Bike Riding & Bladder Irritation

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Bike Riding & Bladder Irritation

Overview

Bike riding is considered to be a healthful way to benefit from exercise that puts minimal strain on the joints of your body. In addition, biking outdoors will boost vitamin D production for healthy bones and a stable mood. However, bike riding is not without negative elements, and like any sport, it is important to understand how you might injure yourself while participating. One of the most common of negative impacts related to bike riding beside accidental falls is the possible occurrence of bladder infections. Should you develop a bladder infection from riding your bike, consult with your doctor to deal with the infection right away.

Bike Seats

Bike seats can place undue pressure upon the delicate urethra, especially in women. This pressure can promote irritation, inflammation and infection, which can lead to painful and frequent urination. Unchecked, this type of infection can travel to the kidneys, which can be quite dangerous. To reduce the pressure on your urethra while bike riding, it may be advisable to purchase a bike seat that boasts additional padding and a wider girth for additional support. A wider seat allows pressure to disperse throughout the muscles where you sit instead of focusing all weight between the legs and on the urethra. Memory foam seats can reduce pressure points and may be helpful in reducing pressure on the urethra as well.

Duration

People who enjoy long bike rides spend more time in a position. which may compromise urethra health. After reducing risk for bladder infections with a more forgiving bike seat, the second factor you must consider is duration of biking time. For long bike rides, you may wish to shift position periodically to ensure you are resting primarily on your gluttious maximus muscles rather than leaning forward into the seat as you ride. Reducing pressure time is key to preventing irritation and infection.

Friction

Rough terrain is another factor in impacting the urethra tissue. When mountain biking or covering rough patches, elevate your body from the seat slightly to reduce jarring to delicate tissue.

Prevention

Drinking enough water when biking will help to keep fluids moving through the body, which will reduce bacterial buildup. In addition, if you are prone to bladder infections, it may be beneficial to drink at least 1 glass unsweetened cranberry juice daily. Cranberries contain a slippery alkaloid, which prevents bacteria from clinging to to walls of your urethra and bladder. This preventative technique can also be used while treating an infection to promote healing and fast recovery. Sweetened cranberry juice has significantly less benefit because sugar feeds bacterial growth, which may defeat the purpose when trying to prevent or heal infection.

Another grab from the internet...No endorsement...But I may get something like these...
Here's a list of manufacturers that are selling some of these ergonomic bike seats on the internet:

1. Airbunz
2. Specialized - Body Geometry Bike Saddles
3. Spongy Wonder

Specialized™ Bike Seat Designed by Roger Minkow, M.D.		Relevant Anatomy	Spongy Wonder™ Bike Seat
AeroSaddle™			AirBunz™