Total Leg pain

fuzzdog

Ive done a fair bit of cycling this year. training quite a bit for the Marmotte and the ride london, takin in several sportives and ridden some mountains in the Pyrenees while visiting the Tour. And all went really well. Apart from not finishing the Marmotte ( not due the physical problems though) However a week after returning from the Pyrenees, and feeling great and ready for more I went for a ride around my local. a few weeks before the ride London I decided to check out the hills. I did Leith hill and Box hill and before them Barhatch lane ( 21%) and okay I did think that they were actually tougher than the Pyrenees but nothing I am not used too having trained on similar hills all year without problems. On the way back I took in a couple of caffeine gels that one guy had told me were amazing (viper gels) I had them left over from the marmotte but never used them. I'd not used them before either. I didn't notice anything at first but on pushing things a bit found that I was able seemingly to push hard all the way home on rolling terrain for about an hour or so. I was quite impressed with my efforts but wondered if I might suffer a bit afterwards for it. Two days passed and no ill effects but on the third day everything changed. Both my ankles swelled up, both my knees became very sore and also both my hips. It's now a month later and apart from riding the Ride London in the rain I've not really ridden since. I'm not in pain other than when I load the muscles but my legs are wrecked. I don't understand how after all my rides and training without a problem that one hour of riding could knacker both knees, ankles and hips too.
Can anyone shed any light on this or tell me of similar experiences. I'm 46 and apart from the odd knee niggle I've never really had anything like this before.

bikes`n`guns

I`d be amazed if two Viper gels and 1 days riding did this. I`d look more at the totals you`ve been doing over the summer and thinking it might be a longer term cause.

I use Viper btw, and they do give you a proper kick in the ass on a hard ride home.

fuzzdog

yes. I am amazed too. but bemused at how all this could happen to both legs in equal amounts at the same time. I could see how I might get pain in maybe one knee or one ankle or a combination of both but to be such a complete reaction after no real problems before and also to have no real improvment for a month is pretty strange. I've just returned from holiday and had expected them to be fine by now after no cycling and lots of gentle swimming. but no. Still have elephant ankles and stiff painful knees.

phil485

I'm currently off the bike too with suspected Sacroiliac joint dysfunction which has led to piriformis syndrome.

Like you I've had my biggest year in terms of distance riden and height climbed. My club did the 2 Yorkshire tdf stages in May which is a big step up from the Windsor area.

I did ride London on a borrowed bike and then the following weekend I made the trip to do leith and box hill to complete the challenge for people who sponsored me.

Cycled to work the following Tuesday, didn't feel great, back, leg and hip started aching during the day and I spent most of the afternoon lying on the floor. Tried to get home but had to be picked up and I've now spent the last week and a half in bed. First physio session tonight, strong painkillers and anti inflammatoryies doing their job.

Hips been niggling for a couple of months, left foot isn't as comfortable as it should be in my shoe and a borrowed bike that was slightly too small. Small insignificant things that I shouldn't have ignored.

fuzzdog

Hi Phill
Firstly. That was very gallant of you to do the hills we missed on the Ride London to placate your sponsors. Does my cycling up them the previous weekend count do you think? I was very glad not to have had to do them on the day actually. With my legs?
Anyway. Mmm that sounds bad. Compared to you I don't seem so bad. I've been taking Ibuprofen and putting cold stuff on my knees. I've not asked a doctor yet. I'm sure they would probably say rest up. which is basically what I've done anyway and I can't really afford going to a physio. I will probably wait and see what happens. Maybe get some joint care medicine or fish oil or something. I'm not really in pain as such. just that my legs need to be kept moving or they get stiff and it feels like my knee caps will pop out if I squat or similar. Does anyone know what else I should be doing? light spinning on an a turbo maybe?
I can't help thinking about Alberto Contador riding the Vuelta not much more than a month after practically breaking a leg in the Tour. Amazing what a team of Real Madrid physics can do eh?
Funny thing. My girlfriend who is Spanish told me that Contador is spanish for switch box or fuse box. I always thought it was such a cool sounding name too. It's a bit like Tia Maria which sounds a bit exotic but is just Aunty Mary.

phil485

Doing them the week before counts in my book!
I'm lucky enough to have bupa to cover the physio and I'm interested in what happens later.

I would strongly suggest a visit to the docs and get a referral on the nhs. It's not really worth riding through the niggles!
A week and a half off work is a real pain and I think it's going to be a while before I'm back on the bike.

Get it checked out even if all they say is rest.

I'm using the jointace jel which seems to work well too.