Originally Posted by
TTron
Has anyone dealt with sit bone pain as a result of less fat / lost muscle mass in the butt?
I’ve been working through sit bone pain for almost a year due to hamstring tendinopathy (per the MRI). PT, Ice, ibuprofen, active release technique (ART), new seat and bike fits haven’t helped. One orthopedic surgeon recommended staying off the bike! Nope.
I described my situation to a highly recommended sports orthopedic surgeon. In short, He said to EAT more carbs / protein and do butt exercises. Gotta gain weight, normal for my age and current weight. Flat butt!
Needless to say I was floored as I’m only 64 years young and 165 lbs, BUT I’ve lost 15 pounds since retiring 2 years ago, not by design, just don’t stress eat between meetings anymore, no meetings!
Curious if anyone else has dealt with this situation and what they did to get back on the bike?
Thanks!
Yes, quite a 'flatt butt', meaning not much extra fat... When I put on extra weight, which happens easily, it's never in/on the butt...
In your case, you have to deal with an injury situation along with what is really a none-issue (smaller butt).
As @carbonfiberboy noted, you are perched directly on the 'sitzbones'... 'padding' around those bones has a minimal effect on supporting your pressure.
But key is to get a good base/fit for the sitzbones, with as little interference of blood flow in the area.
@carbonfiberboy is spot-on about the lean of your upper body/torso. There's a fine balance between the full weight on the saddle (straight up/down) and transferring some weight to your bent arms (straight arms to the bars is another problem ). The more weight your bent arms, active legs and torso muscle structure can support, the less goes thru the sitzbones.
That aside - but getting the above as optimum as possible is a foundation to cycling - your injury has an effect.
I've also developed some significant left leg issues since a motorcycling injury in July 23... It's manifested itself in so many forms, changes in foot/leg alignment on the pedals (and any leg active thing) induced piriformis syndrome, and recently quite severe Achilles tendonitis...
Having a good fitting saddle has reduced that, to where cycling is about the only activity which can be done close to 'normal' (as compared to the level I can normally muster up).
I can't backpack or do long all0day hikes in the mtns (Sierra & Alps) at this time, until I'm able to find some resolution on these 2 major issues...
...a Good saddle fit, along with real attention to your riding posture and position (a whole other important fact which has numerous post here and around the web) goes a long way to making cycling happen at a comfortable level.
Ride On
Yuri
EDIT: If you feel under your butt, while sitting, you should note that the butt muscles are all to the 'outside' of the sitzbones (there are internal muscles which are not -should not be affected by the saddle pressure to the sitzbones).
So, finding a saddle which supports well and does NOT intrude towards the inside of the bones is key - AND - that saddle should also fall away slightly to the outside, when the sitzbones are properly supported, so that the Gluteus is not constricted by pressure from the saddle/pad - which means too wide a saddle. A saddle which has a sizeable slope downward towards the outside may also cause sideward spread pressure on the sitzbones - uncomfortable over time... - so the match of saddle profile to you behind is a key point to a good saddle 'fit'.