Shoulder tendonitis and aerobars

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liam7020
Posts: 1263
Joined: Tue Jul 27, 2010 10:04 am

by liam7020

After a year of home-working I've managed to develop shoulder tendonitis/impingement just as our TT season is about to kick off. I had a session of physio today but it's still bloody sore and at present my limit on the aerobars is about 15 minutes which ain't much use at all. Well unless I was super fast and I could bite the bullet for another 3 minutes or so but unfortunately....

Anyhow I just wondering if any of the wise heads on the forum have any suggestions for working round this shoulder problem when on the aerobars. Cheers.
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LouisN
Posts: 3510
Joined: Mon Feb 19, 2007 3:44 am
Location: Canada

by LouisN

I'll tell my experience.
I have had chronic shoulder pain the last few decades from my work (hotel chef), but also from different factors (posture, instability, previous history).
I tried some TT workouts last month but discovered I couldn't stand the posture for more than a few minutes.
I have to do lots of physio work, mainly to strenghen the serrated muscle to maintain the shoulder blade in place, and the shoulder "centered".
Physio for me is a long and endless process. I have to constantly work on my weaknesses (3-5/week session +) to avoid pain in some areas, and have the body work properly.
I also had difficulty to maintain the left soulder in place, it "popped up" and I had associated neck pain.
I discovered last monday from a visit to the ostheopath that my head was off-center, from a previous blow or whiplash. That condition led to the muscles not working the way they should, my left first rib was pulled up from that condition, spasmed almost all the time, pulling up on the shoulder, plus some spasmed neck and back muscles, opposed ones over stretched.
A few adjustments later, my head movements feel so much more natural and complete now, no more tensions !
I still have to do some physio to strenghen the weak areas, now will have to rest the spasmed muscles for a few days before starting the intensity again.
I will do some TT later on this summer, only short ones as this is not my favourite event.

Depending on your condition, physical limiting factors might be important to look for at the detriment of optimal aero (but painful) position.

Louis

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liam7020
Posts: 1263
Joined: Tue Jul 27, 2010 10:04 am

by liam7020

Thanks for your help on this one Louis, much appreciated. I'm have quite wide shoulders and even before the shoulder injury I struggled to get comfortable of the aerobars possibly due to years of weight training that has given me some level of upper body strength but perhaps a lack of flexibility. I've been working to improve my range of shoulder movement and have also made up my own one piece armrest which is a bit wider than might be optimal for CDA but hopefully will allow me to get a bit more comfortable on the aerobars.

Hopefully get a chance to test this DIY armrest next week and will report back. Thanks again.
Tarmac SL6 & Campag Record EPS https://weightweenies.starbike.com/foru ... 0&t=153968

"Sometimes you don't need a plan. You just need big balls." Tom Boonen

Andrew69
Posts: 593
Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2009 10:52 am
Location: ɹǝpunuʍop

by Andrew69

liam7020 wrote:
Sat May 22, 2021 8:44 am
Thanks for your help on this one Louis, much appreciated. I'm have quite wide shoulders and even before the shoulder injury I struggled to get comfortable of the aerobars possibly due to years of weight training that has given me some level of upper body strength but perhaps a lack of flexibility. I've been working to improve my range of shoulder movement and have also made up my own one piece armrest which is a bit wider than might be optimal for CDA but hopefully will allow me to get a bit more comfortable on the aerobars.

Hopefully get a chance to test this DIY armrest next week and will report back. Thanks again.
Ive had the same issues for years, along with much of the same causes (weight lifting), but also due to injury (weights) and over use (work)
One stretch/exercise that made a big difference in increasing range of meovement very quickly is wall angels

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UU4VvklQ44

The other strengthening exercise I found helpful is partial pushup, the correct name of which currently escapes me, but basically it is a partial pushup where you keep your arms straight and do not bend them at all, drop your chest towards the floor as far as possible, then push up back to a neutral position, and repeat

Those two moves allowed me to go from elbows wider then hips to basically elbows touching with no pain, and Im no lightweight with no chest or shoulders (chest measurement of 44 inches, shoulders 50 inches. so damn wide for someone who rides a bike!)

sigma
Posts: 694
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2018 4:12 am

by sigma

Andrew69 wrote:
Mon May 24, 2021 7:56 am
liam7020 wrote:
Sat May 22, 2021 8:44 am
Thanks for your help on this one Louis, much appreciated. I'm have quite wide shoulders and even before the shoulder injury I struggled to get comfortable of the aerobars possibly due to years of weight training that has given me some level of upper body strength but perhaps a lack of flexibility. I've been working to improve my range of shoulder movement and have also made up my own one piece armrest which is a bit wider than might be optimal for CDA but hopefully will allow me to get a bit more comfortable on the aerobars.

Hopefully get a chance to test this DIY armrest next week and will report back. Thanks again.
Ive had the same issues for years, along with much of the same causes (weight lifting), but also due to injury (weights) and over use (work)
One stretch/exercise that made a big difference in increasing range of meovement very quickly is wall angels

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UU4VvklQ44

The other strengthening exercise I found helpful is partial pushup, the correct name of which currently escapes me, but basically it is a partial pushup where you keep your arms straight and do not bend them at all, drop your chest towards the floor as far as possible, then push up back to a neutral position, and repeat

Those two moves allowed me to go from elbows wider then hips to basically elbows touching with no pain, and Im no lightweight with no chest or shoulders (chest measurement of 44 inches, shoulders 50 inches. so damn wide for someone who rides a bike!)
+1
I have similar measurements in chest and a little less in shoulders. Lifted a lot of weights and had some bad shoulder issues due to tightening in the bicep tendon. I would recommend something like this as part of a daily activation routine plus exercises like wall angels etc...:

https://crossoversymmetry.com/

cheap, convenient to set up, and all you need it ten minutes a day to see some big improvements. Many of the serious lifters i know use this to maintain shoulder health and mobility. I have no affiliation other than being a user for close to ten years now.
Lots of bikes: currently riding Enve Melee, Krypton Pro, S Works Crux, S Works Epic Evo, SL7.
In build: SW SL8

liam7020
Posts: 1263
Joined: Tue Jul 27, 2010 10:04 am

by liam7020

Thanks for the input guys, it's much appreciated. I've just tried the walls angels and my shoulder mobility is so woeful I've couldn't even manage to get into the basic starting position... so I guess I've a lot of work to do! I rigged up a wider one piece armrest for the aerobars but it hasn't really helped the tendonitis and it looks a tad silly. Back to the stretching then.
Tarmac SL6 & Campag Record EPS https://weightweenies.starbike.com/foru ... 0&t=153968

"Sometimes you don't need a plan. You just need big balls." Tom Boonen

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

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