Cured my tailbone & "hoo-ha" pain ! :)

[SusanK]

Hello Ladies,

I'm a long time lurker, infrequent poster. I'm a 100% indoor cyclist w/ my 20 year old Trek 950 on a Cyclops Fluid Trainer. For years I have suffered through excruciating tailbone and, ahem, "hoo-ha" pain. Often, 15 minutes on the bike was all I could tolerate. It even got to the point of causing an aquired pilonidal cyst on my tailbone, which I will likely need to have excised (I have a surgical consult scheduled for this Friday).

I had given up cycling a few months ago due to the pain it was causing me (the bike had been re-fitted and I'd tried numerous saddles), the pilonidal cyst was flaring up badly over the summer. I decided to walk and do yoga instead. I've never taken an actual yoga class, but learned about the poses from reading "Journey into Power" and "40 Days to Personal Revolution" by Baron Baptiste.

In a matter of six weeks, I was back on the bike ! I discovered that tight hamstrings (REALLY tight hamstrings) and weak lower back muscles were causing me to sit on my tailbone rather than my sit bones... whether it was on the bike or in a chair. I never realized that I was sitting incorrectly (for 30+ years) until began to sit correctly. Now I can put in 30 minutes on the bike w/ an ease that I never knew was possible, as well as making me more comfortable at my desk job.

Prior to posting this, I read others' posts about taking yoga classes so, I'm sure this isn't big news to everyone, but thought I'd throw it out there anyway. I read that some posters didn't enjoy their yoga classes due to the instructor. This is why I've enjoyed the Baptiste books... he doesn't demand "perfect" alignment, but rather encourages the yogi to find the alignment that's correct for their own body (this is talked about in "Journey into Power"). The standing poses have done wonders for my lower back strength, and the forward bends have allowed me to go from struggling to touch my toes to being able to put my palms on the floor in a standing forward bend, and my wrists on my toes in a seated forward bend, thus loosening my hamstrings.

I'm am back on the bike w/ a new found confidence, losing a bit of weight and gaining a lot of stamina ! I just wanted to encourage other riders who may be experiencing the same tailbone and soft tissue pain to give yoga a try.

Best to you all,
SusanK

[mimitabby]

thanks for the good news! we hear about a lot of folks' problems but rarely their solutions!

[KnottedYet]

Hooray! A success story! Good job.

[Running Mommy]

Hmmm cool... Never thought about that. I've dabbled in pilates, but I need to get serious with either yoga or pilates. I'm tight as an over stretched rubber band, and I know it's just a matter of time before something goes "POP"..

[rij73]

That's really interesting, and I'll have to think about it. I often have tailbone pain after sitting on a hard chair.

I can empathize over the pilonidal cyst. I had one in high school. They drained it and cured the infection, and then I had the surgery to remove it and some surrounding tissue. The whole ordeal was very not fun. I was so nervous when I started biking that I'd have problems again, but thank goodness I've managed to keep my weight on the sit bones.

[equus123]

i just had a pylonidal cyst surgically removed 2 yrs ago though i had it for about 3 yrs in all. it was a very annoying procedure more than anything and thankfully my job was nice enough to let me work from home either laying on my stomach with a laptop or standing at a tall desk (because you can't sit down for a while afterwards!). but i'm glad it was removed after dealing with it flaring up every month or sooner, getting infected, etc. good luck if you have surgery on yours!

ps - i named mine "Little Butt" or "Charles".