Saddle, shorts or lube?

[KnottedYet]

specifically asking this of knottedyet since she seems to know so much

i have pelvic floor issues, lichen sclerosus and vestibulitis - the last 2 are under control more or less but the pelvic floor issues are currently being worked out in PT....

i LOVE cycling and am off the bike as of last week by order of my PT to let things calm down -

: ) n

Measure your sit bones.

Seriously. I work in pelvic rehab AND do bike fits. I'm totally obsessed with saddle fit and what a poor fit does to women.

I really hope your PT has advanced training in pelvic floor work. (trained by Kathe Wallace is a good sign, and yes, it's spelled "Kathe"). It would also be nice if they were trained in bike fitting (Michael Sylvester, Andy Pruitt, or Eric Moen are very good names, and teach all across the US.) I would also be ecstatic if your PT was cognizant of coccygeal dysfunction/derangement. Sounds like you've got it.

I think before you spring for a custom saddle, you really need to first find a commercial one that fits you. I do have to wonder if you have wider sit bones than can be supported by the saddles you've used, and your coccyx is getting wolloped via the tendons that anchor there because the saddles you've been on cause you to weightbear on the tendons of the floor rather than on the ischial tuberosities.

I could be completely wrong...

But please measure your sit bones!

(ETA: I assume you've already been cleared of celiac disease for the L.S.)