Shoulder blade pain while riding IBA rides - any suggestions?

BigRic

New Member
#1
Good day all! Just wrapped up what I hope will be my 9th certified ride and a common theme among many of them has been should-blade pain. Even somewhat early in the ride, I get very sore at the base of my neck down into my shoulder blades. This is true on both my HD and my BMW GS (seems worse on the latter). Wondering if any other riders can suggest any particular exercises/strength training that targets this area. It's not debilitating, but it gets pretty close at times (makes me have to stop and rest much more often than I'd otherwise need to). Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

BigRic
 

Shawn K

Professional Cat Confuser
Premier Member
#2
I used to have the same problems on my ST1300. Turns out that the bars were too far forward. When I got my bars closer to me, I wasn't so stretched out and the neck and shoulder pain lessened.

On a side note, a lot of my neck pain is due to an underlying issue and lessened when I went to a much lighter helmet. I used to wear an HJC Sy-Max 2 modular, but after I was hit by a semi in 2012 I sustained neck damage that made the Sy-Max unbearably heavy. I switched to an AGV Sportmodular, which is over a full pound lighter, and that helped immensely, too.

As for tightness, I found that neck mobility exercises like this one are something that I can do while riding, which help a good deal. Additionally, when I'm on roads with little traffic around I'll reach back with one hand, grab a passenger grab rail, and rotate my torso while keeping that arm behind me. Repeat on the other side. Then, I'll hold on to both bars while forcing my torso back (like I'm trying to scooch onto the passenger seat) to stretch my shoulders even further than my normal riding position.

As funny as it may sound, I've taken a few ideas from a YouTube channel called "Mother Trucker Yoga". I work in the trucking industry, and met Hope and her team at a truck show in Louisville earlier in the year. We talked quite a bit about the pains I experience while riding long distances (one of Hope's instructors is a rider as well), and she showed me some ways to adapt some of her exercises for bike use. The cleverness behind MTY is in using the vehicle and nearby equipment as a way to create stretching and flexibility exercises. You can adapt a lot of her trucking yoga ideas into things you can do while riding. For example, my Gold Wing offers me a lot of real estate to do things like use the passenger seat to help roll out my lower back, use the passenger rails like I described earlier, use highway pegs and gas pump curbs to do calf stretches, etc.

In my experience, soreness is often a sign that the bike ergonomics aren't optimized for your physique, but there's no escaping that fact that stationary position LD riding brings on its own challenges.
 

igneouss

Premier Member
#3
I solved these issues with tinkering. Can you change the seat height? Lower pegs? Adjust the bars? Some pads (air hawk etc) cause you to sit a bit more forward etc. Is a backrest a possibility? Every bike I have used for LD has had some sort of 'bar back/riser' modification. For me there is no simple solution but trying the various options/combinations has always done the trick.
 

Stephen!

Flivver Flyer
Premier Member
IBA Member
IBR Finisher
#4
Keep moving. Use the slipstream as a resistance for isometric exercises. Move your arms and legs through their entire range of motion against the wind. Best done in more isolated areas away from traffic. You would not want someone to misinterpret your exercise routine for some kind of an attempt at communication.
 

MidTNJasonF

Premier Member
#5
I had ergonomics issues on my first long multiday ride on my R1200GS. Mine manifested as upper arm and shoulder pain. It was primarily in my right arm as it has less opportunity for movement and flexing. I could let go of my left grip and stretch that left arm out but could only stretch the right when stopped.

Turned out it was mostly the reach of the bars with the upright riding position of the GS. The stock position, even with the previous owner installed 1” riser, was just too far forward for me. I went to a pivoting riser that kept the 1” – 1 ¼” rise but also allowed a rearward offset of about 1” – 1 ½”. I also added a friction throttle lock/cruise control device to allow me to flex and stretch that right arm occasionally on a straight open stretch of road.

This seemed to alleviate 90% of my arm pain issues. Just did 1126 miles on Veterans Day last week and had no issues with arm pain or stiffness. I was noticeably more comfortable on the bike.

I suspect both your GS and your HD despite their very different seating positions have a long and possibly wide reach to the bars/grips. I was coming off a sport touring bike with a much more forward aggressive riding position, clip ons, and narrow grip distance. My elbows stayed bent and much closer to the tank on that bike in comparison to the GS.
 

Dave28117

Premier Member
#6
it sounds to me like it could be due to using arms to hold you in position either due to the cruiser lean-back position or the GS wind-resistance position. I alleviated a lot by using a backrest. a neutral seating/arm position is also helpful and keeping wind away. I ended up with a Goldwing which has better posture (for me), and exceptional wind protection. I understand that option may not work for your riding style though.
 

Auburn

Premier Member
#7
check out Helibars they offer many options for BMW. I did the seat with backrest (Russell Day Long) and helibars for the goldwing. They eliminated all pain in my shoulders, neck and lower back.
 

HACKLE

Well-Known Member
#8
BigRic, you don't mention whether or not you wear a back drinking bladder [Camelback]. I only use one on shorter rides up to maybe 500 kilometres. On anything longer I use a 2.5 litre drink jug attached to the right pillion peg with a drink hose going up to the tank bag.
I find a back drinking bladder puts undo strain on my shoulders and neck muscles. I don't need the extra weight across the upper back. This may help you, hopefully you get to the bottom of your problem.
I ride a 2016 Triumph Trophy 1215 SE and have fitted bar risers and have raised the saddle higher than the highest setting with rubber blocks at the rear of the saddle locating position. Cheers.
 

Avi Azrieli

Premier Member
#9
The pain you describe is likely caused by clenching the handgrips too tightly for too long. Keep your hands open and relaxed by resting your fingers on the brake&clutch levers and using cruise control as often as possible. And, by all means, also follow the advice above about optimizing ergonomics and stretching.
 

Rusjel

Premier Member
#10
I see the responses have covered all the main points, I just want to emphasise the posts endorsing moving and stretching on the bike. I started doing IBA length rides on sportsbikes. Of course the discomfort comes earlier on those and you are more actively engaged with stretching and keeping yourself supple. Then when I graduated to more touring style bikes I didn’t pay enough attention to my body because I was initially more comfortable. The result was I’d finish with knots in my shoulders that would take days to ease.

for example, the first time I did a 1000 mile day on my Goldwing I neglected my stretching exercises and suffered for days afterwards. I only made that mistake once! It’s really important to stretch even if you are not feeling discomfort. I do a full range of motion with my arms and shoulders every30 minutes or so.
 

Jim Craig

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#11
I used to get terribly sore between my shoulder blades at the base of my neck on longer, especially multi-day, rides. I didn't change a thing about my bike and I already wear a lightweight Klim carbon fiber helmet. About six months ago I started focusing on core strengthening exercises (sit-ups, crunches, leg lifts) and push ups as part of my twice a week strength training sessions. When I do a push up, I focus on the area between my shoulder blades. On my more recent multi-day rides (Junior Butt, SS2000) I didn't have any pain (at least not in my neck or upper back). My theory is that the soreness in my upper back was caused by the constant impacts of expansion joints and the like that seemed to go right up my spine (I ride a GSA). A stronger core and upper back meant that I was better able to support myself which eliminated the pain.
 

Sportsterpaul

Well-Known Member
#12
Much good info in the above. And I second that handlebar size and shape can play a major role. Narrow bars don’t work for me, bar width close to my shoulder width seem to work best. Additionally, smooth grips had me squeezing harder and it hurt through the shoulders and back of the neck. Switching to a heavier ribbed handgrips allowed me to reduce my grip pressure and add many more miles of comfortable running. Keep it safe out there!
 

igneouss

Premier Member
#13
With respect to this comment: I have added Grip Puppies (or similar) to just about every motorcycle I have ever owned. Cheap and simple.

Much good info in the above. And I second that handlebar size and shape can play a major role. Narrow bars don’t work for me, bar width close to my shoulder width seem to work best. Additionally, smooth grips had me squeezing harder and it hurt through the shoulders and back of the neck. Switching to a heavier ribbed handgrips allowed me to reduce my grip pressure and add many more miles of comfortable running. Keep it safe out there!
 

R3Tex

Premier Member
#14
As previously stated...keep tinkering. I've changed riser height, bar pull back, added grip puppies, a back rest and an RDL seat. My ride is now the most comfortable place on the planet for me. I do however notice that when I've been off the bike for a while I get a little stiff through the shoulders. I attribute this to tension. Once I relax and just ride the bike everything goes back to comfortable. It usually takes several days of back to back miles to get comfortable again...at least as far as my wife knows anyway :cool::cool::cool:
 

HDConvert

Premier Member
#16
Wondering if any other riders can suggest any particular exercises/strength training that targets this area. BigRic
I had very similar issues and it took a while to figure it out. For me: first thing was to move the bars up and back towards me in my comfortable riding position. Next, and probably most important: RELAX! I still find myself in a bad habit... riding 'tense' in the shoulders. An ever so slight tense position where you'll activate the shoulders/traps. Over time, they simply get sore... dam sore!