Cycling syndrome ??

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G6612
Posts: 279
Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2010 4:20 pm
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

by G6612

I have been having issues for the last two years and my issue is a burning sensation thru my perennial which thru some research it looks like I have Cycling Syndrome (pudendal neuralgia). I have been to several Urologists and originally believed that it was Prostatitis which all my test have came back fine. It appears that I was diagnosed incorrectly and telling me I had nothing wrong and that I was fine was wrong. So I am currently going thru some PT for this issue and I have not been on my bike since September 2014. I am reaching out to anyone who may have had this issue and has recovered and what they have done to be cured and what they did to avoid this issue. I would hate to have to give up cycling but that may be the route I will need to take to get past this. I would appreciate any thoughts on my situation.

Thank you.
Last edited by Frankie - B on Sat Apr 11, 2015 8:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: edited to remove the screaming from the title. moved to chat.

by Weenie


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Craigagogo
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Joined: Sun Jul 18, 2004 1:10 pm
Location: Ontario, Canada

by Craigagogo

I have a friend who suffers from PNE - pudendal nerve entrapment and she had to give up cycling.

The condition is difficult to diagnose.

Even sitting in normal chairs exacerbates. I have read that people with PNE will not sit at all during the day so as to not exacerbate.

She limits her sitting to a minimum (driving and @ at office in meetings are exceptions ect.) and has taken to other non-sitting sports like SUP, swimming and running so she is still enjoying vigorous activities.

Over time her symptoms have lessened but I doubt she will ever ride again as her condition is still active (going on 6 years now) and will flare up with unwise type activities. BTW she takes some drugs to help the condition but I can't recall what they are.

Try PT in the hope you can reshape your body to relieve pressure on the pudendal nerve. I remember that surgery success rate is not great and post-op you can still have the condition.

I believe there are forums for this condition - just search them out.

Sorry to be bearer of bad news.
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liam7020
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Joined: Tue Jul 27, 2010 10:04 am

by liam7020

I would suffer similar problems sporadically and find that daily stretching of the hip flexor and glute muscles does help. That and trying to minimize the length of time spent sitting if possible. A friend of a friend suffers severe problems with nerve entrapment and attends a specialist PT who conducts internal rectal masssage. It does sound excruciating but the guy in question is quite adamant that this technique just about relieves the symptoms enough to allow him to ride the bike.
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tinozee
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Joined: Wed Jun 01, 2011 7:53 am

by tinozee

No idea about that specific condition, but don't give up hope. Definitely get multiple professional opinions, and try to find a certified PT who deals with sports medicine. They can help you balance your core strength and posture. I had been told to stop biking for a herniated disc from oly lifting, and was able to rebuild my core to be stronger and more flexible than ever. It takes a lot of work and time to do PT successfully, but it's worth it.

Also, not sure if one of the thick padded, cut-out saddles like ISM century would help? I think the cut out is supposed to relieve pressure from that nerve. It would be ideal to find a PT willing to explore all the equipment options. I find that a lot of doc offices are meat markets and won't spend the time to listen or provide real solutions. They may suggest "stop cycling" based on studies from a decade ago, unaware that new equipment exists.

Squint
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by Squint

Are you doing much indoor riding?

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G6612
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Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2010 4:20 pm
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

by G6612

At this time I am not on the bike at all. In past years I would ride my indoor trainer thru the winter. December thru February.

TheKaiser
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Joined: Thu Sep 05, 2013 3:29 pm

by TheKaiser

G6612 wrote:I have been having issues for the last two years and my issue is a burning sensation thru my perennial which thru some research it looks like I have Cycling Syndrome (pudendal neuralgia). I have been to several Urologists and originally believed that it was Prostatitis which all my test have came back fine. It appears that I was diagnosed incorrectly and telling me I had nothing wrong and that I was fine was wrong. So I am currently going thru some PT for this issue and I have not been on my bike since September 2014. I am reaching out to anyone who may have had this issue and has recovered and what they have done to be cured and what they did to avoid this issue. I would hate to have to give up cycling but that may be the route I will need to take to get past this. I would appreciate any thoughts on my situation.

Thank you.


G6612, so sorry to hear about your problems man! I wish I had something helpful to offer, but don't have much experience in this realm.

If you wouldn't mind though, could you tell us about your past "relationship" with your saddle, so we can all be better informed?

For example, prior to this burning sensation and diagnosis, did you suffer from any of the classic less severe saddle comfort problems like "sleepy peepee (numbness)", pressure points, etc...?

Also, what saddle were you using?
I am curious if this happened in spite of a saddle with well designed center relief channel.

Thank you, and I really hope that a solution can be found for your situation!

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G6612
Posts: 279
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Location: Pittsburgh, PA

by G6612

I can give you my history, I have been a cyclist all my life childhood into adulthood I am now 44 years old. My problem started a little over 2 years ago with no sign prior never really had any numbness of the "junk" but once in a blue moon would get some discomfort. At that time I thought I was being preventative and went over to a Specialized Toupe saddle and that is when my problem started so going to several urologists and thinking this was my prostate and it turns out my prostate is fine. Thru this entire process I was asking if this could be from cycling and the response I received was no and I could continue to ride. So I did and thinking it was from cycling I did change my saddle over to a Selle Italia superflow 145 and I can tell you I love this saddle and I am very comfortable on it. Now my thought process is that I never really gave any time for this issue to heal so I am thinking switching saddles really didn't matter at this point as it would still bother me. I actually felt great while cycling it was just afterwards and now it is always there to some degree. I am doing PT and staying off the bike and now doing stretches and just for the record I never stretched or anything before or after riding which I am now learning could be adding to my problem. I have my plan of attack on this, I am doing PT I am going to get a professional fit on the bike and I invested in a pair of Assos bibs that appear to have some nice padding (more dense then previous shorts I have used). I am hoping all this will allow me to get back on the bike and continue what I enjoy. If not looks like I will have a lot of nice things to put up for sale on *bay!

motorthings
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Joined: Mon Nov 17, 2008 9:56 pm

by motorthings

sorry to hear about this...i ran across this syndrome when I was diagnosed with a nerve entrapment issue related to the piriformis or obdurator internus (pain is right around the ischial tuberosity, and i had to take a year off cycling as they figured it out).

interim solution for me has been neurontin, which helps decrease the nerve pain. huge difference, and i can ride again, but still working to solve the root issue.

anyway, have they tried anything like neurontin for you? even a very low dose did magic for me.

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G6612
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Location: Pittsburgh, PA

by G6612

I have not tried any medication at this time, I was a PT this morning and they mentioned it and are going to look into possibly getting something prescribed. I appreciate the input and will ask them about that medication.

TheKaiser
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by TheKaiser

I was just doing a bit of reading on this condition, trying to be better informed etc... and came across this illustration in the Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pudendal_n ... _nerve.svg

The thing I found myself pondering is, the illustration suggest the Pudendal nerve is located more posteriorly than I would have expected. It almost looks like it would be out of the direct line of fire for saddle pressure when in a more forward rotated road riding type position, whereas the perineal nerve is the obvious candidate for damage from riding. I know that Motorthings mentioned a few posts ago about having a piriformis issue which entrapped a nerve, so I wonder if this pudendal nerve entrapment is from direct saddle pressure from weight bearing, or is it from some sort of pressure from the tension created by riding on surrounding muscle groups. If it is the former, then it almost looks like lower/more forward pelvic rotation would be better for this condition, which is kind of counter-intuitive, but if it is from the latter, then that could make the condition worse if it loads those pelvic muscles more.

Anyone have any info on that topic, or thoughts on the matter?

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PSM
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Location: Stockholm, The Arctic...

by PSM

I was diagnosed with prostatitis just over a year ago. I am 46 years old and have had problems with pain in the groin and lower back for several years. Mostly in the winter when it is cold. I did not know what this was unil a year ago...

I have a problem when it is cold or draughty. I replaced all my saddles from Arione to Selle Italia Superflow and it has gotten better.
Double bibs when below zero. Sitting on a cold saddle is NOT good...

I stretch the inside of the thighs and buttocks. It helps. I think I have some kind of chronic variant.

It will be beter when temperature is getting hotter and when I'm on Mallorca and cycling in dissapears.

Prostatitis is a condition that mainly exist in countries with cold winters.

Some guys have SEVERE problems with prostatitis. They can't have sex or can't pee because the have extremely painful burning feeling... I hope I will never get there. :noidea: :|

by Weenie


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PSM
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by PSM

Juanmoretime wrote:I have nothing to contribute to your issue but agree possibly changing saddles and the position on the bike at worse could do nothing and at best give you relief to ride.


Unfortunately not. Comes with age... And it is not good for anyone to sit on a bike saddle too much.

I don't know if this is an issue for older bikers in the pro peleton?

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