vastus medials/sartorius/gracilis help needed

[andy mac]

vastus medials/sartorius/gracilis - I keep aggravating them riding and have spent way too much on physio bills etc. trying to get them right.

I feel they are treating the pain but not correcting the cause. ie. they work out the knots/trigger points only for me to replace them after every decent ride.

has anyone had problems with these upper/inner leg muscles? if so, what did you do to over come it? positioning? weights? sacrificing vigins?


(see the muscles at:)
http://www.gwc.maricopa.edu/class/bio201/muscle/leg1.htm

thanks in advance oh wise ones.

andy.

[Too Tall]

Ouch. Advice over the web???? Not easy man. What is your training load like this season? Really heavy, tons of training / racing or just he usual 10 hrs. a week for instance?

Let's just say you have a perfect bike fit and go from there. *If not get thee to a fitter.

My first instinct is that you are experiencing depletion and overtraining. These muscles are some of the first to get whacked in cyclists....that's my experience and observation in coaching and as a therapist.

What I do for it is look closely at: post exercise recovery routine (do you have one and is it working or none at all), electrolyte and hydration (are you in the ballpark and have there been problems in the past) and lastly I'd evaluate vastus l. and vastus m. strength / balance.

Regardless of cause I'd def. start you on a course of deep tissue massage AND vastus balancing to help localize the problem WHILE working with a good post exercise recovery program and proper hydration with electrolytes.

Here is a routine for vastus balancing you can do on your own:

Lean on a Duraball against a wall, with the ball positioned at your lower
back. (The Duraball acts like a ball bearing between you and the wall as
you squat.) Place the yoga block between your feet to properly align and
space your feet. Then pick up the block (or use a second one) and place it
between your thighs just above the knee. Squeeze the block firmly, slowly
squat to parallel, hold, and slowly stand back up. Start with a 5 down, 3
hold, 5 up cadence for 6 reps. Your adductors will scream, but they will
get strong.

VERY IMPORTANT: Once your feet are aligned and spaced do not move them
during the squat. If you have poor flexibility, your feet will want to move
during the exercise

[andy mac]

Thanks TT, I always enjoy reading your valuable replies.

To answer a few questions in no particular order.

I am a bike imposter on this forum. I have never raced a crit or a stage race or the like. I have only ridden a century, competed in tris and a few mountain bike/adventure races all with no success. Not even close to the front. OK, enjoyment is my success.

I normally wouldn’t mention this but perhaps it’s applicable. My background is in ski racing. Back in the day I was on a national team and raced around the world for 5 years so my legs were pretty strong.

A friend who is a chiro was telling me skiers sometimes have problems cycling as they have muscles that are over developed in some areas and under in others.

A year ago I had my muscles tested by an Olympic gymnastics coach and he ID’d a number of imbalances and weaknesses so I have been working to overcome those.

I also saw the physio therapist for a good Olympic cycling team who ID’d I was really tight in some areas, mainly the glutes and hips. That was pulling my pedal stroke out of line and causing patella problems. The outcome of that was has been a pretty rigorous stretching routine which has helped.

Sadly I was only able to see her once as she lives on the other side of the world.

I’m now in new york after spending a few years in Europe and can’t seem to find that caliber of person to work with. Ie. put me on a trainer and know what’s wrong.

I am still having pain there and in the calf and haven’t been able to ride as far or as hard as I would have liked for the last 3 years. It’s driving me nuts.

Massage has helped but not addressed the issue. My big question is, and I know nobody here can answer it on a forum, what really is the issue?

It’s funny, I’m not even a good cyclist but this is driving me crazy!!! I have spent far more time, effort and money on cycling injuries than I ever did on ski injuries. Arrrr… Riding a bike, is it too much to ask?? 102 year old Dutch ladies can do it, why not me??

In regards to fitting I sold my old trek 5500 and was fitted by Michael Sylvester, a Serotta fitter in Portland for a concours. Nice ride but the leg is still not working right.

I will give the exercise you mentioned a go and see if that helps.

I have basically written this year off and will spend it trying to get everything right so I can up the mileage and training next year. My goal will be to ride the L’Etape race in France next July. And to date Christy Turlington. Fingers crossed…