Owww My Leg really hurts (why? and how do I get it better?)
richred_uk
Posts: 167
Last week my right calf started to feel quite 'tight', but over the week it sort of 'rode off'.
Over the weekend, my right leg has become really painful at the top of my calf - just under the knee, bottom of my calf when I put weight on the front of my foot and just above the knee at the back. Also this leg has become quite swollen from the knee down.
I *suspect* that I've strained the tendons by overdoing the gears on the hills when I rode in :oops: was trying to alternate big gears for strength and little gears for speed.
Does that sound a decent diagosis? And what can I do about it? At first riding seemed OK as the pain was when I either straightened the leg or bent my knee a lot, but it doesn't feel like it would be smart to keep on riding at the moment while I'm limping everywhere so I'm having a couple of days off.
Anyone experienced anything similar? Or should I just get down the GP?
Rich
Over the weekend, my right leg has become really painful at the top of my calf - just under the knee, bottom of my calf when I put weight on the front of my foot and just above the knee at the back. Also this leg has become quite swollen from the knee down.
I *suspect* that I've strained the tendons by overdoing the gears on the hills when I rode in :oops: was trying to alternate big gears for strength and little gears for speed.
Does that sound a decent diagosis? And what can I do about it? At first riding seemed OK as the pain was when I either straightened the leg or bent my knee a lot, but it doesn't feel like it would be smart to keep on riding at the moment while I'm limping everywhere so I'm having a couple of days off.
Anyone experienced anything similar? Or should I just get down the GP?
Rich
0
Comments
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Rest
Ice
Compression
Elevation
and see a massage therapist/physio. Dont wait for it to get worse, or you'll most probably spend even more time off the bike.FCN 11. When you hear the buzz of the nobblies, you know youve been scalped.0 -
GP. They'll likely prescribe rest and ibuprofen. Then, if it's still a problem in a few weeks you can go back and they'll prescribe physio.
I strained my achilles about 11 weeks ago and didn't do anything about it for a month or so, then went to the docs and had the above recommendation. 5 weeks later and it's better but not perfect so went to docs again last Friday and they suggested physio. Fortunately have health insurance at work so I headed over to local physio this morning where they noted that my right foot pronates more than my left, strapped up the ankle a little to provide some support and told me to massage, followed by cold compress, then heat.
If you don't get private medical cover then certainly head to the GP as there's quite a waiting list for physio, so get on the list sooner rather than later. Infact, say you've already been resting and taking ibuprofen as well as massaging it and applying a compress, may get you up the list sooner.0 -
Have you been on any planes recently?This is a block of text that can be added to posts you make. There is a 255 character limit.0
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No planes, and been taking 3 * 400mg ibuprofen for the last couple of days.
Will stayy off the bike and keep feet up as much as poss over the w/e then gp next week if it's still ongoing I think.
Cheers for the advice - buggered me for going a testing some bikes this weekend though
Rich0 -
agree with advice given here
remember that Elevation means getting the painful bit above your heart....not just up on a cushion or on the sofa. sleeping with a pillow under the leg can help....it's all about reducing any inflammation or fluid build up, and hence reducing pressure on the nerve and therefore reducing pain.
this site explains the RICE protocol: http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cold_ ... herapy.php
there's also a section on sports massage http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/sport ... /index.php
hope you recover quickly0 -
aaaaannnddddd the mystery is solved. I have a deep vein thrombosis :shock:
Dr is very confused as I am 37 and have zero risk factors.
Short version - 1 weeks injections, 6 months tablets, no bike during the 6 months due to higher risk if I have any bruising or cuts.
Happy it's been caught in time to treat, but a bit miffed that the walk in med centre I went to twice with it never considered the possibility, whereas my gp found it in about 3 minutes0 -
wow, glad you've got a diagnosis and treatment started. I did wonder about DVT and given that you had no risk factors it's not surprising the walk in place missed it. still, not good.
is the no bike rule just because of the risk of cuts/bruises or is it to do with exercising the muscles? just wondering if you could get hold of a turbo trainer so you keep your fitness up in the meantime?
good luck with the recovery0 -
No bike is just because of the bleeding risk I think - once the leg feels physically better I'll ask about the turbo trainer - good idea - thanks.
Rich0
