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You more than likely you’ve heard about the health and medical issues of bicycle seat design.

But, did you know there is a growing body of scientific research investigating the role and impact of bike seats for bicycle police?

Previous scientific studies looking at bicycle saddles include:

• Women’s Bike Seats: Does handlebar level damage the pelvic floor in female cyclists?
• Women’s Bike Seats: A Pressing Matter for Competitive Female Cyclists
• Cutting off the nose to save the penis
• Genital sensation and sexual function in women bicyclists and runners: Are your feet safer than your seat?
• Effects of Bicycle Saddle Designs on the Pressure to the Perineum of the Bicyclist
• Nocturnal Penile Tumescence and Rigidity Testing in Bicycling Patrol Officers

These studies were undertaken by the US National  Institute of Occupational Health and Saftey (NIOSH), which specialises in workplace OHS research.

Recently, I’ve been reading NIOSH’s No-Nose Bicycle Saddle research, which used US bicycle police officers who are ‘occupational bicyclists’ as participants into no-nose bike seat design.

 

No-Nose Bicycle Saddle Research

NIOSH explains the research as such: Over the last several years, NIOSH researchers have investigated the potential health effects of prolonged bicycling in police bicycle patrol units, including the possibility that some bicycle saddles exert excessive pressure on the urogenital area of cyclists, restricting blood flow to the genitals, resulting in adverse effects on sexual function.

NIOSH worked with several police departments with bicycle patrols to conduct reproductive health research. In these studies NIOSH did more than assess a problem; it also tested a solution and published recommendations.

Several bicycle saddle manufacturers have developed saddles without protruding noses. NIOSH has investigated whether these saddles, which remove the pressure from the urogenital area, will alleviate any potential health problems.

Here’s a 2-minute video explaining the key research focus.

 

Findings and recommendations

The study found that: workers who ride a bicycle as part of their job may be at risk for genital numbness or more serious sexual and/or reproductive health problems from pressure in the groin (perineum) from the traditional bicycle saddle.

NIOSH has conducted studies that have demonstrated the effectiveness of no-nose bicycle saddles in reducing pressure in the groin and improving the sexual health of male bicycle patrol police officers.

While most workers in jobs that involve bicycling are men, recent evidence suggests that no-nose bicycle saddles may also benefit women.

Here is a copy of the studies recommendations:  No-nose Saddles for Preventing Genital Numbness and Sexual Dysfunction from Occupational Bicycling.pdf

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What did the participants think?

The research was also shared with the participant police departments. Below are a few articles from the International Police Mountain Bike Association Newsletter (IPMBA) Winter 2007, Spring 2009  & Spring 2011) editions of the San Antonio, Chicago and Seattle divisions that share participant’s experiences of being involved in the research project.