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About a week ago I had a sciatic nerve flare up whilst out on a ride. I managed it to get back to the car, but was in a lot of pain.Â
I do suffer from flare ups now and again, but I usually recognise the symptoms and can usually head off a full on flare up. But not this time, it just came on as I was climbing a steepish section on the ride.
So this week I've been to see a chiropractor, she has measured up my body and it seems I'm quite a bit lopsided, the hip that's causing me discomfort is rotated forward to counter the lopsidedness, and after about half an hour of being pulled around and some creaking/cracking going on, she left me with some decisions to make. She said that she could straighten me out, over a period of time. So I've booked in for several more sessions. She also mentioned that if I want to continue riding my bike, maybe look at alternative saddles, i.e. ones with cutouts. I've always looked at these with a bit of suspicion as being snake oil.
Anyway snake oil aside, currently I'll try anything. So as the title says, anyone have any positive experiences using cutout saddles for that reason?
I'm currently using fabric saddles on both bikes with seem to fit my sit bones well enough not to give me issues pre-sciatic issues.Â
Thanks in advanced!Â
Go to a physiotherapist and stop throwing away your money on someone who claims you are lopsided.
chiropractice was invented in the 1800s by some idiot who claimed it could cure deafness!
even if chiropractors give temporary relief they are not resolving a problem.
i can’t see how a different saddle would help a spinal problem.Â
The snake oil is the chiropractor I'm afraid, there's nothing that can usefully be cracked or pulled down there!
Get a good physio to teach you diaphragmatic breathing l, it's a godsend for learning to relax and unclench tight muscles.
Sciatica could be a tight piriformis putting pressure on the nerve, or something spinal. Both benefit from the right sort of strength work and maybe fixing your pedalling (mine is really lopsided also, it's taken a lot of work to get to the root of it).
Not sure a saddle would help although something quite waved, like a Specialized Power Arc or similar, might hold you a bit more straight, at the expense potentially of a bit more chafing.
Never had sciatica, but have got a collection of cutout saddles. I suppose it depends what you want the cutout to actually do to help. It would take pressure off the perineum, leaving more body weight on the sit bones instead. Many riders sit with their lower back curved/bum rotated slightly back to alleviate undercarriage pressure. Most don't even realise. This wouldn't be necessary with a cutout, so the spine would be straighter.Â
The effectiveness of the cutout varies considerably between saddles. So Bontrager and Selle Italia cutouts do a better job than Specialized or Nukeproof for example.Â
As 13th says - sciatica is coming from impingement on the sciatic nerve which is not anywhere near your taint 🙂
I'd suggest a proper physio rather than a chiropractor. Could be any number of things putting pressure on the nerve, and I doubt many of them involve cracking any bones.
Piriformis stretch is easy to do and was a game changer for me - a couple of days stretching made a big difference and after a few months of stretching every day it's completely sorted after years of hell - particularly by going to chiropractors! https://www.spine-health.com/infographic/4-easy-stretches-pirifomis-syndrome-infographic
Chiropractor?!? 🤦🏻♂️Â
SIL is a chiropractor.
Her response is 'get a really bloody good bike fit done', rather than fix an issue after the fact.
Don't waste your money on a chiropractor - they do no good and often do harm
As above see a Physio, I have various saddles and don't think they make that much difference with regard to cutouts or not. My Physio found my hip doesn't rotate correctly the stretches shown above really do help.
Hmm, well ok I've made the wrong choice it seems. Already paid up for a few more sessions, oh well you live and learn.Â
Thanks for the advise, seems pretty conclusive. Need to find a good physio then.Â
Full disclosure, I do a daily yoga routine that includes the first two stretches and others as a warm up.