Bike setup causing headaches?

[Andrew_P]

I'm absolutely not an expert on sports meds. but my guess is that it could be your neck/head position on the bike.

Best wishes anyway.

I was suffering really badly with headaches when I switched to a road bike, I put it down to the new bike. Ended up at a Chriopractor if you beleive the mumbo jumbo a problem my left shoulder had caused my neck muscle to shrink (tighten) and caused neckache that was reffering to my forehead.

To be fair, I could feel the main neck muscle on my left all bunched up and tense on the left right at the top and to be fair after a few visits the bike was reallly comfortable and no more head and neck aches. Was releived of quite a few quid as well but it worked for me.

 

[lulubel]

I think you are overdoing it on the hydration and may be getting water intoxication. The symptoms would match and you need to be very careful. Its a well recognised problem in marathon runners who drink too much water and can be fatal. I would stay well away from 5 litres plus all the extras over that sort of distance and time unless it is really hot and you are sweating a lot. A couple of litres max. (including post ride extras)

It's definitely not water intoxication. Living in a hot country, I'm very familiar with the dangers of overhydration, and the early signs of it (which are quite different to what I experienced on Sunday) can be easily resolved by eating a handful of salty crisps. That's why a lot of people in Spain carry a 5 litre bottle of water and a big bag of salted crisps in the car in case of a breakdown in the heat.

 

[lulubel]

I was suffering really badly with headaches when I switched to a road bike, I put it down to the new bike. Ended up at a Chriopractor if you beleive the mumbo jumbo a problem my left shoulder had caused my neck muscle to shrink (tighten) and caused neckache that was reffering to my forehead.

I've seen a few chiropractors over the years, and I've generally been very impressed. My next step, if the changes I've already thought of don't solve it, will be to get my upper back/neck checked out.

 

[lulubel]

Edit: this post was made before I read lulubel's last post. I'm interested in the outcome of the chocolate milk experiment.

I'll definitely keep you updated.

It's interesting to note that the first time it happened, I had chocolate milk straight after my ride, used it to make a "chocolate protein shake" later in the day because I'd forgotten to get the fruit for my usual smoothie, and then had a big piece of chocolate cake the next morning. That was the day I posted about feeling "hungover" (and I've pointed out to my OH before that the symptoms of migraine and hangover feel very similar to me).

I stopped eating chocolate regularly a few years back when I was quite severely overweight. Nowadays, the most chocolate I'd usually have in a day would be a choc chip cookie (plain cookie with a few chocolate bits in) and maybe a small square of dark chocolate after dinner, so it's possible it could have been chocolate overload.

Hopefully, it will turn out to be the chocolate because I really like my new bike setup.

 

[henshaw11]

Recurring muscle spasm in the back of the neck, resulting in tension headaches (first bad one was a month long) means I now ride a recumbent, and the mtb is borderline. Physio slowly reduced the initial problem, and I've now worked out what to massage to reduce it - but it doesn't need a lot to start it off.

If it's the same sort of thing, hopefully a small setup change might sort it.

 

[lulubel]

The latest update on this is that I kept my bike setup the same - although I changed my saddle last week, I was careful to get the height and reach the same - but skipped the chocolate after yesterday's long ride. I had a banana smoothie with some protein powder after my ride instead.

I did get a headache yesterday afternoon, but it was just a straightforward headache, with no migraine symptoms, so I think there's probably more than one thing going on here. I'm definitely going to stay away from the chocolate milk from now on, though, because a headache is hugely preferable to a migraine!

I'll put the bars back where they were originally, and see if that makes a difference to my next long ride.