Sore butt

[ConnieW]

Hi:

I got a C2 for Christmas and have had no problems, but my husband and son who are both on the lean side complain about pain in the tail section- to the point that they quit rowwing after 10-15 minutes. I got a pad to increase the cushion, but it didn't help much. Any ideas?

[johnlvs2run]

Make sure the dip in the seat is in back.

[Skip]

Long shot, but try wearing different shorts. I get the same thing if I row in sweat pants (thick, rolled seam at back.) I switched to nylon exercise shorts w/a flat seam in the back and no more problems.

I've also used bicycle shorts (they have a chamois pad built into the seat.) The longest I've rowed is only 1 hour, but the padded cycling shorts make it pretty cushy! Cycling shorts can be pricey ($60 +) but you can generally pick up a non-brand pair for about $25 from an on-line cycle shop (Nashbar.com, etc.) Cheapest option is to find some flat seam nylon work-out shorts at the discount house & see if it makes any difference. Good luck!
-Skip

(Good point on the seat John. When my C2 arrived I thought the seat "looked" backwards and I came very close to turning it around!)

[Alissa]

Connie, this question has been addressed previously and discussions have been good. You might want to search using the term "tailbone" and I believe you'll find at least some of them.

HTH, sorry I don't have more time this morning!

Alissa

[MomofJBN]

Welcome, Connie! Come "hang out" with us on the Women's Board.

My husband is also on the lean side. He likes to sit on one of those kneelers that's really meant for gardening. The foam is nice and thick.

I also agree w/Skip on the cycling style (or other fitted) shorts.

Schenley

[Nosmo]

I recommend rowing shorts and thin foam padding rather then cycling shorts.
JL and Potomic are two of the most common rowing short brands. The padding on cycling shorts might not come up far enough in the back depending on how far you lay back. Also the rowing shorts are easier to deal with and I think a bit cheaper and more comfortable if you sweat a lot.
Cycling shorts are good but you might as well get something made for rowing.

Also my butt gets sore when I row with out the straps because I lay back much less. I probably have bad technique with the straps but more layback takes the pressure off the tail bone. My longest row so far has been 30K and I did not have a sore butt. Without the straps I have a hard time going past 30 minutes

[dg1951]

Welcome Connie,

I know this is going to sound a bit goofy but,,,,. A layer of bubble wrap on the seat (the small ones work best, more stable).

Dan

[johnlvs2run]

Dan,

That's quite a painful avatar.

I agree with Skip in that I also prefer nylon/lycra, and bicycle shorts are great, as they are generally more roomy in the butt and quite flexible.

Most butt ache, in my opinion, comes from shorts that are too tight in the butt, or that hold moisture like cotton. I found cycling that I was much more comfortable with no padding and find the same on the erg.

[dg1951]

John,

I haven't experienced any sort of rump discomfort from anything besides time "in the saddle". I seldom have any problem until I'm 45+ minutes into a workout. Since I seldom wear too tight clothes to erg in, I figure every time I break new time barriers a bit of bum pain comes with the territory.


Dan

[trailrunner]

Some may scoff at this as bad technique, but on the longer rows I occasionaly shift my weight from one butt cheek to the other for a stroke or two, then just align back into the center. Cyclists like to change positions on the bars and saddle on longer rides. Rowers don't have too many options.

[Snail Space]

If you rock from the hip, rather than flex the lower back, it may allow rhythmic shifting of pressure application to the "seat" area (how polite is that?) whilst rowing long pieces.

Cheers

Dave

[igoeja]

When less trained, and particularly during long pieces, the pain becomes unbearable, and my strategy is to lower my pace a bit on the next session, then train for the distance and/or longer. Once my ass no longer hurts at the distance, I start pushing the pace up.

Many other of my body parts are fairly well-muscled, and I have the fitness to push harder, but since my ass is really more bone than muscle - the fat cushion doesn't seem to help much - it takes a bit longer to train, to catch up to the paces the rest of my body is capable of.

[Woodpunk]

Hi All,

I'm a newbie to this forum and I'm so glad I've found some valuable advice about this subject! I just bought a seat pad as I was getting pain in the pelvic area of my butt but using the seat pad seems to have moved the pain to my tailbone. All this pain has come as a bit of a shock as I get no problems at all on the water.

Any thoughts appreciated.

Woodpunk

[Byron Drachman]

Hi All,

I'm a newbie to this forum and I'm so glad I've found some valuable advice about this subject! I just bought a seat pad as I was getting pain in the pelvic area of my butt but using the seat pad seems to have moved the pain to my tailbone. All this pain has come as a bit of a shock as I get no problems at all on the water.

Any thoughts appreciated.

Woodpunk

Hi Woodpunk,

Boat seats have a bigger area cut away to avoid the tailbone, as well as cut-outs to keep pressure off the sitz bones. You can take a piece of plywood (mine is 7 inches by 9 inches) and mount a boat seat on the plywood, and attach the plywood to the seat frame. It's an easy project. For extra comfort, put a C2 seat pad on top. I bought a boat seat from Maas Boat Company.



Apologies if you've seen this before, but actually I did something a little more elaborate. I added the option of inserting a wooden dowel to make the seat unstable. And if I remove the dowel, then the seat is stable. I didn't know about the CorePerform seat when I did this:



Byron

[coggs]

Interesting feathering handle too - although the axis is a bit off from OTW sculling. What keeps the seat from sliding fore & aft on the dowel?