I was having some high hamstring issues a few months ago. These videos changed my life. I got the Supple Leopard book and doing some hamstring and hip mobility work before my rides has gotten rid of all of my high hamstring pain and I feel really good on the bike. I use a lacrosse ball and also a Supernova. If you have a baseball and/or a softball those would work too. The mobility stuff in his Supple Leopard book is awesome. My back pain is gone as well.

Give it a go - it can't hurt!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WQrUHNMNVw


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQtwaPoK-UM

I struggled with HHT this summer as I was leading up to the Chicago marathon (had to bail on the race).....similar to you, no amount of PT, rest, dry needling etc. seemed to help.

I finally started seeing some improvement once I got back on my bike with "the cranks that shall not be named"....aka PowerCranks. They forced me to fire my hip, glutes and hamstrings while riding in such a maner that it really seemed to help with the HHT.

PC's get a lot of crap on this board (and rightfully so in some aspects), but I believe there is a therapeutic use for them in some rehab cases. You may wanna look into them and throw a pair on your roadie for awhile.

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

Thanks for the suggestions. I have had the Supple Leopard book for almost 3 years and do several of the mobility exercises. It did not alleviate my issue. The only thing that has worked is not riding my tri bike. There is something about my position on my tri bike that creates the issue.

I will check out the videos you recommend. Thanks.

Did your saddle change with the new bike?

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Jim Manton / ERO Sports

Funny you mention that. I have dealt with the same issue figuring my running likewise was aggravating the issue. I got a new ISM pn 1.1 (which was very comfortable for me) but my issues seemed to worsen all year. Switched back to my old saddle for kicks and it is finally starting to get better (in addition to stretching, strengthening, and such). +1 to this observation.

It's very possible you are experiencing pain referred from your back into your hamstring area. Have your back evaluated by a McKenzie credentialed physical therapist. The lower Back is the single most common cause of pain in the lower back and legs area. The longer you are hunched over and flexed, it's entirely possible to experience increased pain.

I had an ISM Prologue on both my road and tri bike. I wondered if the saddle may be part of the problem so in the spring of 2015 I changed the saddle on my tri bike to an ISM 1.1 (narrower and slightly softer) and there was no improvement.

When I started riding my road bike exclusively last month I put on an Selle Italia women's saddle and have found it to be OK..

Yes, this is what my sports specialist chiropractor (also a triathlete) thinks is occurring. He thinks the aero position may be aggravating the minor disc bulges and annular tears I have in L4-L5. I am wondering if there is some way my position on my tri bike can be altered to help alleviate this?

the bike position may be aggravating an underlying problem. Simply adjusting your position may not be the answer especially if you have pain with sitting at work, driving or difficulty with rising from a seated position. If this is the case you need your back treated first and your position adjusted second. If it is only on the bike, you could try for a seat height and stack height that promotes a flatter spine. You could try tilting your saddle down slightly as well.

No issue sitting at work, driving, etc.... Just the tri bike that seems to flare the pain up. I will continue to get my back treated and do the recommended excercises.

Thanks for all the comments/suggestions.

Would you describe the pain as located on the inside portion of your sit bone? If so, can you compress that area with your fingers and feel tenderness/pain?

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Jim Manton / ERO Sports

No, I wouldn't say the pain was to the inside of the sit bone. It was more directly below and a bit to the above. I also had the sensation of sitting on golf balls for a year (gone in the last month).

I have struggled with these same issues for years. MRIs have confirmed HHT (now with calcification compressing sciatic nerve), mild tearing of glute, herniated L4-5 and bulging L3. Although I had some "rock in the butt cheek" symptoms on long runs (after, it felt like I was sitting on a rock), things went downhill fast after a bike fit in which fitter raised saddle and lowered bars as far as they would go. An issue I brought to the fitter was that it felt as if my sit bone was grinding against the saddle (Adamo TT)--on that same side symptoms subsequently developed. Fitter told me every saddle feels like that after four hours of riding....

After consulting with several PTs and a sport doc, the changes I have made to my tri bike fit are: changed saddle to Prologue for training, Sitero for short races; raised bars; lowered saddle; and (I think this one was particularly important) shortened the reach by moving the saddle forward and the cockpit back. Rehab has replaced training. I will never be the same and I don't know if I'll be able to return to all three sports competitively.

Moral is: trust your instinct about the bike issues. Find someone to help you with the bike fit that puts a priority on proper fit to rehab/remain injury free (vs. "going faster"). Best to you. I know how much this journey sucks.

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No coasting in running and no crying in baseball

Lower your saddle at least 1cm, perhaps more. This may not be an ideal saddle height, but I'd like to know if it changes the sensation at all.

Before lowering the saddle, could you possibly post a video of your fit? From the side with "race pace" resistance would be best.

The person who posted after your last submission described what we're seeing a lot of with noseless saddles. Saddle height and shape are typical culprits. Over the past few years, such issues have sidelined two top female triathletes for the better part of of a season. Let's see if this is your problem before you go through a lengthy treatment or rehab process.

Edit: It was Tri3's post above I was referring to. Good post.

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Jim Manton / ERO Sports

Thank you so much! I will get a friend to video me this Saturday and will post the video.

I greatly appreciate everyones help. I have spent a lot of money on treatment already.

I have had the exact same issue which has kept me out of competition the entire last year. I also assumed it was running related but it didn't improve until I stopped biking. What has helped for me is taking time to really study how my hips, knees and feet interact. What I found was that I was dropping my right hip and the cause of that was a functional leg length difference due to a collapsing right arch. I put my custom orthotics in my cycling shoes in addition to canting the forefoot (more on the right side) and it improved greatly.

Read up on some of Steve Hoggs bike fit premises in relation to foot/pelvic support, saddle height, etc. Then take time looking at yourself pedalling with video paying attention to the front (knees and feet), rear (pelvis), and saddle height.
Not sure what part of Canada you are in but there is a Steve Hogg certified fitter in Kingston, one of only a handful in the world.

I had a friend video me this evening.

I'm not a bike fitter or medical person, so take everything I say with that in mind. I have spent a lot of time working on a bike fit to manage multiple injuries, though.

My first piece of advice is to find a PT or other very well qualified person to do a tri bike fit. That looks incredibly uncomfortable, and is certainly NOT an aero position.

I'm not surprised that you do fine on your road bike. Honestly, to me it looks like somebody took a road bike fit and plunked it down on your tri bike.

To me you look way too scrunched up (reach is too short)--it looks like that is causing rounding of your back, with a stress point/hinge in your lumbar region, and another in your thoracic area. And because you're so scrunched up, you're not able to rotate your pelvis forward into an aero position. I can't imagine how you've done any miles in that position. Ouch!

I'm not sure that your saddle is too high. I wonder if it could be too low. In fact, I wonder if that bike is just too small for you. (It may be the angle from which the video was taken.)

You might want to reach out to Anne Barnes, female bike fitter that posts on this forum.

Again, take everything I say with a grain of salt. It's based on my personal experience n=1. I would like to hear from those who know more about this, as I continue to try and figure out an optimal bike fit/equipment configuration that works with my injuries.

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No coasting in running and no crying in baseball

Hi CDNTriGal
I stumbled on your rather old post and am having issues myself the past couple of years. I ignorantly raced through 2021 in a significant amount of pain as it worsened with each day. It took me from Oct 2021-April 2022 to get an accurate diagnosis, PRP injections for my HHT, a ton of PT, even more strengthening and therapy sessions, months and months away from all three sports, and while I recently jumped back into the three sports a little bit in late August, I have since cut off the bike again. Mine is definitely causing issues with my sciatic nerve as that is the bulk of my pain at this point, when I have pain. I'm still sitting on a special cushion at work and while on long drives in the truck. I started some cycling in August, only to rack the bike again about 3 weeks ago. I'm running 30-40 miles a week without any pain, but within 40 minutes of sitting on either my road bike or tri bike, the pain resurfaces and will linger for several days.

I feel certain mine is a direct impact to the sit bone area where the pudendal nerve (connects to sciatic nerve) and where the sciatic nerve run through that bone area. When I have pressure on that bone/nerve connection for more than 30 minutes, my pain resurfaces. I'm so grateful that I can run, swim, and strength train again, but I really want to be competitive again in triathlon. At a minimum, I'd love to just be able to ride my bikes without this pain.

I also have had a bike fit by one of the best fitters in Austin (if not THE best), taking all this into account and changing my position on both bikes. Is this just me needing more time for that nerve to stop being compressed and painful or am I cursed with this cycling pain forever?

Did anyone ever figure out how to get past this?

Troy