Miracle Pants

Pain will drive a person to desperation. It drove me to try on some weird-looking tights from CW-X.

The CW-X line of athletic wear is built with reinforcing panels that supposedly support the working muscles the way trainers support already-injured muscles. The reasoning is that reinforcement now will prevent injury.

It seems to work. My left hamstring complex has hurt for almost a year now. At times it acted like sciatica. At other times it acted like a pulled muscle. I was holding out for sciatica, because I could rehabilitate that actively. A pulled muscle would require complete rest. I know I would come out of complete rest looking like a manatee -- an impoverished manatee, after having to fill the gas tank for several weeks of unwanted motor commuting.

Miracle Pants seem to have put off the need for drastic rest. If the pain responds to a placebo effect, I was not injured in the first place. If the tights really support the injury in such a way that I can function without pain, they work as advertised. Either way, problem solved. The money was well spent.

The pain did not miraculously disappear completely. In fact, after the first ride I thought I was not impressed. But after I got home I noticed that things did not hurt as much as usual. More rides yielded the same result. Overall, pain is decreasing gradually. For now, I will say these things work.

Now I hope the weather stays somewhat cool for a while. CW-X doesn't make bike shorts. We have some bib shorts with a bike pad, but I don't care for bibs. I'm also not sure the support web will work on a short pant leg.