Saddle Sores…
The unspoken truth about saddle sores using my experience as a criterium racer, professional bike fitter, physical therapist and root cause practitioner…
The first question: What caused the breakdown in your skin?
Poor hygiene
Excessive moisture & friction
wearing underwear with your chamois?
Remember how your skin begins to soften & prune if you sit in a bath or hot tub too long?
Chamois cream
Hair removal &/ or ingrown hair
Poor gut health
Think of your elimination pathways
Let’s start in an order that goes from simple to more complex:
Your soft tissue in your genital/ vulvar area was not designed to be weight bearing. It will take time to build calluses and thicken your skin. A well fitting bike short, chamois and saddle will help.
You should NOT wear any underwear with your chamois or bike shorts.
You should wash your chamois & bike shorts after every ride, regardless of length or time in the saddle. You will build up bacteria & fungus in your chamois. When you sweat, your body and lymphatic system is removing burdens from your body (bacteria, fungus, virus and toxins) and you are holding those to reabsorb in your warm, moist chamois.
You should wash your bike shorts & chamois with a washing machine that has a center agitator. If your washing machine does not have an agitator, this can be problematic. In that case, you are the agitator (think old school washing board). If you need to spray Hibiclens (a pre-surgical body wash) on your chamois to kill whatever might be growing and then agitate it by hand & scrub.
If you have not washed your chamois after every ride or had a significant infection, you may need to dispose of your bike short and/ or chamois.
Your genitals are sensitive tissue and may require a less toxic detergent. If your skin has become irritated, your histamine levels will rise. As histamine levels rise, your body becomes more sensitive & inflamed.
Two shopping apps that are super simple to help you find less toxic personal care products:
HealthyLiving (EWG verified)
ThinkDirty
All Free & Clear can still be sensitive for some and scores a very poor, D-F, rating for ingredients.
If you choose to make your own, I prefer:
1.25 c Washing Suds
1.25 Borax (without boric acid)
1 c. Castile soap (grated).
Chamois creams can create excessive moisture (think pruning in a hot tub) while you grind away every pedal stroke.
Chamois creams can also contain toxic ingredients. Just another way to irritate an ingrown hair or abrasion.
If you are looking for a more natural, anti fungal lubricant, a dab of cold pressed coconut oil will do you. Just remember to wash the oil out of your chamois afterwards.
If your bike saddle is too wide, you will rock side to side to overcome the width of your saddle. This can create friction, irritation and potentially small skin tears.
If you have a longer leg, you will likely rock to one side to overcome the reach of the shorter leg.
If you are on the wrong shape saddle or your saddle is not at the appropriate angle, you can apply excessive pressure and friction which can wear away at your tissue.
Increasing mileage too fast or too soon can be problematic.
Shaving can be problematic as it leaves pores open and lends itself to ingrown hairs.
Any opening on the skin for bacteria & fungus to enter your body can cause irritation.
If you have yeast or fungal issues elsewhere, you can assume you have fungal issues in your gut. This can include: yeast infections, urinary tract infections (UTI), jock itch, athlete’s foot, eczema, toe nail fungus, mold allergies, etc… If you have fungal issues in your gut, when you sweat your body will remove fungus.
Where does that fungus sit? In your chamois.
We can always do testing with an integrative health coaching session to determine root cause (types of bacteria and/ or fungus) and develop a plan with your medical team for healing.
Clients have benefited from using my gut health protocol and no longer experience chronic UTIs, chronic yeast infections, jock itch, eczema, etc…
If you are looking for a generic gut health protocol and handout, click the Product Recommendation tab and then scroll to Fullscripts to view my protocols and favorites- you’ll automatically save 10%.
You will need to log out of an existing Fullscript account to explore my protocols and favorites. Protocols are generalities. I always suggest working alongside a practitioner one on one to customize a plan designed specifically for your needs.
Why is a diagnostic bike fit important?
We go through every bike fit educating proper saddle fit so that you can select one which supports your bony anatomy because your body was not designed to weight bear on your soft tissue.
We teach proper pelvic rotation to find the ideal position of the saddle.
At the end of bike fits, we always take the fit bike up/ down to make sure we have dialed in the saddle position. If it’s not perfect, you will notice.
You learn the most comfortable position you can be in and then we match those metrics to your current bike or help you figure out appropriate sizing for a new bike.
You will produce more power, speed and efficiency when you are not in pain.
To Review:
I will say it again for those in the back: Your body was not designed to weight bear on your soft tissue!!
You need to thoroughly wash your bike shorts/ chamois after every ride.
Being on the wrong saddle, saddle angle or on an ill fitting bike can create issues.
Increasing mileage too fast or too soon can be problematic.
Anything that can create skin tears or openings can allow microbes to breed.
If you have fungus elsewhere in your body, it will show up in your skin.
“In my experience, both personally and as a practitioner working with others, saddle sores tend to have a fungal element.”
This is not medical advice. You should always consult your healthcare practitioner(s) for medical advise and what is best for your care. The purpose of this blog is to centralize and share information while connecting with others.