I purchased a recumbent bike hoping I could ride again

[Rbk_3]

I posted last September about my chronic perineum pain that began with intense cycling. I researched recumbent bikes and thought they would work great, all the pressure being on the back and nothing on the soft tissues, however it causes the same symptoms as a regular bike. I just don't get it. I can run, play sports with out flaring it up, but it seems even biking laying on my back causes issues, even though I can lie and recline with out issues off the bike.


Can anyone make sense of this? I can recline and lie down with out pain, and I can even ride the bike with out pain, but then it flairs up badly hours later and lasts for weeks.

[Violet M]

I don't know Rbk,

The seat in the photo doesn't look completely recumbent. It looks like it still puts quite a bit of pressure on the sit bone area. Does it feel like it when you sit on it? Or does the seat flatten out and recline more when you sit on it? If so, how would you be able to see where you are going?

Violet

[Rbk_3]

I don't know Rbk,

The seat in the photo doesn't look completely recumbent. It looks like it still puts quite a bit of pressure on the sit bone area. Does it feel like it when you sit on it? Or does the seat flatten out and recline more when you sit on it? If so, how would you be able to see where you are going?

Violet

It can go down quite a lot farther, but yeah, it doesn’t seem all that safe in terms of seeing. I can sit in chairs generally fine, so I don’t know if it is a sitbone issue.

I see a similar bike worked for KrisG.
http://www.pudendalhope.info/forum/view ... f=22&t=173

Perhaps it isn’t PN I have in the first place. It’s just a dull ache I experience near the prostate area and nerve pain seems to be more like shooting stabbing pain.

[Violet M]

It could just be tight muscles causing the dull ache. Are you able to get evaluated by a pelvic floor PT for muscle tension in that area?
My problems started out as a dull ache on one side and at first sitting wasn't a problem but I kept exercising because I didn't realize that was what was causing it. Maybe you can take a vacation from cycling for awhile and see if that helps too.

Violet

[Rbk_3]

I took from August till February off and took a short ride and took me back to square one.I was feeling better but still got flared up if I sat on really soft cushions on my time off. I have an appointment in July with a Pt Pysio. Was a long wait list. Hopefully that will give me some answers.

[Rbk_3]

Spoke with an Osteopath and told him my story. I am going to see him in a few weeks. He doesn't believe my symptoms of an aching pain in the perineum to be nerve related. He said nerve would be more than an aching pain isolated to one location. Does that sound right? He suspects it to be more muscular or ligament related, possibly a sports hernia.

[Rbk_3]

I think I found the source, for sure! Pushing down on the pubic bone just above the penis creates a very sharp pain and I am pretty sure the ache is coming from this area. I always thought it was odd pelvic floor Pysio could not identify an area that was tender or caused pain when pressed upon.

This would explain why I can sit for hours with only the dull ache in the area.

I think it may be Osteitis pubis. This would explain why naproxen helps a lot and why my pain increases after activity and isn’t felt during.

[Violet M]

That's good that you are on the right path to figuring this out. Sometimes you just have to be Sherlock Holmes yourself, right?
Prof Robert's article describes the pain of PNE as "piercing and very comparable to acute toothache."
http://www.pudendalhope.info/sites/defa ... Robert.pdf
Mine originally started out as comparable to a mild toothache on one side of the pelvis. Anyway, hopefully your PT or osteopath can help you sort out where this is coming from. Sorry the wait is so long for you. I know it can seem like forever.

Violet