Cervical Spine / Ligament Issue
 

I went to a chiropractor 5 or so years ago and after X-rays and discussion learned I had an unnatural curve in my cervical spine (leads to inflamed ligaments around the spine from a number of activities, including head tilting forward, use of arms; cycling not good for it). This was caused years of being hunched over a computer, cycling, generally poor posture, weak core.

Since then I’ve had 3-4 bike fits done (experienced and well regarded fitters, costs as much as $300/fit), chiropractic treatments (early on), ongoing massages by a PT, self massage and stretching routines (daily), sit/stand desk at work, core strength exercise, more attentive to good posture. Years of this and it’s really only 20-30% better. I still get sore after riding for an hour, almost every time.

Has anyone had this specific issue and have you improved 80+%, and if so what did you do that I haven’t already tried?

Evidently not. Of course many of us have had sore necks. The usual cure for a sore neck on the bike is here: https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycl...discovery.html
Use a mirror.

Another thing that's very effective is exercise: side dumbbell raises, front dumbbell raises, rear dumbbell raises, seated dumbbell presses. Superset them using the same weight for 3 sets of 12. One can also rig a head harness and do bent-over head raises.

Another thing is Alexander Technique (google). It works. Way too many people one sees walking around with their heads shoved forward and necks s-shaped. That gets worse and worse with age, but it's unnecessary and fixable. One can retrain to walk around upright, shoulders back, neck straight.

One thing I've learned over the years is not to see chiropractors, and not accept even an MD's advice that some issue is not reversible.

Thanks Carbonfiberboy Ill check this out.

cervical lordosis can be caused by many factors.

I have cervical spine issues including a less than ideal alignment of the vertebra.

You do not give sufficient information to offer any assistance to be honest and a simple x-ray by a Chiro isn't much of a diagnosis.

I went from not being able to get off the couch to a recumbent for 4 or so years to being able to ride a "normal" bike. I did all sorts of treatments and even was scheduled for surgery in Barcelona right when Covid was introduced. Ultimately, periodically ablating the nerves with RF energy and interlaminar injections of steroids have helped 6-70%.

You need an MRI read by both a good Radiologist and a Neurologist. I have a Chiro, a very good one. He isn't the guy to make this call in my opinion

I tried this on today’s ride (tilting the pelvis down slightly) and it felt good. Just a 25k ride but it was almost no impact on the neck/shoulders. And less pressure on the sit bones

I have exactly the same issues. My neck has a high curvature causing me a whole lot of pain and problems. Besides getting a bicycle that covers my size best and fitting it to me, I regularly work out my hands, my neck and my back. At the beginning it was something very easy until the muscles got some tone and progressively to a bit more intensive stuff to make these muscles even stronger.
Before that, the pain (especially feeling stabbed alike on the upper right side of my back) was unbearable all the way from my neck to my upper back and my hands. Now I have sometimes pain here and there, but it is quite manageable and occasionally gets a bit high (but bearable) once I forget that the damn thing is still there.
Now, I can hike for 10Km or ride for 60Km before any pain starts to stir up on my back. On my arms and hands I no longer fell any pain but just some numbness occasionally when I forget to switch the position of my hands on the handlebar.