Leg Stress Injury from Cycling?

[Slammin Sammy]

For the last two weeks, I have been experiencing severe pain in my lower left leg, in the front and slightly around to the outside. There are several extensor muscles with tendons in the area, so I'm not certain which one is inflamed.

I'm not sure what has caused it, and I've never had it before, but a personal trainer told me it's from cycling and/or walking uphill. His recommended therapy? Rolling it out (very painful), and no cycling for at least a week! Luckily it's swimming weather here at the moment, or I'd be in danger of turning into a gelatinous blob! 

Anyone ever experienced this problem? If so, how did you recover, and how long did it take?

[jags]

is it shin splints sam very painfull.i get sore legs when i'm walking especally if i start of walking quick,so take things easy at the start hope you get it sorted real soon ,put a good sports rub on your legs before you go out.
and keep taking the tablets my bill is in the post.

anto.

[John Saxby]

Hi Sam,

Oi, those things can be painful.  I used to get them ages back (just after the invention of printing) from running on tarmac in the city. "Lay off for a bit, and/or get better shoes" was the advice I received then...

Let me talk with my son, who's a research specialist on gait, doing his doctorate on "Old Knees in Young Bodies" at a bio-mechanics institute at Griffiths Uni here in Gold Coast.  He's also a personal trainer and an international-level athlete, so is knowledgeable about such things.  I'll see him later this afternoon, in 3-4 hours' time. 

Will be in touch, & meantime, keep swimming!  - J.

PS:  brace yourself!  He may also recommend the styrofoam roller thing -- he used to use that to recover from his kung-fu (kickboxing) tournaments...

[jags]

Say John while your asking him about leg problems  can you also ask if glucostmine tabs are any good for rheumatismn the back. ;)heers
anto.

[Slammin Sammy]

Thanks John - I'm eager to get the opinion of an expert!

(Not that I don't value yours, Anto!  I would have called this problem shin splints too, except I always thought that was a micro or stress fracture. In any case, I don't think this is a bone issue, since the pain varies with the amount of exercise, and is aggravated by putting weight on it, suggesting muscle or tendon inflammation.)

It was 32C here yesterday, but our beach is closed due to some shark sightings - 4m Great White, apparently, although it keeps growing with each report  . As I'm basically a coward when it comes to becoming shark bait, I swam in our fantastic ocean baths, which have recently reopened after almost a year of repairs. It's such a great feature of our coast - a free, safe, continually refreshed salt water pool that's 50m x 200m!

I love this place...

[Danneaux]

Sammy,

While I'm not qualified to offer an opinion on your injury, I am qualified to offer my condolences, sympathy, and empathy!

I hope the problem resolves and you're feeling better and pain-free soonest!

All the best,

Dan.

[John Saxby]

I'm basically a coward when it comes to becoming shark bait

  I'm with you on the sharks, Sam.  Saltwater pools are the items to have in your neighbourhood.

Spoke with our son last night, and showed him your post. His observations:

1)    The kind of injury you describe sounds like repetitive strain injury. These usually result from prolonged heavy usage, and sometimes from heavy usage done without buildup training.  David was surprised to hear that it might have some from cycling uphill.

2)     He thought it would be useful to continue with the anti-inflammatory tabs and the roller, acknowledging that the latter can really hurt.  He said you might try using a cricket ball, rolling that up & down over the area -- that localizes the pressure more than the big roller.  ("Oh joy," I hear you saying -- "more tough love.")

3)     If you don't feel any improvement, get specialist advice.  (I'd add--easy for me to say--how quickly could you see a sports-injury specialist, maybe with a view to getting an MRI?)

4)     After repetitive strain injury to the ankle and/or calf, the usual treatment for rebuilding/strengthening muscles is called "eccentric loading": Stand on a stair step or a 2 x 6 on a level surface with your heels protruding over the edge. Lift one foot, putting your weight on the other. Raise yourself on the ball of your foot, then ease back down, past horizontal, then raise your foot to horizontal again.  Repeat with the other foot. (Your physio or other specialist would give you more specific directions.)

Good luck with this, Sam.  Look forward to your stories of (more-or-less? -- we are getting older...) painfree cycling soon.

[Slammin Sammy]

Wow - this is weird. I replied to this  (John's post) a few days ago, and I'm pretty sure it was posted, and now I find it's disappeared! I know some others have experienced this phenomenon on this board, right?

I just said "thanks" to John's son for the advice, all of which I will put to good use, except for the cricket ball, unless my physiotherapist puts me up to it, because I know where he lives! 

Second time lucky?

[Danneaux]

Wow - this is weird. I replied to this  (John's post) a few days ago, and I'm pretty sure it was posted, and now I find it's disappeared! I know some others have experienced this phenomenon on this board, right?

Sam,

If your browser refreshes or your connection hiccups while posting, then sometimes the post won't make the trip. If neither of those things happen, then try refreshing your browser, as the Forum pages don't autoload/autoupdate sometimes until you revisit the page you were on.

For PMs, make sure you go into your profile settings and choose the option to keep a copy in your outbox; those messages are kept separate from your outgoing PMs.

Hope this helps,

Dan.