One of the causes of urethral stricture is “straddle injury.” As the name implies, this occurs when someone straddles a hard object like a bicycle seat, fence, pole, or something like that and falls on top of it, landing on – well – very sensitive parts of your body. This will probably be on the perineum, which is the area between the scrotum and the rectum.
There is evidence of a link between bike-riding and urethral stricture. From the Medhelp Urology board:
Note that there is an association between urethral stricture disease (scarring and narrowing of the urethra), penile numbness as well as impotence and bicycle riding.
So a good question to ask is this – “Is there a bicycle seat to help prevent urethral strictures?” Yes there are. You’d be looking for a seat that would not cause trauma to the perineum even if you did come down hard on it while riding. Some names for types of seats like this include “noseless” or “split-cheek” seats. One example, which is the one I use, is the Hobson Easyseat. It is a dual-pad seat which provides support for the bones in your butt cheeks, which not only would help prevent a straddle injury, but will help prevent numbness.
CLICK HERE to find out more or to purchase one of your own.
Here’s to numbness-free bike-riding (while also avoiding the very hard to fix problem of urethral stricture)!
Are you using this? I am thinking to get a saddle from selle smp. What do you think?
I had the stricture cutted via cystoscopy 3 weeks ago, had catheter for 2 weeks and now planning to back to ride on the July 20th. Or I should stop riding for years?
Thank you for sharing.
Hi Rob,
Just to get the legal stuff out of the way – I am not a medical professional. I’m just a guy who went through a stricture and the surgery (urethroplasty) to repair it. I don’t ride often anymore, but when I do, it’s with that seat, yes. I would not personally ever do any regular riding with a standard bike saddle, because of where the pressure is concentrated – right where I had my surgery (perineum). Also, your surgery does not have a very high long-term success rate. Urethroplasty is the best chance of a long-term fix. so it is likely your stricture will recur regardless of what you do. So if it doesn’t hurt to ride your bike, and your doctor (you should definitely ask him/her) thinks it is OK, then why not ride? But I hope you are able to have urethroplasty next time. I’d REALLY be interested to hear back from you in, say, a year, to hear if your stricture came back. Can you let us know?
Thanks. and good luck!
Ken
Thanks. That’s what i most worry about: It may comes back!
I am not concern that i can’t ride anymore. The strictures is really nightmare. Are you also cyclist? How often you used to ride before?
I was never an enthusiast for cycling. It was just a way for me to get around when I was young and without a car. But I really don’t ride anymore at all. I cant remember the last time, actually.
If you do have a recurrence, I really think you should insist on a urethroplasty.
Good luck!
Ken
So…? What’s the caused of it on your case? Really I never heard this sickness before. In my case it was obvious cycling it’s the culprit. Googling around I found many cases in cycling forum. One person said he had stopped cycling for a year and no problem ever since. I wish I knew this sickness long time ago
Rob, my doctors all said (and this is born out by the data) that most people don’t know what actually caused their strictures. It’s usually some kind of trauma, but the symptoms don’t always develop until months or even many years later, I was told! They told me it could have been anything from bike riding to getting kicked in the groin. They even asked if I had venereal disease (I don’t)! Because that can cause it to.
Ken
Hey,
I had urethraplasty several years ago as a result of bike riding. Used to ride all the time, but haven’t since the surgery. My doctor didn’t recommend it. Do you think he would let me ride again if I showed him this seat? Do doctor’s recommend it?
Thanks,
Scott
Hi Scott. I don’t know for sure if doctors recommend it. I just know that having ridden for years, and experiencing numbness in the exact area where my stricture was, when using a traditional bike “saddle.” Then I didn’t have that numbness when I used the dual-pad seat. It makes sense. But there’s no telling what any given doctor is going to say. And straddle injuries are typically the cause of bike-related strictures and not necessarily the seat. So this new seat may not factor into your doctor’s risk factors. I hope that helps. Good luck!
Hi Ken,
I went to the doctor and he cleared me to ride with these type of seats. Any recommendations on what style of bike these seats work best with? I am thinking the more upright you are the better so probably not a road bike.
Thanks,
Scott
Hi Scott. You may be right. The seat was designed to replace the “saddle” type seat like you’d find on a racing bick like the standard 10-speeds (or whatever is new. It’s been awhile since I’ve ridden much:)). But bikes that are more motorcycle-like would probably not be the best candidate. But then again, those aren’t the types of bikes that have the most potential for straddle injury (more padding down there(, so they probably wouldn’t need them anyway.
Good luck moving forward!
Ken
I was thinking maybe if you were riding on a bike without proper gel padded shorts. The saddle might actually cause trauma to the urethra. For instant, running into a pothole on the road can cause a terrible blow to the perineum area that might result in a stricture. Especially if there are no suspensions on your bike. Don’t you think?
I agree. And certainly there are differences in people such that some may be more prone to injury than others. but yeah, totally.
I had padded shorts and a full suspension mountain bike at the time i rode for 7 hours and the next day i was rushed to the ER, my urethra was completely blocked. SP cath through abdomen had to be inserted in order to drain bladder.
After a major accident which damaged my sphincter, left me with a stricture and impotence. I perhaps foolishly am riding again but the risks are mitigated by the following.
#1 best shorts i could afford
#2 a new saddle https://www.rido-cyclesaddles.com/c.do?category=100288
#3 different bike. Full suspension 29er – so no bumps or shocks.
#4 taking it easy – used to be a dedicated road cyclist.
The no nose saddles seem like a good idea but you use the nose for stability and to steer.
Enjoy.
Thanks for your comment, Justin. I guess as with anything else, it’s a trade-off like you said.
Cheers!
Ken
Hi, avid cyclist here, as I’m waiting to have my uretralplasty finished (one surgery one with skin graft and need second surgery with second skin graft and then it’ll be closed up. I have my hopefully last surgery in April and then my incision will be closed up but I’m already looking for solutions for me to bike. My doc said he’s against it but maybe he’s no aware of noseless saddles. Cycling is my passion and I do not want to give it up, I’m a bigger mountain biker than road biking so steering is my concern as I ride technical singletrack trails. I was thinking waiting atleast 6 months before I give it a go to get back on the bike in the meantime I want to ride saddles for both my bikes so they are ready when the time comes. Any suggestions?
Adam,
It all boils down to avoiding the stress in the place(s) that can cause urethral stricture. Straddle injury – bikes being one main cause – are one of the known causes of strictures. But as you say, I suspect this is largely due to traditional saddles where the stress is exactly wrong – in the area of the perineum. I would advise using a noseless seat like the one I mention here: Bicycle Seat To Help Prevent Urethral Stricture. If you find that you get pain or a weak stream or other possible stricture symptoms after you ride, then try something different. Basically let your body guide you and listen to it. I hope that helps. Remember though that I am not a medical pro.
Cheers,
Ken
Hi guys, I cycle 2-3 times a week for 7-10 hours a week.. i have a sever strictures from years (which most probably not caused by cycling but its caused by being catheterized many times for surgeries when I was a baby), recently I thought of taking the decision and do the ugly surgery as i have 5 cm of strictures down there. My professor informed me that I should not do any cycling anymore after the surgery, at least for the first year and by a specific split saddle as the one posted on this website..
I am currently riding on a good nice saddle Bontrager Hilo RXL and I wear Assos S7 Cento bib which keeps a space and don’t push and squeeze me there (which both i recommend in order to release a harsh pressure)
I will keep you posted for my surgery and all the rest.
Thanks for posting, Emran, and the tip on the bike seat. And good luck with the surgery.
Ken
Hi Emran, i rode a specialized newer phenom saddle for 7 hours just 1 day and then the next day i had to be rushed to the ER to have the SP cath put in as the foley through penis was completely closed as they tried 3 different sized caths and non of them worked. I had an older phenom saddle on my older bike. i would cycling atleast 2-3 times a week for miles and miles.
Now this happened before where i had a hard time passing urine first started in 2011. I currently have the specialized power expert saddle (has a smaller nose than phenom but power saddle has the slit on the middle) for my road and mountain bike. My 2nd stage uretralplasty with buccal muccosa is tomorrow 4/19/17.
My doctor said to give up cycling for good. Im having a hard time swallowing that as cycling is my passion. I think i might take your professor’s suggestion and wait a complete year before i get back on the bike, i know i’ll be itching to get back on sooner if i get the “noseless” saddle which i think ill give up the specialized power saddle and just go noseless. Hope your surgery goes well also.
Please keep me updated. The bontrager saddle has a somewhat of a long nose even though its split in half. my problem might be a little different from yours.
Hi Adam
Did you get the Power Expert saddle because you thought it would help with your stricture? If so did it feel any better, and have you found it more comfortable than conventional saddles?
Thanks
David
Hi Ken,
I am really worried that I might be developing a urethral stricture and just wanted to know what your symptoms were before you were diagnosed?
I remember falling onto my bike saddle a few years ago and it hurt but didn’t think anything of it at the time. I know this doesn’t automatically mean I will get a stricture but I just wanted to know what you experienced. I’m happy to leave an email address if you want to write to me privately?
Seb.
Hi Seb. My symptoms – long before I started experiencing a reduced flow when peeing – included periodic blood in my urine (just like once or twice). Then about 6 months before I was diagnosed, I started having trouble emptying my bladder. I would spend like 2-3 minutes at the toilet trying to finish peeing. After a few months, the flow reduced a lot and I started getting pain whenever I would pee. Then one day I woke up and couldn’t pee at all. That’s the day it all started.
I hope that helps.
Ken
Hi Ken,
Thanks for the message. I’m sorry you went through all that but it’s quite reassuring for me as my symptoms are different. I have no blood in my urine (it has been tested) and my flow can sometimes be very good. With a stricture, I’m assuming that the flow would gradually get worse over time. I think my symptoms are more related to pelvic floor dysfunction as I also experience bladder spasms and pressure, frequency and urgency and my symptoms seem to be directly related to stress and anxiety. This has been going on for nearly five years and my symptoms seem to wax and wane.
Seb.
I happened upon this website, and found it, and all the comments very interesting.
I myself biked to work for years, between 20-30 minutes each way (sometimes longer coming home, more uphill and more tired)
In developed a stricture, but it’s over time and I guess I just didn’t pay attention. Until one day in 2007 when urinating was a very bloody agony. In the emergency room some stupid nurse tried to push in a catheter, and that caused me to lose consciousness.
After putting in a suprapubic catheter, and waiting a few months for the urethra to recover, I had urethroplasty surgery, using skin peeled off the penis (they wanted to use cheek tissue but I had some sore in my mouth).
All went back to normal…. For ten years. And then I started noticing decrease in flow and pain again. It seems the “healthy” part of the urethra had continued doing what the cut out part had done. Not as bad, but not good.
This time the doctor (same urologist/surgeon) widened the urethra under anesthesia, and now has me putting in a Speedi-Cath tiemann catheter daily, as maintenance, to keep the passage open.
I got distracted, talking about my history, sorry. The point was that after the first surgery he said no more bikes, horses, or any seat that presses on the perinium. But when I showed him these seats, he said that they are ok. But I never got one, I just went over to walking.
Thanks for posting this comment, Sam. I truly thought – at one point in reading your comment – that I was mistakenly reading one of my own posts somehow :-P. that part about the nurse trying to force a catheter up you when you had a stricture. That’s just horrible and is what happened to me too. My hospital Urology department said that year that they had training with the ER nurses to not do this. But who knows if that is ever systematized and adopted as part of the training. Sheesh.
I really appreciate you sharing your story here. I am surprised that your doc has you doing daily self-cathing AFTER a urethroplasty.Uggh! Or did I misunderstand? When you said “widening” I assumed they did one of the graft procedures where they add tissue and make the stricture site musch wider by adding – essentially – more urethra wall. But then I thought maybe you meant he just dilated it? That would explain needing to self-cath to keep it open, possibly dilating it yourself, which is awful to have to do daily.
Either way, I’m sorry to hear you do not have a permanent fix. How possible is it for you to seek a 2nd opinion from another urologist?
I hope things get much better for you. Thanks again for your post!
Ok, to clarify, when I said “widen” I was in fact referring to a dilation. He did it in an operating room under total anesthesia. Then I was in the hospital another day with a regular catheter. After it was removed and I rested a week, I came back for instruction on the self-catheterization. It’s a bother, and adds time to my morning routine, but not really painful. I use
https://www.coloplast.us/speedicath-1-en-us.aspx#section=product-description_3 (thank goodness my insurance pays for it!!)
I read that dilations don’t really have a great track record, and I assume that’s why he wants it constantly renewed.
You mentioned self-cath after urethroplasty. I saw my urethrogram x-rays, the part he fixed is a beautiful wide tube, the problem is the new stricture. As I slide in the cath, I can feel it bumping over the bad parts. In another few months he wants to do a flowmetry test, and if things are holding up well, reduce the maintenance to every other day.
Regarding opinions, he actually gave me several choices. I decided against another urethroplasty, since a) the last one only helped for 10 years (and I was in my 50s then, now ten years older), b) it’s a very long difficult process – including supra-pubic catheter for several months and surgery and recovery. I just don’t feel like I am up to it if it isn’t forced on me. A third possibility was (shockingly!) to make a “short cut” from the urethra straight down, and “cut me a new one” for urine. (This obviously has serious effects on other quality of life issues) Absolutely not, thank you!!
I figured the choice I made was making the best of a bad situation, and I am very happy with the results every time I go to the bathroom. 🙂
While the idea of it scared me beforehand, it’s definitely livable. I just try to not think about decades and decades of it for the rest of my life…
Thanks for all the extra detail, Sam! You’re right. If you have to spend months with an SPC and then have another urethroplasty, that is a lot. But I have heard lots of stories from folks on this site who didn’t have to wait all that time like you and I did with an SPC. A lot of folks don’t get one at all. They go right in, get the surgery, have the regular catheter for 2 weeks and done! If they could do it like that, then it might be worth it. Still a long recovery though.
Yah that 2-stage option really is the nuclear one when there is no other way.
Glad to hear it’s only a minor bother to self-cath. Good to know. Best of luck!
Ken
Hi, you need to compare apples with apples.
The location of the structure is paramount.
Some strictures are to high or near the bladder to be caused or irritated by cycling. My strictures was caused by damage to the urethra when my prostate was lasered.
I have had two mucosal graft bullbar ureothaplasty surgeries.
I use a ISM PR 2.0 saddle and it works fine for me 20,000 k plus.
Well My stricture came back, had to do another surgery with buccal as it was 5cm. Had first surgery in 16/17 2 part so took 2 years. This time at a different hospital they did it all in one time with skin graph. I had an sp a full year before they were able to schedule the surgery. Now I have a foley in for 4 weeks.
Sorry to hear that. Hope this is a better fix this time!