I rode pretty hard last night and when I was done I had a sharp pain in my upper right hamstring - up high where it connects to the bone. It’s strange because there was no indication while riding, only when I get off the bike. It happened a few months ago as well. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Is it an indication of bad seat position? Maybe I just need to warm up and stretch more before riding (I did neither).
It’s possible that your seat might be a little high. You want about 145-155 knee bend at the six o’clock position. I find 147 degrees seems to be most comfortable for me on my road bike and about 150 degrees on my tri bike. At the higher 155 range or so I’ll get the same symptoms you describe.
Riders with hamstring issues should ride with your seat at the lower range (145-148) and stretch before and after your rides.
Give it a try and lower your seat .5-1 cm or so to start. It might work.
Thanks. I’ll try it.
You sure give good advice! Nice to have someone that works on bodies/joints for a living hanging around here to help us with our aches and pains.
Your front end might be too low, or too stretched out as well. Sciatic nerve pain is often confused with upper hamstring pain. If you have no pain when you touch your toes with your knees locked, then it’s probably not your hamstrings. However, if you bend your knees slightly and you reproduce the pain, it’s likely your Sciatic nerve.
I had a chronic problem with that for about 6 months. It was particularly acute on the first part of the run in a brick w/o but then would go away after a mile of running. Tried lots of solutions and no luck. Asked for input and got 6 different peolple with the same problem…each with a different diagnosis from a doctor - pirifomis, sciatical, disc, ham, etc.
I went to an A.R.T. guy and was permanently fixed in 2 1/2 hour sesssions. Turned out that for me, it was an overuse/repetitive stress injury (from lots of time riding a bike, expecially a trainer) where scar tissue had built up over time and was causing the problem. A.R.T. is about breaking down the scar tissue so that the ham can slide freely. A.R.T. guys push on the scar tissues while you stretch and that breaks it up to get it back to where it doesn’t rub. For me, it worked as well as the marketing brochures say and it seems to make sense.
The pain is mostly gone now but I do think I had more pain with me legs bent. Would that also explain why there was no pain at all until I got off the bike? And what is the treatment if it is the Sciatic nerve?
The treatment is to solve the cause. First things first. I’ve you’ve not had a professional fitting, get one. If you can’t do that, read every article you find on slowtwitch.com about bike fit. Break out the digicam, the trainer, and your computer and try to get yourself set up as good as possible (take photos or video of you pedaling and at important points - such as bottom-dead-center of the pedal stroke - and make sure you have the appropriate hip and shoulder bend angles as well as correct leg extension).
I’d look at the following on your bike set up, in this order:
- Saddle height
- Handlebar drop
- Handlebar reach
Once that’s all squared away, if the problem persists (which it may not), then start looking into other possibilities (lower back injury, piriformis syndrome, tight hamstrings, increasing mileage too fast).
Good luck! After a year of zero Sciatic problems mine just flared up a couple weeks ago (and it’s the off season). Explain that!