Here’s the background: 28-yr old male, long time cyclist. I ride a very aggressive position (see pics below), and other than a stupid weight weenie foray into trying a light saddle that didn’t work as well as i’d liked, i’ve been mostly fine on my current set up. Well, maybe i’m mistaken.
Memorial Day weekend, i did a 55 mile road race that was ~3 hours long, ending with a 5 mile climb at 7% to the line. Felt fine afterwards. The next day, i experienced tightness in my inner thigh, but it was only on one side. It’s like the feeling you get when you load too much weight on the hip adduction machine and end up walking like a duck for the next 2-3 days. Mine wasn’t as bad and went away after 2 days.
Last weekend (6/2). Went out to do a crit and spent 45 minutes in an aero position (pics below). Felt fine the day of, but got some sort of discomfort the next day. I can’t really pinpoint what exactly, but it’s a mixed feeling between tightness and tenderness. It wasn’t really like the soreness i felt the week before, but it was somewhat concerning. I was actually a bit uncomfortable on my commute on Tuesday that i had to stand up for quite a bit.
I’ll be seeing a primary care physician in about two weeks (earliest appointment i could get), and i’d like to have a list of possible causes to discuss with my PCP. Things i thought about (and some of these are kinda scary include):
Garden variety issues:
-pinched nerve.
-Muscle tightness; perhaps something that PT can take care of
And then the more serious ones:
-Iliac artery issues. I haven’t felt a loss of power, and i felt pretty strong on my bike the last two weekends. But could this be an early sign that my position is too aggressive for my own good?
-And even more dreaded: maybe a visit to the urologist is in due order? I’m experiencing the discomfort on only one side (left), and sometimes the discomfort feels as if it’s purely a muscular/connective tissue thing, but other times it feels that the discomfort is from within the scrotum, but only one side. A quick self-exam doesn’t reveal any lumps, but wtf do i know as i’m not a medical professional?
So i have another 10 days to observe and convey things to my PCP. Is there anything else to which i should pay attention?
Also, my insurance is open network, which means i can go see a specialist without a PCP referral. Would a visit to an orthopedic and/or urology specialist be warranted at this time?
Thanks in advance to all
Images courtesy of E. Fitzgerald
We’re you able to resolve this? I have a dull ache in my perenium for weeks after cycling, and it’s always there but particularly bad after cycling.
Had any sort of pelvic floor issues ruled out.
Currently thinking it may be a myofacial issue with my left adductor referring pain to my perenium. Currently stretching and foam rolling and feel better than I have since this started last summer, but scared to get back on the bike cause I know it will flare me right up.
I even bought a recumbent bike thinking it would allow me to bike this summer till I got it figured out, but it flares me just like a regular bike