Thursday fitness fun fact

Got Numb Nuts?

One thing that came out over and over again is that most male cyclists who have logged any significant milage, 100 miles or more per week, have experienced genital numbness. This is usually referred to as "numb nuts" in the bicycle world. I have experienced it a half dozen times in my life. What constantly amazes cyclists is that for most of us, it disappears within an hour of getting off the bike and has no discernible effect on erectibility. (In New York, bike messengers and commuters don't seem to suffer from this condition much, I think because of the on-and-off riding style needed in New York traffic.)


The response among cyclists to genital numbness is generally to adjust their bike fit, change their saddle or change their riding style, and based upon my conversations this approach usually results in getting rid of future numbness.Better fit can be used to improve rider efficiency and eliminate many other cycling related aches and pains. Many bike shops have at least one person competent to adjust a bicycle well. There are also several fairly sophisticated bicycle fitting systems on the market. I've bought and used almost all of them with good success.

Most fits start with leg length and adjusting the saddle height. There is a range of good saddle heights for any given rider. We usually start off by adjusting the saddle height to eliminate rocking of the hips when pedaling on a bike trainer. The saddle is generally set level to the ground or slightly downward. The foot is then positioned with the ball of the foot over the pedal spindle. The neutral seat position forward and aft is next found by dropping a plumb line from the bottom of the knee and positioning the seat so the plumb cuts through the pedal axle. Then the stem is fitted to give the rider the desired feel he wants. The main concession most cyclists make to genital numbness is to lower their saddle a little, removing weight from the seat, and tilting the saddle a little downward raising the perineal area off the saddle nose.


Some people have tried to resolve the issue of genital numbness by changing their equipment. Most of this activity is around saddle swaps, usually focusing on the new series of anatomically correct saddles. It appears that through bicycle seat design and innovation, perineal numbness can be decreased and more importantly may eliminate cycling associated perineal numbness and erectile dydfunction."

Padded bike shorts and padded bike underwear is also used to cushion andspread the contact area with the saddle, bike gloves are used to cushion the hands so more weight can be put on the hands and bike shoes are employed to keep the foot in the correct position and stop the heel from dropping, which may cause more weight to be transferred to the saddle.


The other important area touched upon by cyclists was how importantly riding style affects numbness. Shifting positions, occasionally rising out of the saddle, and so on can have a profound impact on genital numbness.

The NYU Medical Center Urology Conference

My Brother Boner... You are in a unique position, to have been formerly MO, and now be affected  with athletic injuries... So you may be the only person on the planet that can answer this questions... When you boyz are numb...how do they react from a quick dunking in the cold toilet...?

I think this condition might respond well Vigorous Massage Therapy. ...just sayin'... Best Wishes- Dx

I just saw my brother (aka the pedaling professor) this weekend.  He actually keeps his bike in his family room ( he's a divorcee).  I liked his bicycle seat.  It has about a 1 inch channel in the middle of the seat going back about 4-5 inches.  He said it really eases problems on the genital area.  He'll need to be comfortable on his cross country ride this summer. He did note in his blog that he was fitted for his bike but that he had to make a slight adjustment based on his doctor's recommendation.  See http://pedalingprof.blogspot.com .