Tailbone Pain

[Geonz]

Also try adjusting height and angle of the seat, perhaps raising it a tad.

MIne's a tad low right now (but, alas, fused so I can't get it loose yet... now, if it's stuck, how come it's gotten lower??? Aargh...) and my butt and knees are what talk to me, and it's only a few hairs too low. It's easier to get into a "sitting too low" situation on the more upright bikes.

[SummerPerk]

Thank you everyone for your thoughtful responses. I have an appointment for an annual this week, and I am going to push for a physical therapy appointment to get this figured out once and for all! I did spend some time pursuing some of the areas you suggested, and I didn't find anything to quite match what's going on, but it was still helpful. I am going to find and read the threads on measuring sitbones--that may have something to do with it, or at least be something I can rule out.

[bikerz]

So I know this thread has aged about 6 weeks - but I am suffering from exactly what SummerPerk describes - it really agonizing to stand up off the saddle, especially after 25 or more miles. (And let's not talk about what it feels like now after today's 50 mile ride! )

I have been riding the Selle Anatomica for the last few months, and really liking it, except for this issue. I don't really have any pain while I am riding, juts a sense of pressure in the tailbone area - it's only when I go to raise myself up off the saddle, or get off the bike, that the pain hits. And as SummerPerk says, it's bad enough to make me not get up.

I have been continually re-tensioning the saddle, and it has (developed?) what looks like a "bump" at the back, but the bump does not actually make contact with the sore area.

Thorn's comment about maybe the saddle being too narrow has me wondering: if the leather tension is too loose, maybe the saddle is folding under my weight, becoming effectively too narrow.

It could be that the saddle is defective (hence the constant re-tensioning), so I think I'll send it back to them for replacement.

SummerPerk - are you still around? Did you get the problem resolved?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I hurt my tailbone pretty badly last year- I hopped off my bike saddle once but didn't quite make it and came down hard right on the saddle nose with my tailbone. OMG that was some pain.
I had MONTHS where it was hard to sit in any one position for too long. Finally most of the symptoms went away after about 6 months. BUT...I noticed when I sat in certain chairs for a while, when I got up I would feel that awful twinge of pain ABOVE my tailbone just like described here. It always happend when I had been sitting too long in one position and my butt was starting to go numb from the old tailbone incident....then I'd get up and the shooting pain would happen.

I'm thinking your saddle is putting too much pressure in a bad spot and pinching some nerve or blood vessel, and the pain happens when you rise up and blood shoots back in to the area suddenly.

[maryellen]

I had what sounds like a similar problem a few years ago though mine was non-cycling in origin. Have you tried icing? If the area is inflamed icing might help calm the nerve and discomfort a bit until you are able to get professional input.

[sundial]

Hi Summer, I know what you mean by the tailbone pain when you get off the saddle. I've experienced that too so I can sympathize.

Finding a saddle with a proper fit and design will help your tailbone pain. Specialized has a tool to measure the distance between your sitbones so that you can get the right width in your saddle. Believe it or not, the tool is called an a$$meter and you sit on it and the dealer measures the distance between the impressions made by your sitbones. Specialized offers some of their saddles in 3 widths. I have one that has a pretty significant cutout for the tailbone. I don't have the soreness like I did with my Terry saddle.

If you want to try and measure your sitbones yourself, here's what worked for me. Lay on your back with your knees bent and feel for the sit bones. It may be helpful to bring your knees to your chest. Take a tape measurer and measure the distance from the outside of each sitbone. My sit bones measured 5 1/4 inches, which is 130 mm. Specialized recommends that you go with a saddle one size larger than your measurement so that you can have some room for play as you change positions in the saddle. So in my case, I would choose a 143 mm saddle, which is the most popular size.

www.specialized.com