Category: Sports Injuries

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Triathlon Training – Managing Arrhythmia Part 3

The final piece of the puzzle drops into place…

Modern Traditional Racing SaddleWell listen up guys and dolls, this is serious stuff that effects all of you! Your sexual health could be at great great risk because of the saddle you use!

On an annual basis, bicycle riding involves several hundred million people worldwide. Studies have linked perineal pressure caused by straddling traditional bicycle seats to numbness, urinary tract and yeast infections, prostate inflammation and impotence.

For male riders, in addition to the discomfort and numbness associated with a traditional saddle, there is an increased susceptibility to restricted blood flow, which can lead to arterial occlusion and permanent erectile dysfunction.

For women, the restricted blood flow and hardening of the genital arteries can lead to an inability to reach orgasm. It has been found that as little as 11% of a person’s body weight can compress the genital artery!

So what has  a bike saddle got to do with my arrhythmia?

This perineal pressure and it’s damaging effect, is far greater for triathletes in the aero position, and although I have had minor prostate issues for many years, it was under control and only became severely aggravated after I started triathlon training and riding a bike just over two years ago.

As outlined in my earlier blog post Triathlon Training – Killing Six Birds With One Stone, it is my enlarged prostrate that prohibited the emptying of my bladder, which then got me up every hour at night to go to the loo, which then prevented me getting sufficient rest to recover from training, which then lead to my being in an overtrained state, which then lead to severely aggravated heart arrhythmia!

…so amazingly it actually all started with the bike saddle!

The traditional bike saddle shape has in effect changed very little since the original “Penny Farthing” of yesteryear, but thank goodness at least one innovative manufacturer has at last taken the matter seriously enough to do the necessary research and develop a new design that completely handles the problem:-

Adamo Racing SaddleISM Adamo Saddles

Here’s an interesting read on the health benefits of no nose saddles vs. traditional saddles.

On September 5, 2006 Steve Toll traveled to the University of Hamburg to have the new Adamo Road saddle and the Adamo Racing saddle tested by noted German urologist Dr. Frank Sommer. At the conclusion of the testing Dr. Sommer was pleased with the results and congratulated Steve on his design and achievements. Dr. Sommer stated, “A saddle where there is hardly any blood loss. Which is excellent to preserve sexuality and for preventing erectile dysfunction.”

While normal testing involves a 15-minute ride on a saddle, the test using the ISM™ was discontinued after 12 minutes.  Why?  Dr. Sommer commented, “It doesn’t get any better than this.”  In fact, blood flow in the perineum area remained at 100% throughout the test with the ISM™, a mark rarely seen in bicycle saddle testing.

In addition, Dr. Sommer’s prior research has indicated that some saddles restrict blood flow in the perineum area by as much as 95% within the first minute of a ride.  Other studies indicate that such restriction over a long period can result in permanent erectile damage.

The ISM™ is a first-of-its-kind seat.  If a family is in your future, or you’re simply tired of the pain and discomfort associated with a traditional saddle, rest your bones on the ISM™.  It’s medically better for you.

Adamo saddles are currently available from Troisport (best price), Wayne Pheiffer and Triangle Sports in South Africa, so get one now as besides anything else your butt is going to thank you big time!

I will never ride again with any other…

Articles

NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health) Update

National Geographic Adventure, April 2003 – Riding Rough: New Evidence Continues to
Link Biking to Impotence by Jim Thornton.

Bicycling Magazine, August 1997 – The Unseen Danger by Joe Kita

Other Research Studies: Available Through the National Library of Medicine

“Impotence and Nerve Entrapment in Long Distance Amateur Cyclist”
Andersen K.V., Bovim G.
Laboratory of Clinical Neurophysiology, Trondheim University Hospital, Norway.

“Does Bicycling Contribute to the Risk of Erectile Dysfunction?”
Goldstein I., Marceau L., Kleinman K., McKinlay J.

“Type of Saddle and Sitting Position Influence Penile Oxygen Pressure while Cycling“
Dr. Frank Sommer, Cologne University, March 2003.

“Pressure Distribution on Bicycle Saddles” (a comparison between normal “flat” saddles
with gel and saddles with a “hole” in the perineal area)
Renato Rodano, Roberto Squadrone, Massimiliano Sacchi, Alberto Marzegan
Centro di Bioingegneria, Milan, Italy – November 2002.

“Ergonomics of 2 Bicycle Saddles” (Pressure at the Pudendal Area in Women of a
Normal Saddle with Gel and of a Saddle with a Hole)
Dr. Ingo Froboese – Deutsche Sporthochschule, Cologne, Germany
Dr. Luc Baeyens – Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Brugmann, Brussels, Belgium.

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Triathlon Training – Killing Six Birds With One Stone

Or in one single step how to:-

  1. Train harder.
  2. Recover well.
  3. Manage heart arrhythmia.
  4. Repair calf muscle strain.
  5. Improve overall performance.
  6. Sleep better at night.

It’s funny how one can sometimes grapple with a seemingly complex and unresolvable issue only to discover one day that the solution is quite simple really.

For long now I have been most concerned about my leaking heart valves and ever increasing moments (never noticed any in the beginning) of wildly fluctuating arrhythmias between 30 and 240 beats per minute during training and competition (and those are just the recording limits of the heart rate monitor)!

It’s only after I read an article describing one of the reasons why the Russian athletes were at one time so far superior to their American counterparts, that the penny finally dropped.

You see the Russians where monitoring their athletes heart rate variances overnight which would then determine their state of recovery and therefore the intensity of the next day’s training for each individual.

You can only train as hard as the degree to which your body has recovered, and exceeding this is what leads to the dreaded over-training syndrome which includes in my case, aggravated heart arrhythmia!

And so it also dawned on me that the reason I was struggling to recover properly was because of my having to get up every hour at night to go to the loo as a result of prostate enlargement that restricted my bladder from being completely emptied. Tests now show that I carry a permanent reservoir of at least 500ml in my bladder (more than the average persons total capacity), and only void the overflow each time!

So there you have it!  Just have to fix the prostate (one stone) to sleep well, recover better, control arrhythmia, train harder and improve performance. Simple really.

Ah you say, but what about the calf strain?

Yes I know, seem to have pulled it quite badly last Sunday at the EC Tri Champs, and it’s going to need some good rest to heal. This Monday noon I’m checking into the St. Georges hospital for five days to have this long overdue prostate op done at 2pm, and so the subsequent 2 weeks forced rest will kill the sixth bird too!

And don’t be surprised to see me into some heavy cycling and swimming sessions this weekend, in fact right up to that hospital check in time – I intend to be so “poegaai” by then that I probably won’t need any anesthetic! Ha ha ha!!!

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Injuries – Ankle Sprain Rehabilitation

I sprained my ankle doing the 2008 Port St Francis Summer Series Tri, and it has remained a weakness ever since. Now again I tweaked it with the first Summer Series Tri on 16 December whilst running over the rocky beach, so have started this rehab program to sort it out properly. Mike

Phase 1

1. Band resistance work

Push against a resistance band, and you should feel this strengthening the calf muscles and achilles tendon. Start with 3 sets of 10 once a day.

2. Small foot circles

Move foot around in circles against the resistance band. You should feel medial and lateral ankle ligaments lengthening.

Phase 2

3. Seated calf raise.

You should do this exercise seated to build up strength slowly. 3 sets of 10 should be performed.

Progressions

3b. Seated calf raise with barbell

Add barbell onto knees while doing calf raise

3c. Seated lateral calf raise with barbell

Add barbell onto knees while doing calf raises in a lateral direction to strengthen both lateral and medial ligaments.

4. Calf raise on stable swiss ball with base

5.Wobble board ankle ligament exercise

6. Single leg calf raises on swiss ball with base

Phase 3

7. Heel drop on box with both legs

Ensure you do not over-do this exercise and only do as many as is comfortable to start with, paying careful attention to the achilles tendon

8. Heel drop single leg

Again ensure that you do not over-do this exercise. Do not do as many as the two footed heel drop.

9. Walking calf raises.

Walk pushing yourself up on to your toes on each step. Start doing 20 steps and progress each day until you can do 100

6. Calf raises on a box

The ball of your foot must be all the way on the box. Raise yourself up then back down. There is no need to drop heels on this one.

7b. Calf raises with bar bell.

Phase 4

7. Ladder work

8. Step ups

9. Squat jumps

You must use a mat or spring floor for this exercise. You must use explosive power that comes from the quads and knees. You must not squat too low and must also not pause between jumps to keep the plyometric effect going. Focus on a fixed point otherwise you will migrate across the gym floor.

This article was taken from the Peak Performance newsletter, the number one source of sports science, training and research. Click here to access these articles as soon as they are released to maximise your performance

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