Question:
Awkward left leg
For several years now I have been unable to move my leg left properly when running. I have to make it move, I can't strike the ground fully, except when I run on grass. All the physios, massage therapists, sports medicine specialist and osteopath I have seen over the years have been baffled by this and whilst some mild improvement has taken place with stretching, back manipulation, swimming etc... (I can now walk normally and don't feel I have a wooden leg!), I still cannot run properly and my leg fatigues quickly when I hillwalk (although by the end of the day it seems to work almost normally). It also started with overstretching I think and perhaps a weakness in my buttock (I had pain on sitting and a physio gave me lots of stretching of my IT band which I did perhaps too religiously?). Has anyone else ever had this?
Asked by Emmanuelle1960 - 2 answers - 41 weeks 5 days ago
Hi Emmanuelle,
Submitted 40 weeks 5 days ago by LJSilverI've suffered from a similar sounding problem, where it felt like I couldn't control my left leg properly, either walking or running, and was having to make a conscious effort with every step. It made me feel like I had brain or nerve damage. About a year ago I finally found the help I needed to start fixing the problem, and after some really hard work, and loads of help, I estimate I'm about 95% back to normal. From where I am now, I can see that for various reasons many of the muscles that I should have been using had become deactivated and I was moving my left leg by pulling it through, as you would with a wooden leg, rather than pushing off from the ground properly so that the leg swings through naturally.
What I've been doing is strength work to strengthen my feet, calves, quads, glutes and core; running and hurdles drills to re-activate any dormant muscles, especially in my glutes, and convert the increased strength into movement and control; and foot drills to do the same with my feet. It's a very slow process but each time I get another muscle working I can feel the improvement, so it's very motivating. I also avoided running until a few months ago when I felt I had enough control for it to be beneficial and reinforcing good rather than bad movements.
I hope that's of some help to you. Let me know if you want to know more.
Cheers,
John
Hi John, thanks for taking time to reply.
Submitted 40 weeks 4 days ago by MichaelSIB