Butt sores

[ArmandoChavezUNC]

Well you were pretty dismissive of others' suggestions but here it goes anyway:

1) Wear trou/uni/rowing attire

2) Use a towel or a seat pad. I use a towel under the seat. Works pretty well.

3) Put some tape on either side of your crack - tape rubbing on tape won't hurt your skin

[Realistic]

I'm glad I found this post. I rowed my first half marathon Saturday, and my butt is so sore that I can't row Sunday or Monday. I felt the pain halfway through my row, but I ignored the pain and I kind of regret it

Glad you all have some suggestions, so I will try them out.

[edinborogh]

skin chuffs... thats my problem after long distances..

[jack4860169]

I'm 68 years old, had the same problem with what for me were actual abrasions exactly where Cyclingman described them. In my case, these became increasingly severe as I aged and lost weight. Like Cyclingman, I tried various tactics (including vaseline) to overcome the issue, but nothing worked - in fact the problem slowly worsened to the point of bleeding - at which time I was forced to lay off rowing entirely until the wound healed. Over time, these layoffs became more & more frequent.

As we age, our skin becomes thinner, and loses its protective layer of subcutaneous fat (according to what I've read and what my doctor tells me); in my case an aggravating factor was weight loss, because while skin stretches to accommodate excess fat ... the skin doesn't ever contract following weight loss. So these three skin changes (attenuation, loss of padding and stretching) came together for me to pose a potential showstopper for my rowing.

Padded shorts, vaseline, seat pads - nothing solved the butt crack abrasions ... until I hit on a bit of inspiration: If the problem is caused by loose skin folds rubbing, why not pre-tension the offending loose skin before settling on the seat? Voila! Problem solved - now I reach into the back of my rowing shorts, one hand on each buttock, and firmly pull the buggers apart, being careful to hold the tension as I sit down on the seat. In fact, I pretty much sit on my fingers, which I then extract ... leaving the butt cheeks pulled apart just enough to stop the skin from folding and abrading during the row. Of course, if you reposition yourself on the seat during the row, you need to pretension your cheeks all over again.

I use an inexpensive, thin yoga mat cut & folded (4 layers) as a seat pad; and I've noticed if I position myself too far forward on the seat I can get an internal abrasion where my tailbone pivots against the inside of my butt crack.

[Ombrax]

TTIUWP

This thread is useless without pictures

Just kidding.

[edinborogh]

i have noticed that once i use pants without a bodging stitch, and with ample use of vaseline - the issue went away. i changed all my pants and got only ones with the lowest profile, less aggressive stitch.
i also noticed that as im losing weight, im getting skin chuff more and more. so changed clothing, added vaseline at times also a towel on the sit, and i never had that issue again.

[weintraub]

I realize this is a very old post, so I hope you find this. I had the exact same problem. Showers after rowing on the Concept2 would be extraordinarily painful because of the sores that would develop and I would have trouble sitting during the day. I didn't want to give up rowing, but I dreaded the sores. However, I found a complete solution to the problem: merino wool shorts. I used to wear a pair made by Ibex, but they no longer make them. I just discovered Kucharik's traditional wool shorts. They are even better than the Ibex shorts because they are a heavier material. Get them without the pad but with the liner. They get better and better after a few washings in Kookaburra Wash. Good luck. Merino completely relieved the problem.

[bisqeet]

is use penaten creme
its a zinc based baby bottom creme. works for me...

[edinborogh]

look at your pants - if the stem is noticeable, thats your problem. i had skin chuffed in the past..

[VeloMark]

Two things that have worked well for me:

Lantiseptic. An extremely viscous skin protectant.

JL Designs Super Padded Polypro Trou. An insulated rowing short lined with a Terry cloth type of material.

[CornishGigRower]

I have tried everything, shorts, under armour, pads, cushions etc etc and i still get it at the top haha...

Only thing that prevents it is copious amounts of Vaseline for me!

[Dangerscouse]

I have been using Sudocrem (made for nappy rash etc, and may only be a UK product?) and as it's zinc based it works a treat. It's only been an issue for me recently when I started my ultra distances.

[wildrover]

Chamois butter, and making sure the seam is in the right place!

Good luck!

[jbhop5857]

Good Day,
I realize this is about "sores," actual blister type sores, but what about just butt soreness from the rowing? I get that most of the time after 75 mins or so. However, it use to be after an hour, so am I correct in thinking this is an issue that will go away with further training? Is it just my butt muscles building and sitting? I have used the C2 pad and a towel before and that has helped, but I wonder if I deal with the pain in the near term, it will just go away?

Thanks

David

[Cyclist2]

but what about just butt soreness from the rowing?

When I start up seriously in the fall, I have butt muscle soreness, but as I get in shape it goes away. Hard pieces make ALL my muscles hurt . To prevent pressure and abrasion on my sitz bones on that hard C2 seat I have to use a pad - I couldn't go 10 strokes rocking on those exposed tuberosities!

It looks like you've been rowing for awhile, so conditioning may or may not be the issue. Try to pinpoint the actual source of the pain to come up with an answer.