Holiday challenge, left me with a wound....

[marathonoflife]

in my butt.

No don't laugh....

seriously, I didn't notice it while rowing,
but as the month went along
it became obvious that the 'swing' of my hips over those sitting bones
started to crack my butt,
which eventually turned into a nasty "bedsore" (ergsore?)
Sitting around in a wheelchair hasn't helped to heal it....

I do have a good cushion on the wheelchair, with almost like a hole
in the middle where these bones are, but does anyone have
suggestions on how to cushion the erg. seat in a way
that my butt will recover before the C.I.R.C competition on Feb.4th?

-minna

[MomofJBN]

When he ergs, my husband likes to sit on one of the soft kneeling bads that are meant for gardening. If need be, you could cut holes in it for the sitz bones.

[johnlvs2run]

Powdered sulfur is great for the healing of wounds.

[grams]

I use a big gel-filled exercise bike seat cover on my erg seat. Its the only way I could do long sessions on a regulr basis.

grams

[Widgeon]

I had alot of pain in the wintech seat while training/competing in the marathon (on water) row last fall. I tried a foam, gel and a sorbathane pad. I doubled the sorbothane and the foam. While this provided some releif, I was concerned about creating pressure lesions, and never felt like any of these pads produced acceptable results for long distance rowing.

In camping, Thermarest makes a matress with a combination of foam and air. The air won't create new pressure areas as it displaces the way gel will. Several different saddles and pads are now being manufactured for horses backs to prevent pressure lesions. Same thing, trying to better distribute pressure without creating new pressure spots.

I am planning to experiment with bubble wrap, or if I can find it, a thermarest type inflatable pad for my seat, at least in the boat, I generally don't have too much trouble on the erg, but I've never gone more than a half marathon on the erg. I will try my initial trials on the erg. If I have success, I will let you know. Feel free to experiment with me on this idea if it appeals to you. I would be interested in learning what you find out. Also interested in any suggestions others may have on the topic.

Thanks, Pam

[Bob S.]

In camping, Thermarest makes a matress with a combination of foam and air. The air won't create new pressure areas as it displaces the way gel will.
Pam

At one time, Thermarest made a small pad, about 12' by 16'. I got one many years ago to use as a seat pad for winter backpacking — more for insulation than padding. I don't know whether or not they still make it.

Bob S.

[marathonoflife]

Hi,

thanks for all the great suggestions.

As soon as someone mentioned Therma rest, i went on over th eMEC.CA (Mountain Equiptment Co-op: in order to purchase from them you need to becoema lifetime member of the Co-op which costs only $5CAN so not a great expence even if you never buy anything else).

Anyways,
I found a thermarest seat on their site, here is the link:

Seal Line Discovery Kayak Seat Cushion
http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_deta ... 7829751817



or the;
Therm-a-Rest Trail Seat
http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_deta ... 7830261696

they also have a "thermarest trekker chair" which basically uses your own thermarest sleeping pad and turns it into a chair.

This would be good for adaptive rowing for those who use the winteck adative seat (which has a back).

here is the link to that item:

Therm-a-Rest Trekker Chair 20
http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_deta ... 7829751819

I think I will try to purchase the Kayak Seat Cushion since I also kayak and thus I can use this cushion while kayaking once I have it, I will let you know works for me.

Thanks in pointing me in the right direction to start searching.

-minna

[Yakky Doodle]

It sounds like you've already got a lot of options. If they don't work out, another place you might try is an online motorcycle accessories provider. There's a visco-elastic gel seat pad that comes in a couple of sizes that is supposed to be exceptional in terms of relieving pressure points for folks who spend a lot of time perched on a fairly unforgiving motorcycle seat. JCWhitney sells online, and they carry the seat pads. I've owned one, and the smaller size would probably fit on the C2's seat fairly well.

I'm not sure how the gel pad would hold up on a erg though. It's not squishy like half-set jello, but it might break down too fast to be worth the $$'s.

Just thought I'd toss out another possibility in case the others don't work.

YD

[Byron Drachman]

A couple of C2 pads, with the pieces under the "sitz" bones removed, might help. I think you need more than one such seat pad.

https://www2.concept2.com/VIA/index.jsp

Or you could make your own.

Zeno Muller once mentioned that he got a "tractor seat" from C2 for someone who needed a special seat. You might contact C2 and see if they have anything available.

This might not be feasible for you, but I use a seat from a racing shell with a C2 pad. It doesn't look very comfortable, but it turns out that it is very comfortable over long rows. At least it is for me.

http://www.math.msu.edu/~drachman/row/rockin_seat6.jpg

I hope you find a solution.

added later: I tried some of the simple things first, including gel pads, bubble wrap inside towels, combinations of cardboard and pads, a small partially inflated Therm-a-Rest Sport air seat cushion. Maybe one of the simple solutions will work. As I said, an old fashioned seat from a shell with one C2 pad works best for me.
Byron

[Widgeon]

I tried bubble wrap this morning. I had saved some from christmas packaging. It has bubbles of approx. 1" diameter, and probably close to 1/2" in height. Each row has small interconnecting channels between the bubbles. It is a fairly heavy gauge plastic, which is what attracted me to it for this use.

Given that I really don't experience discomfort from my erg seat, I am happy to report that the bubble wrap ( which I had doubled on itself), placed directly on the seat, was wonderful! I was surprised at how much more comfortable the seat felt, truly like floating. I did not notice any particular pressure spots during the row. I was lifted slightly above the seat (to be expected if its doing its job). I had no difficulty with the bubble wrap slipping or sliding beneath me. I was only able to do a short row this morning. 30 min steady state at about 2:15/500, SM22. No sprint work, or hard stuff. I was a bit tired and lazy this morning, didn't get out of bed to get a longer workout in today!

I will keep playing with the bubble wrap and see how it does during longer rows and faster, sprint peices. I have a thermarest with a detachable section. I will try to find it and see how it works for me this weekend. I did see the thermarest camp seat on the campmor.com web site last summer. I'll look it up and see what they have available. They are good site to order camping, etc stuff from. I outfitted myself for my trek up Kilimonjaro in '04 predominatly from their site.


Pam

[thomas144]

I do a 10K every morning. I always apply a product called

"Paceline Chamois Butt'R" to my butt before my row.

It's designed for bicyclists; I found it in a local bike shop initially.

I have found that it not only prevents saddle sores but actually cures them, without interruption (thank god) to my daily workout.

The first time I ran out of the stuff, I started developing sores again.

Here's a link to the amazon product description, which has my review of it posted:

http://www.amazon.com/Paceline-Chamois- ... 43-6544736

[marathonoflife]

thanks for the replies offering several choices.

will go check the bike shop for that Chamois Butt'R
haven't ever thought of putting stuff on my butt,
only considered seat cushion options....

this virtual challenge isn't helping my sore (still there)
but i am determined to continue training for the C.I.R.C
even though i am away from home (at the opposite end of the country)
until the 17th.... for a family get together.
Still putting in the km's , "there is no off season"

-minna

[knoplace]

Hello folks. I may not know alot about your sport, but I do know butts. I was surfing the net and found your discussion. I own Kno Place Upholstery Co. We specialize in custom motorcycle seat building. Our top selling product is our gel pads for inserting in seats or simply placing them on the motorcycle seat. These gels are used in applications from the medical field to Nascar racing. We have three different kinds of gels with different thickness and softness. You could have a comfortable seat and defenitly would not rub sores into your butt. Our gels are semisolid pads. They will not leak, breakdown, loose their shape or deteriorate over time. Our web site is still under construction, but you can read all about our gels in our eBay listings. We have an eBay store, user name knoplace. If you go to eBay and search for 'motorcycle gel seat' ,you can easily find our listings and see photos and information. You folks would love our gel pads. Check out our 100% positive feedback on eBay and read what our customers have to say. I know our gel will work for you. Sorry to ramble like this, I just think you'll love our gel. Good luck everyone!!!

[Byron Drachman]

If you have trouble getting the Chamois Butt'R, here's another product that (at least some) cyclists use for saddle sores:

http://www.bagbalm.com/

Yes, it appears to be made just for animals. It works fine on humans.

Byron