tailbone pain

[debra]

Hi, I have been spinnig about three weeks and my tailbone is killing me. Any suggestions on how to modify my position to ease pain. My tailbone has always been slightly sensitive but this is so bad I am thinking of quitting. The instructor is a bit of a rookie and a bit useless.

Thanks,

Debra

[Dogmama]

Hard to say without looking at your position on the bike. Are you wearing padded cycling shorts? Those might help. You should not be sitting directly on your tailbone. You should be leaning slightly forward.

When you do jumps, are you coming down hard on the saddle?

Make sure that your power is coming from your gluteals. Know that little part where the butt kinda sags down? Yeah, right there. That should cause you to lean forward.

That's all I can think of. There are spinning instructors on this board, however, who can help.

[aicabsolut]

I've encountered some spin bikes that don't have a little dip in the seat for the tailbone (just straight and kind of high in the back), and so that's usually the culprit. (my position on the bike with respect to bar height etc was fine and I still had a sore tailbone on these bikes--they were Reeboks). Sit bone pain is another story. Padded shorts can help some, but some chamois pads are cut out a little in the tailbone, meaning you might still hit the hard saddle there. Finding one that's a little more nose up (as much as you can stand it) can help as can sitting almost off the back of the saddle a little. Finally, you can get a cheap gel seat cover to take to class with you. Those are pretty thick, and while it's still going to be a little high in the back maybe, it'll at least be softer. It could still take a while for the bone bruise feeling to go away though.

[stacie]

coccyx pain can be very serious. I would stop spinning until you are pain free. I haven't seen alot of these problems from cycling other than after crashes. Do you remember injuring your tailbone in the past? If after you are completely pain free, you have a desire to try again, find someone who can set you up properly and help you with proper technique. You would have to be sitting in a really odd position to be putting pressure on your tailbone. You could have caused some damage if you were trying to climb with way too much resistance. Again, it is more likely that this came from another injury. Some women have complained of this after child birth. Damage can occur to the surrounding tissue. If pain continues, please see a doctor. I have a client who cannot sit for very long at all. He was experiencing pain and wanted to continue to work out because he was losing weight. He has now gained quite a bit of weight because he cannot do much activity at all. I don't want to be an alarmist, but I wouldn't take this lightly.

[aicabsolut]

Take my word for it, depending on the spin bike, some of the saddles are made just WRONG (and are put on the bike at a poor angle) where even rolled forward onto your sit bones, your tailbone still gets a bit of a beating from a wierd high hump at the back of the saddle.

It's definitely not a good place to be getting bruised, but it's not necessarily her fault.

[spin legs]

Hi, I would look into a gel seat and bike shorts.
Another poster mentioned this, did you get an injury at some time to your tail bone? The saddle might be aggrevating it and making it act up again.

[SpinGranny]

I have tailbone pain while spinning. I bought a gel seat cover and it helps a lot, but I still have some pain.

I fell down a flight of 5 steps landing on my tailbone on each step about 30 years ago and have had pain when sitting on a hard surface and any period of time.

Without the gel seat cover I have pain that lasts up to a week:eek:, but with the gel seat cover the pain only lasts for around 10-12 hours.

[Miranda]

I have tailbone pain while spinning. I bought a gel seat cover and it helps a lot, but I still have some pain.

I fell down a flight of 5 steps landing on my tailbone on each step about 30 years ago and have had pain when sitting on a hard surface and any period of time.

Without the gel seat cover I have pain that lasts up to a week:eek:, but with the gel seat cover the pain only lasts for around 10-12 hours.

I wear a light indoor cycling short, and own a triple gel pad for inside. Spin bikes are not customized like our road bikes. Meaning the saddle they give you is the one you get.

Besides what has been suggested, the other thing I would offer is to stand periodically. I've had some pain issues with my road bike, and that was a pressure relief tip.

Make sure you know how to safely stand in spin class. It took me months before it finally clicked how to make it work. The teacher finally cued the words "pelvic tilt". Lightbulb went off. It's just like finding your balance on a real bike for the first time. Once you learn it, you never forget after that.

One of the most beautiful things about spinning IMO is that "it is your ride". If you feel the need to stand, and relieve some tail bone pressure... go for it! Regardless of what the class is doing.

Hope that helps. :)M

[Miranda]

Hi, I have been spinnig about three weeks and my tailbone is killing me. Any suggestions on how to modify my position to ease pain. My tailbone has always been slightly sensitive but this is so bad I am thinking of quitting. The instructor is a bit of a rookie and a bit useless.

Thanks,

Debra

In regard to the instructor... is there any other instructor that could help you? Meaning like even if a diff teacher's class schedule doesn't work for you, maybe they could see you at another time and see if there is any help wtih fit issues. Gym management might be able to help arrange it.

[Tokie]

I have a friend who goes early to spin class and puts on his own saddle instead of the spin bike saddle. He even switches out to his own pedals too. I get a sore tailbone from spin class (yes, history of fractured tailbone 38 yrs ago) and also on my trainer too, with my own comfy saddle. The difference for me must be that on my trainer and in spin class I habitually will sit straight up during warm up and cool down. I can't ride without hands on my handlebars, so I am never in this position on my bike on the road. And my tailbone never hurts from any biking on the road. something to experiment with? Tokie

[channlluv]

Hello, friends,

Okay, so I'm working up to longer road rides. I've got a trail bike, but I've only ever ridden on roads. I'm pretty big and I don't trust myself on trails. (5'4.5", 243 lbs, 44 years old as of September) I just started riding in earnest in late August. My daughter (10) and I did the 18-mile Tour de Poway (San Diego area) a couple of weeks ago. It was her longest distance, but I've been doing 20 mile rides for about four weeks now (2 - 3 per week). Last Sunday it was a beautiful day and I felt inspired to go an extra lap around my usual five-mile path, so I did 25 miles instead of 20. My knees hurt and my tailbone hurt, but my knees really hurt worse. I iced them and ended up resting them for a week. I got back on my bike today and was heading out for an easy 15 - 20, but it was a gorgeous day again and I was feeling pretty good, so I hung on for an extra lap.

About 18 miles in I started singing to myself, "I am powerful, and my bod feels great," over and over. I kept trying to stand and readjust, but man, my tailbone is hurting.

I can ice my knees. In fact, I'm doing that as I type this, but I've got nothing for the tailbone.

A few years ago I fell on my tailbone while roller skating and suffered severe bruising. No breaks or fractures, though, but as someone else said, I've had problems sitting on hard surfaces for any length of time.

I wear Pearl Izumi gel shorts, but I guess the padding isn't enough for my size.

On an upnote, the lycra is either losing its elasticity, or my legs are getting smaller. Woohoo! I'm voting for the latter.

What do you guys do for tailbone pain, though? Do I need a new saddle?

DH has bought me a new seat post that will move the saddle back about a half inch, which I'm hoping will relieve some of the knee pain. Might it help the tailbone pain, too?

Thanks, all,

Roxy

[channlluv]

DH thinks that gel seat covers are for sissies. I had a gel seat cover and he bought me a new saddle and said I wouldn't need the gel seat cover anymore. I took it off to try out the new saddle, and left it on top of the car and drove off, so it went flying somewhere along the way. Bye, bye, gel seat cover.

(He also won't let me get a kickstand, scoffing like all his triathlete buddies will laugh or something...why is a kickstand bad? He says it's because it will add weight that will add up on long rides. I say that I already way 240+ pounds, and a five-ounce kickstand won't make much difference except in protecting my car paint when I don't have to lean the bike against it anymore.

Hmmmm...nothing to do with tail pain, though.

Thanks!

Roxy

[Tuckervill]

If you want a kickstand, get a kickstand. I have a kickstand on my tourer and I love it.

You don't need that gel cover though. Last year when I got my road bike, I didn't like the saddle. My tailbone hurt all the time, even when I just got up from a chair. So I got a couple of Terry's to try (I'm not good at remembering which ones). I still use them both, one on my road bike and one on my mountain bike. If your tailbone doesn't start to feel better after losing the gel cover, you might want to try another saddle. (There are numerous threads.)

I also have a Brooks leather saddle on my tourer and I live IT, too.

Karen

[emily_in_nc]

My biking buddy has tailbone pain from an injury years ago. She found that a saddle with a split rear portion made a huge difference in her pain. I can't remember the exact model she got (it's rather hard), but look around. There are lots of different saddles with a split rear, and your choice will depend on your sitbone width, whether you need/want a cutout, etc. Check the saddles threads here on TE -- there are many of them!

[Tuckervill]

Yeah! My Terry's are made like that. (FTR, I think they are a Butterfly and a Liberator).

Karen

[OakLeaf]

It's possible your saddle is too narrow too - depending on how long your tailbone is.

I bruised mine once on a long ride, so I can totally sympathize. It hurt to do anything - including nothing.

[emily_in_nc]

Yeah! My Terry's are made like that. (FTR, I think they are a Butterfly and a Liberator).

Interesting, my Terry Butterfly saddles do not have a split rear portion (I don't need it). They may dip down a little there but don't actually split. I was thinking more along the lines of something like this:

http://www.wekeepyoucycling.com/en/showproduct.aspx?productid=114

[Tuckervill]

You're right. They dip, but they're not separated. It's enough for my tailbone.

Karen

[beccaB]

I broke my tailbone falling off a horse many years ago, but for some reason biking does not hurt there.