Health Organization for Pudendal Education

My name is tommy im 30years old and i belive i have Pudendal Nerve Entrapment i ride bikes alot and i did a 15mile ride one weekend and all was fine till the following weekend when i got back on my bike i could hardly right i had this sharp like pain and it is between my left testical and anus and since then which was july 2010 i havent been able to ride my bike.I can sit in my pc chair as i am now but if i lean forward to much it hurts to bad i gotta get up or if im workin and i bend over to pick up something while standing il get the same pain from what i have read i belive a Pudendal Nerve Entrapment is what i have specialy since biking makes the pain the worse.It had gotten better and then i got on my exercise bike and did 7miles and since then which was end of july the pain has been there and stays..sittin on toilet it doesnt hurt less im straining to make a bowel movent ment then it may hurt.My question is will i ever be able to bike again?My legs are strong and biking was all i did in summer time i hate to let that all go but there is now way i can ride it hurts to bad...

You can get seats for bikes made for people with pelvic pain. My husband and I bought bikes last summer and I got a special seat that has an opening where my perineum/genitals can "hang free" so to speak. I don't have symptoms all the time (I can go for months feeling normal) but thought it would be better to use a seat like that in an effort to not cause any more problems while still allowing myself to ride a bike and get much-needed exercise. The seat works really well and the "pressure" is transferred to the buttocks and sitbones area. If you have problems in the buttock/sit bone region then obviously the seat wouldn't help but since it seems that your pain is mostly in your perineum you may be able to use the seat with no problems.

The seat I have is called The Spongy Wonder and can be found here: www.spongywonder.com (it is fully adjustable so you can determine the wide of the gap in the seat according to what is more comfortable for you).
There is a similar type of seat that might work well called The Spiderflex which can be found here: http://www.spiderflex.com/

It could be that you have pudendal neuralgia but no entrapment (meaning the nerve is inflammed/irritated without being compressed by the ligaments or in the alcock's canal) especially since it seems that you can sit as long as it isn't on a bike seat or in a forward position. Do you have any other symptoms other than the pain in your perineum? What type of medical examinations have you had for this problem so far? You're in the early stages so you should try the less invasive treatments first (as anyone on this forum would advise you). You may want to try getting a cushion with a cutout for when you do have to sit (it may be annoying to lug around but better than symptoms getting worse). You should also have a consult with a phyiotherapist who specializes in pelvic pain who will be able to assess if overly tight pelvic floor muscles/spasms are causing the problem or at least part of the problem (there is a directory on this website). You also do NOT want to strain during a bowel movement as that can make the problem worse or cause it to flare so you may want to consider taking something like Miralax to help keep your bowels moving properly and make it easier to go to the bathroom (I'm sure the more expert people on this forum will suggest alternative methods of making bowel movements easier).

Anyway, you don't necessarily have to give up biking forever especially if you can find a seat that doesn't put pressure on the nerve or maybe consider a recumbent bike as I know other members of the pudendal forums have had some success that way.

tommy,
Get familiar with the diagnostic criteria for PN and listen to what your body is trying to tell you:
http://www.pudendalhope.org/sites/defau ... iteria.pdf

It might be something other than PN, eg hernia. You need to give biking a break and start conservative care. Read up on the forums and start developing your own diagnostic path.
Good luck,
RR

EG hernia sounds somewhat like what i have but the pain is under my scrotum between there and my anus and the pic i seen on web md of a eg hernia shows it above your scrotum .Seems more knife like pain towards my left side though.if i sit on bed and bend down to put on shoes it hurts or if im walkin and bend over to pick up something it hurts and sometimes just sittin here il get shooting knife like pain there.And it all started after i did a long bike ride and im a big guy and i over did myself to keep out in front of pack to show them what i can do and as a result this came upon me and it had seemed to have gone away but has recently returned and hurts worse seems to have happen with alot of phisical activity like im on a job where we had to climb alot of ladders and and had to stretch legs over some railing and all to get to certain area's and now pain is sharp and present any time i bend down or sit and lean alittle fwd.

Think you need to keep off that bike Tommy. I think the fact that you didn't have any pain for a good while could mean that resting, not sitting too much and certainly not bike riding, will work well for you again.Hope so
Have you had a look at the home pages on here and seen if there is a physio near to you that may be able to help? There's a list of doctors too, but maybe try the physio first. . . . and take it easy.
Take care,
Helen

well i sold my 2 bikes but thing is i work construction and this last job we just did we a rush and was gogogogo everyday and there was a railing had to stretch over and all and then one day i went to zoom up a ladder real fast and wam it was back...Also i got a question does anyone have a link to a website online that sells them pillows to put in your chair with no center to use with my computer chair..