Bicyclist's vulva: observational study * Commentary: Attitudes to women's bicycling have changed

doi:10.1136/bmj.325.7356.138

BMJ 2002;325:138-139 ( 20 July )

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Bicyclist's vulva: observational study

Commentary: Attitudes to women's bicycling have changed

Bicyclist's vulva: observational study

Luc Baeyens, professor and head of the department of gynaecology ^a, Elke Vermeersch, resident in gynaecology and obstetrics ^a, Pierre Bourgeois, head of nuclear medicine ^b.

^a Sports Gynaecology Unit, Brugmann University Hospital, B-1020 Brussels, Belgium, ^b Department of Radioisotopes, Institut J Bordet, B-1000 Brussels

Correspondence to: L Baeyens luc.baeyens@chu-brugmann.be

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Many chronic injuries related to athletic bicycling are now recognised: cyclist's nipples,¹ neuropathic syndromes,²and skin problems caused by the saddle. We have seen a new clinicalproblem in female high level cycling competitors: bicyclist'svulva (figure).

Table Removed (Available Only in the Full Text)

Participants, methods, and results

Six women, aged 21-38 years, had a unilateral chronic swelling of the labium majus after a few years of intensive bicycling(an average of 462.5 km per week). All six had typical unilaterallymphoedema (five on the right side, one on the left) which wasmore severe after more intense and longer training. The positionof the bicycle saddle, the type of shorts worn, and the women'sperineal hygiene were optimum. There was no family history oflymphoedema in any of the women, nor any common factor that mightexplain thelymphoedema.

All six women regularly had inflammatory skin problems related to the saddle and five had scars and perineal lesions suchas chafing, perineal . . . [Full text of this article]

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Rapid Responses:

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Sports should be fun and not self-harm: Anthony Papagiannis
bmj.com, 20 Jul 2002 [Full text]
Re: Competitive Sport is by definition nothing to do with fun: mari louise todd
bmj.com, 22 Jul 2002 [Full text]
Another paper on this topic: David Humphries
bmj.com, 19 Feb 2003 [Full text]
Bicyclist's Vulva: Denise M. Harewood
bmj.com, 19 Aug 2003 [Full text]