Uggh, don't tell me that! I am getting ready for my first one. Can't put it off any longer

 

I keep putting mine off. 23 years now since they 1st told me I needed complete fusion. Neck and lumbar! I'm chicken and force myself to live with the pain. A.S., arthritis, bugging disc's, Peripheral Neuropathy. Tons of fun.

 

if you are over 50 (or even 40) you're at risk for cervical spine arthritis and pinched nerves (radicular pain). see your doctor. take short rides for now.

 

The very adjustable Helibars are certainly expensive, but they allow you to tweak, twiddle and adjust the handlebars while you search for a comfortable position.
Should you chose them, don't be surprised if you find comfort not where you expected it.

The seat and foot positioning also makes a huge difference on comfort and fit. I went through several seats trying to find the right one. In hindsight, I'd have done better to take more and longer rides with the various demo seats on my bike.

 

Unfortunately, there are a lot of variables that could be the cause of your issues. As you can see from reading the above.
Trial and error, and money may be the only way to pin this down.
my first suggestion would be bars and risers. That seems to fix the issue for most people. (myself included)
leaning to far back and having to flex your neck to see level or leaning to far forward and extending your neck to see level, combined with the weight of a helmet will cause issues, until your body adapts or you change the position.
good luck in your search

 

Try to relax your grip and shoulders. Definitely improve your posture. Give that a try. It is free.

 

Riding 240 miles in your mid-50s plus- it happens and comes with the territory don’t let anyone fool you. At 52 I can’t ride like I did at 25.

 

Not the same but , I put off elbow nerve surgery for 15 years wish I would have done sooner.

Wish I would have done on my schedule.

 

. I had no choice in my first surgery had a large bone spur grow into my spinal cord . Right leg went totally numb and my foot turned black was pretty serious. I was 54 then had the second one to put stabilizer rods and plates in . Couple of weeks ago I fell and messed some of the hardware up so more surgery. I've been through it twice and was doing fine until I fell . I can handle the pain it's when my leg goes totally numb have to do something .

 

Oh I hear you, and my fear of being crippled or worse has kept me from my surgeries. They keep telling me I could not have use of my limbs or control of my face, or worse die. I have numbness and tingling, can't walk barefoot, can't stand in one spot for long, and have lots of pain. I'm edging closer to giving in but then again I think I'm 71 years old. Tomorrow as a matter of fact. I've been saying for years "I can ride better than I can walk". But really, how much longer have I got?