I have no idea if they are the normal solution, but the LBS and I decided that I'm having them because my arms are almost always extended so the road bumps get absorbed by my wrists. The bar ends will allow a different hand position and it also allows me to bend my elbows, so not as much strain is being put on my wrist.
I found this picture on Google:
The bar ends are the little things on the end of the handlebars that make it look like bull's horns.
Front shocks would probably help a lot, but I wanted to stay away from them because I know that on my old bike with front shocks, a lot of energy was being wasted compressing the shocks.