Fractured Coccyx - can ride?

nicholaskohyimin

Hi all,

My girlfriend injured herself a few months ago, falling on her tailbone resulting in a hairline fracture. Now she cant sit for too long on normal chairs without specialized coccyx suspension cushions or inflatable Orings from the pharmacy.

Has anyone got ideas/suggestions or comments if she can/should get on the bike?
Id love to take her riding but am afraid that the saddle will cause her grief.
Does anyone know if theres a custom saddle out there that fits the bill?

Thanks to all!

Happy riding.

Greetings from singapore.
Nick

clanton

Hi Nick

I have damaged my coccyx in the past (probably just severe bruising rather than a fracture) and can sympathise! I found that on my road bike with the weigth forward posture and a normal saddle I was fine with no pain even just a few weeks after the accident. On the mtb with the more upright posture I battled for 2 months plus. I still find some discomfort when sitting on soft couches for extended periods - 18 months post injury!

My wife's colleague had a coccygeal injury operated on and has had severe problems ever since. Reading up about it it seems surgery is to be avoided in this area at all costs!

Hope she gets better soon.

nicholaskohyimin

hi clanton,

thanks so much for your reply. haha i was confident that someone wouldve had a similar injury to advise me on the matter - not that im glad you hurt yourself but you get what i mean! im totally lost as to how i can get the woman on the bike to ride with me.

i think the girlfriend would be happier with mtb-ing rather than road cos its more engaging in the technical sense. however this would also mean the bumpier ride could spell bad news.
the mtb being more upright is definitely a big issue as it puts more pressure on the tailbone area. i was contemplating letting her ride my rfx with its plush suspension and maybe set the shock to extreme soft to take the sting out of any bumps. but the frame is too slack and she would be very much upright. looks like i might have to shell out to buy a more xc frame, maybe a spesh women's model.

also i was thinking maybe spesh or giant or one of the other big guys might make a special saddle where it relieves pressure on the coccyx area, much like us gents having the hole cut out in the middle to relieve pressure on the man-parts. haha. seen any around? singapore hasnt got enough market to warrant bike shops bringing this stuff in.

wow, 18 months post injury and its still hurting. i wish you a sped-up recovery and can understand the constant irritation of the pain. the girlfriend got fed up 3 months in and wanted surgery but everyone has been advising against it. looks like that was the right course of action.

take care and best regards!

Nick

supersonic

man-parts. haha. seen any around?

I do read things wrong sometimes ;-)

nicholaskohyimin

hahahahhahaha my bad.

the market might sell some second hand. not sure if itll fit though. lol.

turpinr

i landed heavily on my coccyx last april and i still get aches, but it was no worse on the bike than in an ordinary chair.

clanton

Unfortunately the coccyx is not a great area to damage. It doesn't heal well and it is subject to continual ongoing irritation - every time you sit on your ars3! Compared to many out there I got off very lightly indeed. I now only have mild discomfort when I sit on soft chairs (esp couches where you sit back a lot) for a period of time.

For me I think it was the road bike position that was most helpful in getting back on the bike but I do also use the Specialized Body geometry saddles which tend to spread weight to your pin bones (and away from your coccyx) which might be helpful.

There is a website where someone has collated all the various medical and surgical options for managing coccyx damage - including internal manipulation to put it back in place! There are lots of horror stories on that site though so you may actually NOT want to read it!

Good luck!

miss notax

I fractured my coccyx about 3 years ago (falling down the stairs.... :oops: ) and it took quite a long time to recover. I still get problems now, but it's twinges rather than a constant pain. I wasn't cycling much when I did it, but a year later I was absolutely fine on the bike (I didn't try to ride before that).

turpinr

miss notax wrote:

I fractured my coccyx about 3 years ago (falling down the stairs.... :oops: ) and it took quite a long time to recover. I still get problems now, but it's twinges rather than a constant pain. I wasn't cycling much when I did it, but a year later I was absolutely fine on the bike (I didn't try to ride before that).

:oops: sarah 75 you seem to be on the injury lists as often as me.i look at the threads and think "i've had that" i don't know whether its because i'm clumsy or just that at nearly 52, i should be doing something else

miss notax

It's true - I am rather accident prone :oops:

But being a good few years younger than you I am blissfully in denial that I should probably be doing something else!!

turpinr

miss notax wrote:

It's true - I am rather accident prone :oops:

But being a good few years younger than you I am blissfully in denial that I should probably be doing something else!!

my latest was cracking my ribs returning from getting the sunday paper.i couldn't have been doing more than 15mph when my clumsiness and age got the better of me.
30 years ago i would have hit the deck and rolled but this time i missed out the rolling bit

Limburger

Not to bee too gloomy but my mother fractured her coccyx falling while ice skating back in Dickensian times (35 years ago) and still gets pain. Be very careful.