Ball ache: from lycra?

jonny_trousers

I posted something along these lines a while at Commuting Chat, but didn't really find anyone who had been through anything similar. The long and the short of it is, I've been suffering from dull shooting pains from my balls going up into my adbdomen for several weeks now. I have been to the GP and thankfully the most sinister options have been ruled out, and I have an ultrasound scan scheduled to look for swelling/herniation. I do have this incling, however, that it may stem from having my plums lifted and squished when wearing my bib tights (cheapy DHBs) and wondered if anyone else has come across this? I've been a bit silly by sitting in my tights when I get to work for about twenty minutes or so before I change out of them, but that will change.

I've also had a tense lower back for the last few weeks while getting used to the new frame, and I have suffered referred ball ache from back pain in the past, but this sensation is different.

Anyhow, any advice would be welcomed.

slowondefy2

I've definitely had this from tight Lycra, but not for so long as you! I've only had the odd night being kept awake, that's all.

I don't see how sitting in your shorts for 20 minutes should make a massive difference - if you have the right shorts you should be able to be in them all day. Personally I'm really struggling to find bibs to fit - because I'm a bit over-weight (and broad shouldered anyway) bibs that fit my top half are far too big around the legs, and bibs that fit my legs are far too tight on top (which has the effect of pulling the plums up too much). So for now I'm stuck with normal shorts.

Do your bibs give you a 'moose knuckle'? I think that can be a sign they're too tight over the shoulders and are pulling the plums up too much.

giropaul

Are you wearing cycling shorts and then the bib tights on top - or just bib tights?

Most people I know (myself included) use bib tights over proper chamois padded shorts. Tights on their own, in my and others' experience, don't hold everything in place correctly.

jonny_trousers

slowondefy2 wrote:

I've definitely had this from tight Lycra, but not for so long as you! I've only had the odd night being kept awake, that's all.

I don't see how sitting in your shorts for 20 minutes should make a massive difference - if you have the right shorts you should be able to be in them all day.

I'm not really disturbed during the night; just the odd shooting pain here and there across the day.

The twenty minutes thing is more me sat in a regular chair in padded bibs (try it, it's not the same as when in the saddle).

Do your bibs give you a 'moose knuckle'? I think that can be a sign they're too tight over the shoulders and are pulling the plums up too much.

No moosage to speak of, but there is an element of me having to hitch the old fellas up in order to get comfortable.

giropaul wrote:

Are you wearing cycling shorts and then the bib tights on top - or just bib tights?

Most people I know (myself included) use bib tights over proper chamois padded shorts. Tights on their own, in my and others' experience, don't hold everything in place correctly.

Just padded bib tights. I can't imagine adding any more to the equation as that will only squish things up further.

I've never owned top quality shorts/tights (have just ordered some) so am not sure what kind of support one can hope for, but there's definite, unnatural squishing going on at present.

Thanks guys.

secretsqizz

I've had balls the size of melons for years, never done me any harm

Rigged

Could be pressure from the saddle on your gooch (the bit between sack and a-hole) messing with the nerves in that area. Could you perhaps try a saddle that is more forgiving in this area, perhaps one with a cut out section similar to this http://www.wiggle.co.uk/selle-italia-c2-gel-flow-black-saddle/ (no idea about that saddle in particular but that type of style)?

jonny_trousers

Rigged wrote:

Could be pressure from the saddle on your gooch (the bit between sack and a-hole) messing with the nerves in that area. Could you perhaps try a saddle that is more forgiving in this area, perhaps one with a cut out section similar to this http://www.wiggle.co.uk/selle-italia-c2-gel-flow-black-saddle/ (no idea about that saddle in particular but that type of style)?

I guess saddle issue could have started it. When the discomfort began I was riding my single speed a lot, which has a nice, soft saddle, but it's got no cut-out and is rather bouncy at speed (bouncing on your plums can't be ideal). My road bike has a 2010 Specialized Romin SL on it, which has a nice, big cut out, but quite a long nose (see below).

Thanks for the thoughts

alwaystoohot

Have you had a proper bike fitting?

Is your seat angle right?

Do you lift up your tackle out of the way of the seat? Do you use Assos cream?

At the end of teh day its either a bike/seat issue or your balls aren't normal.

If all else fails, sling them over your shoulders.

desweller

Get thee to a bike fitter post haste. As Mr Timmis said to me, it's not the saddle, it's the position. He then proceeded to turn my bike from a 1-day-ride-results-in-sore-back-and-arse into a 4-day-ride-250-miles-with-no-discomfort affair. All in the space of ~2 hours.

jonny_trousers

Alwaystoohot wrote:

Have you had a proper bike fitting?

No.

Is your seat angle right?

I vary it, but like I say, I'm convinced this issue has nothing to do with my saddle.

Do you lift up your tackle out of the way of the seat?

Yes.

Do you use Assos cream?

I actually do, but not on my balls and I was never complaining about skin irritation anyway.

At the end of teh day its either a bike/seat issue or your balls aren't normal.

And you say this why? My balls aren't normal; I'm suffering pain in them. That's why I began this thread: in the hope that someone might have suffered something similar before finding a solution to it.

If all else fails, sling them over your shoulders.

Excellent.

jonny_trousers

DesWeller wrote:

Get thee to a bike fitter post haste. As Mr Timmis said to me, it's not the saddle, it's the position. He then proceeded to turn my bike from a 1-day-ride-results-in-sore-back-and-arse into a 4-day-ride-250-miles-with-no-discomfort affair. All in the space of ~2 hours.

Yeah, good advice. I've finally got my bike set up the way I want it so it makes perfect sense to have it fine tuned properly.

Cheers

timrichardson

Hi. I have had exactly the same problem in the past. I had some gore power bib shorts which I always found quite tight, pulling my undercarriage up really tight! I did the action medical York 100 last August and felt really uncomfortable throughout the ride. The pain lasted for weeks, I sorted a bike fit and they moved my saddle angle up so I sit further back and those bib shorts will never be used again, I just have normal shorts now. Turns out there was no damage as we conceived our daughter the day after the ride, she is due in 4 weeks!

jonny_trousers

timrichardson wrote:

Hi. I have had exactly the same problem in the past. I had some gore power bib shorts which I always found quite tight, pulling my undercarriage up really tight! I did the action medical York 100 last August and felt really uncomfortable throughout the ride. The pain lasted for weeks, I sorted a bike fit and they moved my saddle angle up so I sit further back and those bib shorts will never be used again, I just have normal shorts now. Turns out there was no damage as we conceived our daughter the day after the ride, she is due in 4 weeks!

Massive congratulations and thank you for sharing your experience. A bike fit is definitely now on the agenda.

timrichardson

Ha ha thank you, I was getting quite worried about the pain but finally eased off after a couple of weeks. Good luck getting it sorted.