A pain in the arse

JustRidecp

Just been to the docs and he's diagnosed me with ischial tuberosity pain . Obviously as he's a GP, he's got limited experience with these kind of sporting injuries and has prescribed rest from the bike and a self referral form to the physio.

I reckon its come about from doing a short daily commute (3miles each way) over the past 8 weeks or so and not wearing my cycling shorts. Doh!

Has anyone else had any experience with this condition? I'll take a few weeks out of the saddle (going on holiday next week so not too bad) and try again, if it happens again, I guess I'll have to eBay the saddle (toupe) which is a shame cause up until now it was mega comfy!! Was also thinking about getting better shorts - from looking in the lbs, the compound asoss uses for their chamois is far denser than all the others I've tried. Will also get down to the physio and see what they say/exercise recommendations. Any other tips guys?

ut_och_cykla

The diagnosis just means pain in the sit bones as far as I know. This could be caused by 'bruising' or even bursitis - an inflammation of the protective sac around the joint.

A change of saddle and or shorts will usually helps. Padded cycling shorts are padded for a reason! But not all padding is equal; some flattens quickly and doesn't spring back much, gel shifts around sometimes etc.

The way you ride your bike will also make a difference, eg' twiddling' pedals seems to make things worse as although you might be helping your knees etc you are not giving your bum the micro rests it would get from pushing a heavier gear. Your own body weight will also obviuosly contribute to problems, as will wearing a rucksack when cycling
.
With a differnt saddle/shorts & riding style you may well find the inflammation is not too bad and you can carry on cycling but heed your doctor's suggestion to rest the area fora while - at least until you've seen the physio.

I had a blister in the same area once. I cut a padded ring of lint every day and taped the whole area. Good fun in a small tent with a mirror, scissors, tape tec. NOT!! I succeeded in continuing to ride and avoided infection but boythe pain sometimes was er painful!

onbike 1939

Let's face it.
Supporting East Fife is a pain in the arse. :?

eddie_b

I would take a look at Assoss's chamois cream when you do get back on the bike. Seems to make riding much more comfortable for me on my normal 25 mile ride on some very bumpy back roads!

sward29

Could be the saddle itself. I started a thread asking if anyone else had experienced pain in the same area with a Specialized Toupe a week or so ago. Even using Assos shorts and chamois cream it still leaves my arse bones sore for a couple of days after rides of 1 hour plus. I'm going to give it another week and then resign it to Ebay if it doesn't get any better.

Have you had the same experience with previois saddles?

cookiemonster

Hi

I've got my own saddle problems (see the thread over in the techy section on choosing a saddle), and I want to try out some other saddles to see if things improve.

So, if either of you decide to swap out your toupe's then I'm interested (and very happy to avoid fleabay if at all possible...). Also, if you want to try a little used selle ponza k, then a part ex or something might do-able (the selle is thinner but more padded than the toupe)

I'm at hillmccann <at> hotmail <dot> com

cheers

jon

andrew_s

There are 2 basic reasons for saddle pain (ignoring chafing/infection).

a) Bruising to the sit-bones. Caused by a saddle that's harder than you're used to. Eventually you do get used to it and it stops being a problem. Rap a newish Brooks with your knuckles and you'll see that it's possible to get used to just about anything.

b) A saddle that's too soft. The sit-bones just sink in, leaving a large proportion of your weight supported by the surrounding muscles. This squashes the muscles and reduces the blood supply, and if they do more work than the blood supply is is good for, it hurts "like cramp only worse". Google "Recumbent Butt"