permanent numb bum and ankles

[JuRoss]

I am a cyclist. My bum is numb over the last two weeks, even when getting up in the morning. The whole area where I sit on the bike, also around to the front a little.Today my ankles are a bit numb too. I have no pain. My doctor says stay off the bike and see what happens, but everything I do is around my bike - I cycle to work, cycle all weekend etc. If I have a nerve problem, what's the worst that can happen? And how can I make this problem better other than by stopping cycling?
Thanks

[stormm]

I am heading out to Utah for the Front Runner Century bicycle ride and I am looking to see if anyone has ever the numb pain for the Front Runner Century Bicycle Ride. I have heard that people have used it for LOTOJA classic and for the Ulcer Ride as well as the Salt Lake City Century. If anyone has info for the Front Runner Century they could give to me I would be happy. Check out the http://www.frontrunnercentury.com and please let me know.

[Quixotic1]

I didn't answer one of your questions.  If the problem IS pressure from the bike seat, you run the risk of permanent damage to the nerve, such that it will be numb the rest of your life.  You're young.  You need to get it checked out, especially if you're not going to take break from cycling. 3 days is nowhere near a long enough time to allow a nerve to heal.  

Also pain and numbness do not always go together.   Pain nerve fibers are separate from pressure and touch nerve fibers.  They do run together, but in an injury often the numbness  will show up first.

There is always the chance that this is not related to cycling at all and arises from a problem in the spine or brain, such as MS.  Another reason to see a neurologist.

Quix

[Quixotic1]

Obviously no one here can tell if you have a compression injury to a sensory nerve causing the numbness, or possibly a problem in the lwer back.  To clinch that diagnosis you will need to see a neurologist for exam and possibly NCS - nerve conduction studies.  This type of study should be able to tell if the nerve is malfunctioning peripherally (outside the brain/spine) or centrally (in the brain or spine)

The classic compression injury which causes numbness below it happens when you lean your forearms on the edge/corner of a table or bar for long periods of time.  like sitting at the computer.  This compresses the ulnar nerve and makes the hand become numb along the pinky side.

Riding a bike (men OR women) can cause pressure damage of nerves that pass through the buttocks and pelvis.

If you have suffered a nerve compression problem from cycling, you have to stop (read that STOP) the activity for 10 to 14 days to allow it to heal.  Just cutting down on your riding will continue to cause the damage. For example, if you have a badly sprained ankle, and you continue to run on it, it will heal much more slowly or not at all.

I've read two articles that point a finger at bicycle ankle clips as a cause for foot numbness.  If this applies to you, try looser velcro traps.

If you believe that the numbness is not related to your cycling, then you need to have a neurologist, examine you and do the appropriate testing.

Maybe someone else will have better ideas.  Also there are cycling forums, like the one I cited above and you could ask other cyclist whether they have suffered similar phenomena and tell you how they treated it.

There is no neurologist on this board that I know of. Quix

[JuRoss]

I am female - doing less much cycling over the last 3 days has made no difference at all, if anything my feet and lower legs are more numb than before. I still have no pain.

[Quixotic1]

Even favorite sports can cause pressure on nerves.  The numbness you feel may be neuropathy (injured nerve) Your doctor is right, you need a break from cycling to see if this will relieve the numbness.  If it is from the cycling and you continue to abuse the sensory nerve, you run the risk of permanent damage.  Permanent numb butt.  Are you male or female?

If the tingling in your feet does not relieve pretty quickly - say a week, I would request an MRI of your lumbar spine.  I can't pretend to know much about the kinetics of cycling, but I do know there are gel or memory-foam bike seats and bikes with split seats designed to redistribute pressure better and more ergonomically.

Have you gone onto some of the cycling sites, or even sports medicine, sites to discuss this with people who may have gone through it and who could discuss it better?

Here is a nice eMedicine article about "Bicycle Seat Neuropathy."  It discusses the numbness, possible casues and potential treatments.  It does not mention foot numbness.

http://www.emedicine.com/SPORTS/topic12.htm

This article is more written for cyclist and does discuss nerve compression syndromes in the hand and foot.

      http://www.snowbikers.com/articles/compression.html

This next site is just a medical article abstract (a teasing summary) which mentions whole foot numbness from wearing bicycle clips for too long.

       http://pn.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/6/6/388

To find these sites I used the following search terms:

cycling numbness neuropathy foot

By doing a search without the word "neuropathy" I found sports forums where the topic is discussed:

       http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-8045.html

Hope this helps point you toward a solution that doesn't involve dropping your current, favorite activity.  I suspect you will find that most of these problems have been solved.

Quix