Cycling Weekly | August 22, 2019 | 51CW speaks to Phil Burt (philburtinno-
vation.co.uk), former head physio at
British Cycling and Team Sky, who
is now an international lecturer on
bike-fi t. He helped eliminate saddle
sores among the GB women’s team
prior to the Rio Olympics, and was
instrumental in Hannah Dines’s
successful diagnosis and treatment.What causes saddle sores?There are three types of saddle sore:
friction, pressure and infection. You can
get a mixture of all three; the causes can overlap. Friction tends to be chafi ng
in the side of the groin but can also be caused by the sheer forces of repeatedly
slapping down into the saddle (more common on the track). Pressure can lead
to numbness in men, owing to the prudinal nerve being compressed; and in
women, chronic swelling around the labia which may then consolidate into
scar tissue (Hannah’s issue). Infection around hair follicles can lead to sores
and abscesses. The causes can be intrinsic — physical asymmetry or lack of
strength; or extrinsic-position — equipment, e.g. friction caused by poorly
fi tting clothing, wrong shape or size saddle, or position.How important is riding position?You can have the best shorts, chamois cream, strength and saddle in the world
but if it’s not in the right place, it won’t work for you. Consider height, set-back
and tilt, always in relation to the rest of your set-up — for example,
set-back aff ects your reach to the handlebars, so changing your stem may
resolve a saddle comfort issue.How to choose the right saddle? Rules of thumb are just that — and therefore make buying a
saddle online risky at best. Some people get lucky,
but nothing beats popping into a trusted shop or
bike-fi tter and trying a few. Width and shape
are important, and these have to suit the type
of riding you are doing: T-shape for long
road miles, split nose for TT, etc.What are the best prevention measures? All of the above... and chamois cream to prevent saddle sores. Preferably,
though, get to the cause — is it pressure because of a wrong or poorly fi tted
saddle, or a lack of strength or fl exibility, or infection because of poor skin
health? Keep the skin clean, and don’t shave pubic hair in the sensitive regions.
Don’t suff er in silence — seek help and advice before the issue becomes chronic
and harder to solve (as happened in Hannah’s case).FITNESSTh e perfect pad
Th e golden triad of saddle comfort is:
bike-fi t, saddle and chamois. You need
all three to achieve true comfort. Beware
the marketing that claims that with the
right saddle you need no chamois — it ’s
a lie. R apha’s women’s chamois pad and
bibshorts (like Specialized’s) have been
developed around the standard female
cyclist. It took the company three years,
and so it shouldn’t have astounded me
how well it fi tted my body shape fi rst
time. I have had issues with chamois pads
that have so-called ‘pressure-relieving’
ridges and others that don’t extend far
enough out or taper their padding to a
thin seamed edge.
Maria Olssen, who led the design,
told me that companies can’t claim they
developed a product using real female
cyclists unless they actually did. She
is adamant that design and innovation
should be anchored and backed up
through research and problem-solving for
the end user, rather than a marketing tool,
no matter the cost or time taken; her team
spent an extra year getting things right.
“Th e silence says a lot,” she remarked
— and I have to agree with her. It is
frightening how many companies
women-specifi c saddles are based on a
male design, with an added fl ash of pink,
which is just not good enough.
If you’ve let things go on for a long time
(as I did) and are seriously sore down
there, don’t panic. Th e problem is that we
do generally keep our privates private.
Doctors report, study and improve what
comes into their clinic, so if you dismiss
your saddle injuries, they won’t recognise
the importance of the subject. In general,
antibiotics aren’t the answer, and you’ll
need to consult a specialist. A lways
ask your GP to help you fi nd the most
suitably qualifi ed prostate/gynaecology/
dermatology specialist in your area —
but don’t expect them to be experts in
cycling-related injuries.
In conclusion, if you’re suff ering from
saddle discomfort, start with a bike-fi t. If
you want to keep riding while saving up for
a new saddle or chamois, a good gel saddle
cover could tide you over, preventing
further damage. Change one thing at a
time and keep notes. If you’re happy to
talk about it and want to swap notes, my
email is: [email protected].
THE SOLUTIONS MAN‘Don’t suffer in silence’
Saddle positioning is key, says Burt