Buttock Pain in Cycling and How to Fix It
Buttock pain is a common issue in cyclists, and is frequently misdiagnosed. While there are a number of diagnoses that can cause buttock pain, the most common are pain radiating from the discs, joints, or ligaments in the lower back. Buttock pain is most often blamed on the piriformis muscle by patients, but this is an incredibly rare occurrence.
While it is impossible to provide treatment options for every individual case of buttock pain in this article, I will highlight some commonalities I see in cyclists with buttock pain as well as a few treatment options.
How Can Cyclists Get Rid of Butt Pain?
Our best recommendation is to work with a physical therapist to get a formal diagnosis as well as determine what specific impairments are causing your issue as opposed to taking the shotgun approach. If you are interested in getting more specific, you can request an appointment now to get a thorough examination to determine a proper diagnosis and plan to rehab your injury.
An Improper Bike Fit Can Contribute to Many Injuries
A physical therapist will be able to help you determine if your injury is more due to physical causes, or due to your bike fit. When reading this article, we will make the assumption that your bike fit is proper and you are comfortable in the position you have been fit to.
Hamstring Flexibility
The problem: We know that in a perfect situation, 50% range of motion comes from the hips and 50% comes from the back. When the hips can not move through their full 50%, the lower back will frequently try to overcompensate and move more than its optimal range to allow you to ride. The most common muscle limiting your hip’s flexibility is the hamstring. This limited range will also alter the way that the hip musculature works, leading to hip joint, hip labrum, and ligament injuries.
The fix: Stretching is most commonly prescribed to address muscle flexibility issues. This is why most people never get more flexible! You will find that performing strength training through a full range of motion will be much more effective at improving your hip range of motion than stretching. Strength training has the added benefit of improving your flexibility and strength simultaneously! Any time that we use our time more efficiently off the bike leads to more time riding!
Reverse lunges and lateral lunges are great for mimicking the pedal stroke and making sure that you do not compensate with your back. Romanian deadlifts with no back rounding are excellent for forcing your hamstrings to lengthen while becoming strong through the full range. Most people with tight hamstrings have weak hamstrings! Romanian deadlifts are the key to solving both problems!
Adductor and Abductor Strength
The problem: Cycling is a repetitive sport where you only work the hips in the forward-backward plane. While the most powerful muscles in the hip and knee work in the forward-backward plane, the muscles that move the hip and knee side to side are the stabilizers of both joints. Weakness in these muscles can lead to compensations in the back, pain in the buttock muscles such as the piriformis, and knee pain.
The fix: Side plank variations are a great starting point. Copenhagen Planks use your top leg to hold yourself up on a chair using your groin muscles. Reverse and lateral lunge variations are also great for working the hip abductors and adductors.
Is Your Cycling Pain Recurring?
If you are unable to enjoy cycling due to buttock or back pain, request an appointment now to meet with one of our highly trained physical therapists. We make the process simple and accept most insurances—without a referral. Call our office at 908-598-9009 or complete our form.
DISCLAIMER: This information does not substitute for medical advice.