Serious sit bone pain - advice please!!!

pedarby

Firstly, I'm new to road riding....I've recently purchased a Cannondale CAA8 with the intention of doing a few commutes to and from work each week (18 miles).

When I was younger I did a fair bit of MTB but until last week hadn't been in the saddle for a good few years.

I know that with these things it is usually good to ease yourself in but long story short because of where I live it's either train all the way to work or ride all the way.

Therefore the first two rides I have done, 7 days apart from one another, were both 18 miles. The last ride was 7 days ago.

I went to get on the bike yesterday but could barely sit on the saddle without excruciating pain in the contact point of what I now know to be my sit bones.

Having done some reading in this forum and other websites I know that this is not unusual, particularly for new riders, so maybe this is simply a case of too much too soon, but I was wondering if anyone has any advice on how to speed up recovery as I am itching to get back on the road but doing so too early might delay full recovery!! Perhaps rest is the only answer?


Any tips or advice gratefully received.

Thanks

Paul

MikeBrew

Obviously, a saddle that is a good fit width-wise is very important. To be honest though, from the amount of riding you've done, the pain is probably just something you have to go through. I've had six months off through injury in the past, and returning to my bike gave the same problems.... Your arse is simply what the Indians in the old wild west would would of called a "tenderfoot"... Possibly a even "paleface" too, but we really don't want to go there do we ...
Buying a saddle from a shop that is set up to measure your sit bones and advise on what is best for you is the only advice I'd give. Probably still going to hurt for a while even with your ideal saddle though.

kajjal

As above get measured for a saddle of correct width and type. There are guides on the web.

Also check your bike setup is OK, if you are not balanced you could have too much weight on the saddle or it may not be in the right position

giropaul

I'm assuming that you are wearing proper cycling shorts ( without underwear). The quality of the shorts is at least as important as the saddle in my experience.
If by any chance you aren't wearing good cycling shorts then the answer to your issue is to immediately get some. If it's cold, wear them under tights.

fudgey

When i first started commuting it took me a good 3 months to break my ar$e in. That was doing 10 miles each way two or three times a week.
I just got on with it even tho it hurt like hell.

I have had a road bike for two years now, i still get uncomfortable after about 30miles and recently developed a sore. Since January i have upped my seat time considerably so that is probably the reason.
40miles today and ill give the bike a miss tomorrow, it hurts!

chrisaonabike

Saddle can make an enormous difference. My stock Giant saddle was ok till I started pushing the distance up beyond about 30 miles. Then I tried a Selle SMP (can't remember which one), and it was like sitting on knives. Then I tried a different Selle SMP and it was great, no pain regardless of the distance.

Neck pain is my problem now, but that's another story...

pedarby

Thanks for the advice guys, all really helpful.

I should have mentioned that I am wearing padded cycling trouser/leggings with padding. They are by Altura and cost £60 odd so hopefully are okay for the job.

Sounds like it will toughen up over time but if it's still giving me grief after a few months I'll look at saddles.

MikeBrew

As mentioned above, a saddle that's too low puts more weight on your a*s, as the legs support your weight for less of the pedal stroke....

kingrollo

try chamios cream - it helps your backside glide around a bit - its only meant for longer rides - but I use it for most rides - it isn't expensive and works for me. !!

singleton

If you do want to try another saddle - take a look at the "saddle swap" thread.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Is the saddle narrower than your sitbones, perhaps? I can just about use a 130mm Specialized Toupe, with a little initial discomfort if I've not used it for a while, but the 140mm that was on my Tricross and the (140?) on my Wazoo are comfy from the off.

philwint

I'd give it a couple of hundred miles before you go looking for a new saddle.

I always find my arse hurts like hell after a layoff. There seems to be a process over a month or so of the nerves de-sensitising. After that is all fine until I have another break

pedarby

Update - rode again on Monday evening home from work (18 miles) and have the pain again but perhaps a little worse.

Without being too graphic I can feel inflammation of the soft tissue between the soft tissue and the pelvic bone. More so on the right hand side.

Having done a shed load of further reading the issue is not with the sit bone - this only be the main contact point and be the load bearing point with the saddle if you were sat truly upright.

When sat in more of a natural road riding position the hips are tilted further forward and the main contact point is the thin pubic rami on either side of the saddle - it is here that I am getting inflammation, where the soft tissue is getting bruised between the saddle and the bone.

I'm not sure if I'm being a hypochondriac but I've now read several articles suggesting that there are nerves and arteries that run along the edge of the pubic rami and that imflammation of these is not a good thing at all.

I'm a bit more worried about getting back on the saddle now!!

fudgey

have you adjusted the saddle at all?
i have quite a painful saddle sore at the mo, on the front left of the sitbone area.
I bought a new bike in January and fitted the saddle off my old bike, but it was only about a week ago that i noticed that the saddle was pointing slightly to the right, not dead ahead. wondering if that is what has caused it.

Anyway, is your saddle level, or nose tilted up or nose tilted down?
it could just be a fit issue if you are also on a 'recent purchase'

kajjal

I had pain in the soft tissue in the middle and towards the sit bones. The cause was a saddle that was too narrow and did not have a big enough cutaway. Can now ride for hours without problems. Measure your sit bones to confirm. I ended up with a specialized avatar saddle in the widest size.

Coppi me

first off, it could be anything so don't just assume saddle issues.....go see a doctor if the pain persists but it could just be the old "getting back in to it" scenario and your sit bones need a bit of time to adjust......I had a similar issue but was passing blood and it was saddle related but still needed a lot of tests at the ozzy to rule things out.....search my name (Coppi me) to see the thread on sore bollox)

in short I bought a Specialized Toupe saddle after having my sit bones measured at Evans cycles, the saddle has a cut out which made a big difference and this also may help you

I'm now on a Rido RLT saddle which raises the perineum from the main part of the saddle

hope you sort things

kingrollo

pedarby wrote:

Update - rode again on Monday evening home from work (18 miles) and have the pain again but perhaps a little worse.

Without being too graphic I can feel inflammation of the soft tissue between the soft tissue and the pelvic bone. More so on the right hand side.

Having done a shed load of further reading the issue is not with the sit bone - this only be the main contact point and be the load bearing point with the saddle if you were sat truly upright.

When sat in more of a natural road riding position the hips are tilted further forward and the main contact point is the thin pubic rami on either side of the saddle - it is here that I am getting inflammation, where the soft tissue is getting bruised between the saddle and the bone.

I'm not sure if I'm being a hypochondriac but I've now read several articles suggesting that there are nerves and arteries that run along the edge of the pubic rami and that imflammation of these is not a good thing at all.

I'm a bit more worried about getting back on the saddle now!!

PM -me

I have had 3 years of ass pain. I researched everything - I did cure it.

Im still convinced you don't have a major problem here. But if you want more info please get in touch.

pedarby

kingrollo wrote:

PM -me

I have had 3 years of ass pain. I researched everything - I did cure it.

Im still convinced you don't have a major problem here. But if you want more info please get in touch.

Will do, thank you.

And thanks to everyone else for the advice.

howiejim

Reading through this thread with all the responses and thought that someone here might have some thoughts on this. I got my first road bike about a year and a half ago and had ridden about 4,400 miles on it without any major problems with my posterior. I had purchased a saddle with a cut-out in it specifically because I had been having problems with my hybrid prior to my road bike - but the saddle has been great for me.

A couple weeks ago I go out for a 70 mile ride and I recall hitting a pot-hole or something and I don't think I was ready for it because it jarred my sit-bone just right. I was in pain a lot of that ride and recall standing out of the saddle a lot in the end to relieve pressure. But pain wasn't substantial enough to stop me from riding again so 2 days later I went out and did 40 miles. I think I recall some pain, but not too bad. Then 2 days after that went out and did 22 miles with some intervals. Pain got worse after each ride and then after that last one, I was in serious pain on my left side. What has happened after that is increased pain each day, extremely tender, swelling and eventually leading to fever, night sweats, chills and so on. I've been missing work and if I sit upright, I need a donut cushion. I mostly just lay on the couch. I called the doctor last Thursday and they should have gotten me in right away, but they said first available is tomorrow. I almost went to the ER over the weekend. I'm going to call the doctor as soon as they open and try to see if they can get me in today. Anyhow, any thoughts on all this from you guys? Makes me think I may have caused some damage to a nerve or blood vessel or something. I do think my fever broke last night though - which is good.

coops1967

pedarby wrote:

Having done a shed load of further reading the issue is not with the sit bone - this only be the main contact point and be the load bearing point with the saddle if you were sat truly upright.

sounds like hopefully you stumbled upon and read this

https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/bi ... bout-smps/

It says 'about smps' but it's useful info - and will help prevent you believing 'measuring sit bone width' is some sort of magic bullet.

The best thing is to find somewhere that has demo saddles or a swap system - you will probably find the shoppes that stock those SMP's tend to have demos ( partly I suspect because the SMP looks errr, odd, shall we say and is not cheap).

Yes, your arse will 'toughen up' a bit - or get used to the pressure... but no way should 18 miles cause that much pain.

I've changed saddles, happily to SMP, but another option is a Brooks Cambium C15 or even C17 - maybe try one with the cutout also.

You'll have to try a few - but it really sounds like you need to change whatever saddle you're using now for sure - when I started cycling again on a road bike I first used the Brooks C17 with a cutout... and without any padded shorts, no chamois etc, at all and didn't have any of the pain you describe.

Jerry185

Loan saddles are one option but you need to have it for some time.
Bontrager had a scheme where your sit bones measures by magic plastic and you were ad a saddle (£80 for me). If you didn't get a result, bring it back for another saddle. And so on. Worked for me straightaway.
Good luck.