic drops with compact drops from FSA Omega Compact and Soma Highway One. Both bars have nearly identical dimensions but the Soma bar is smaller diameter for my older 1" quill and early threadless headsets.
The length of the hoods for the brakes/shifters is also crucial. When I switched from old school aero brakes/hoods (brakes only, with downtube shifters), to brifters, the hood length of the brifters was about an inch longer. So I had to compensate either with a shorter stem or compact drops. As I said, I prefer a longer stem for stability, so the compact drops and slightly shorter reach solved that problem.
Less weight on the head can help too. I've been accustomed to mounting lights and a video camera on my helmets, but I'm going to need to quit that and mount the camera on the bike itself. Any additional weight really hurts after about 90 minutes into a ride. Moving the camera as far back as possible helped a bit, but I'd rather get it off my helmet completely.
So I spent about three months in physical therapy in spring/summer 2019, and got some good advice from the PT and exercises that I've continued to do at home. All it does is keep the neck fairly stable, but can't fully compensate for the spine damage. The PT noted that my neck muscles were already pretty well toned and flexible from bike riding, so we mostly worked on the opposing and supporting muscles that don't get worked much from bike riding.
I was surprised to discover that a more upright bike isn't necessary more comfortable. I have a very narrow window of comfort where my neck is in the right position. If the bar drop is too low I get neck spasms from muscular strain. If the bar is too upright, I feel bone-on-bone jolts and grinding, which is worse for me.
For the past few years I've been most comfortable with around a 2" drop from saddle to handlebar.
However reach is critical as well. I have several stems in different lengths and heights and have swapped them around quite a bit to find the optimal position for each bike. My three road bikes have slightly different dimensions and geometry so I can't simply duplicate the fit of my most comfortable bike and apply it to the others.
I prefer the stability of somewhat longer stems so I usually prefer stems of 100mm-120mm. But with longer stems I need compact drop bars. So I've replaced the original classic drops with compact drops from FSA Omega Compact and Soma Highway One. Both bars have nearly identical dimensions but the Soma bar is smaller diameter for my older 1" quill and early threadless headsets.
The length of the hoods for the brakes/shifters is also crucial. When I switched from old school aero brakes/hoods (brakes only, with downtube shifters), to brifters, the hood length of the brifters was about an inch longer. So I had to compensate either with a shorter stem or compact drops. As I said, I prefer a longer stem for stability, so the compact drops and slightly shorter reach solved that problem.
Less weight on the head can help too. I've been accustomed to mounting lights and a video camera on my helmets, but I'm going to need to quit that and mount the camera on the bike itself. Any additional weight really hurts after about 90 minutes into a ride. Moving the camera as far back as possible helped a bit, but I'd rather get it off my helmet completely.
10-12-21, 04:17 PM
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This is something I'm curious about. I just had spinal surgery for a bone spur and pinched nerve. Things are getting back to normal, but I haven't been on the bike yet. Wondering if things will change? I'll Zwift for a while until I feel comfortable, then road ride.
