hip pain

Hello

I have been an avid cyclist for nearly 50 years (I'm 57 now), as a commuter, racer, probably averaged 10K miles per year the last 20 years. The last year I have experienced increasing pain in my left hip, and now I'm starting to have pain in my right hip. I have always ridden diamond frame bicycles. I will be seeing an orthopedic specialist soon, but I do have a question for you 'bent riders.

Have any of you experienced serious hip pain (in the joint) that was helped by switching to a 'bent? I am willing to make the switch.

Thanks,

Steve

I tried my first recumbent yesterday and the day before. I was surprised because I have pain in my low back as a result. It had a steep seat angle, not as laid back as many recumbents. Every time I pedal, especially when I'm exerting a lot of force, this drives my back against the seat back. This does not happen on a road bike. I will try a more laid back design next time. It feels like a big bruise back there. I don't know if I would adjust to this or not, but I am going to try other designs anyway. I ride road bikes--mountain and touring/racing--all the time, like every day. I have trouble with crotch pain and numbness in my feet. I had absolutely no crotch pain on the recumbent, but my back hurts now. I also noticed occasional numbness in my feet which would go away it seemed whenever I started climbing uphill for a while. I still want to ride recumbents though. I'm just beginning to experiment. I'm not sure what you would feel on the hips, but I suspect it would not be like a road bike because the pressure points are so much different. I think I will eventually get a recumbent, but it won't be the whole answer for me. I think I'll still be riding uprights--the more variety, the better.

Hip Pain is not particularly more or less common on a recumbent that fits you well. Hip pain can occur if the seat is too far forward on a recumbent. A simple XRay of the left hip should tell what is wrong (most likely mild arthritis).

Floyd Russak, MD

Are you sure the pain in your hip and cycling are connected? Could you have sustained some other injury however slight that might have caused the hip pain. The reason I ask is that I too have hip pain after cycling, but my pain began after a lower back injury that I suffered last August. Prior to that, there was no pain. I'm 55 and as much as I hate to admit it, my body takes longer to heal than it did just a few years ago.