Loss of coordination in leg - Official runner's dystonia / focal dystonia discussion thread

Try Asthanga Yoga,it will balance your body and strengthen your deep posture muscles.

your right is higher because of the weak glute med muscle.

I've had this problem for over a year now and I've made a lot of adjustments to how much I run. It took me a long time (6+ months)just to realize that this condition isn't going away anytime soon. Back then I had the mentality that it would get better in a few days on its own, so I ran 85-90 mpw for a long stretch.

Now that I know the injury is a long term one, I have dropped all short term aspirations of being able to run fast. I think it's important to take it easy and shift the focus from running (a lot) to working on getting better through re-balancing and strengthening your body.

Right now I run about 60 mpw...an easy 8.5 miles most days, my longest run is about 11 miles, and I do one short threshold run of about 18 minutes in the middle of a 9 miler. By eliminating runs of 12+ miles and tempo runs over 20 minutes, I've noticed that my left leg feels a lot less fatigue and it makes all of my runs more enjoyable.

I think the gluteus medius focus is the way to go.

One thing that worked for me, was doing exercises to strengthen the hip abductors (ie gluteus medius). If u have access to a gym with Adductor/Abductor machines by all means use them, or u can use stretch bands, which are equally effective (for my case, at least).

This may sound a bit drastic, but what I did was to focus on the leg where the pelvis was lower, which was the left leg for me. I did both standing and seated versions of lateral leg raises using stretch cords, with left leg bent and straightened, nearly daily with at least 5-6 sets of 20-30 reps.

I also did another exercise where u stand in the lunge position with yr bad leg behind. Then grab onto a stretch band or cable from a weights stack (behind u) with yr left hand and perform a forward chest press exercise. You shd notice yr entire trunk activated and rotating from left to right. This exercise offsets what we do when we turn right on the track. It touches on the glute med/hip abductors in sync with the trunk and other leg muscles in opposing motion to making left turns. I did about 3-5 sets 20 rep.

I think if u give it a few days, u shd notice the change quite quickly. After 3 days my pelvis was noticeably higher (though not fully stable in that position yet) than b4. When I run there were more sustained spurts where my legs were aligned and my glutes were 'firing' more normally.

Also try what is called hurdle hip drills/exercises, where u basically walk over forwards and backwards and laterally using a standard athletics hurdle. If u don't have access to one, even doing it with an 'imaginary hurdle' will help. Anything with height up to just below yr hip (or whatever yr level of flexibility allows) and which allows u to 'walkover' will do. It shd look like u r doing a slow motion hurdling. Perform with both legs, but do more with yr bad leg.

Just to clarify, why do I suggest focusing on the gluteus medius?

Its bec its the area that supports yr hip and keeps it in position when yr other leg is in support position (ie when yr bad leg is in forward swing phase) while running.

When we consistently put pressure on that particular leg, as when we run on track curves, the hip and pelvic bones converge and compresses on yr left side (when making left turns). Over time the nerves on that side go dead, resulting in the loss of neuro-control over the gluteus medius (and some of the other related muscles there). This can lead to sciatica, numbness, stiffness initially, esp when u r seated.

Over time, the gluteus medius atrophies and this results in the pelvic tilt downwards to the left. Surrounding muscles compensate by shifting or working harder, and this makes running possible for a season, until one day u start to feel yr right leg sway and splay outwrds, bec the compensation can only go on so far.

U will notice 'smaller' or weaker muscles on yr right, and try to strengthen them. But they seem not to respond that well. The more u run, the more yr left leg seems to grow larger and tighter around the hips. However, when u stretch, esp one leg at a time, the left is easy but it is yr right that tightens! PERPLEXITY.

But if u get strght to the ROOT PROBLEM, and deal with it, the other muscles automatically adjust to cope with the physical changes in yr left hip abductors. Strenghthen the glute med of the leg with the lower pelvic tilt. Then the other muscles will adjust in time, as u continue whatever form of running u can muster.

When I first started with strengthening my left glute med, I noticed a change in the level of flexibility on each leg. When I swam I also kicked more fluently, and held a better posture (oh yeah swimming is a great way to assess yr level of alignment and progress in balancing out yr body, not to mentioned good x-trng if u really can't run at all!). When u r in the water, the cooler environment enables u to have a better 'feel' of where yr trouble spots are, and the limits of yr range of motion.

Don't worry so much abt the other leg (or any other parts of yr body)and its resulting troubles due to compensation. Work on them, but my suggestion is focus on the left glute med/hip abductors and everything will fall into place.

It also helps if u wear minimalist shoes/racing flats for yr current runs, or do barefoot runs on grass. They won't necessarily heal yr condition, but allow u to continue running with lesser discmfort compared to cushioned thick trainers. U also get a much better idea of where yr problem areas lie and how much progress u r making in yr rehab. Softer surfaces also give more easily and makes yr imbalances slightly less interruptive to yr runs. But this is just provisional and by no means a cure.

Strengthening yr weaker glute med, not overdoing track curves (make right turns too!), not using track too often.....these will help.

Have you taken the antibiotic CIPRO in the last few months?

This drug can cause this type of problem.

It's hard to believe I've had this issue for over 6 months now myself. The past couple weeks I've bumped up from 50-60 mpw to low 80's just because I've added in a few double days. Nearly every run is easy for me, and I never run for longer than an hour except for a "long" run that I can only effectively do without incident on very hilly runs. I hope it's possible to re-balance things out while running, otherwise in the short term it does not make any sense for me to continue on with this.

foomiler,

I have noticed an improvement when I do glute exercises, even if they are simple firing exercises right before running. It isn't always effective though, but for the most part, it helps. I guess I'll try doing them til I'm blue in the face every day, along with everything else I'm doing, and see how that goes. Perhaps the reason my adductors are giving out on me is because my glute isn't doing its normal job of stabilization.

I would also suggest taking a day off or two if you start to feel like you are struggling with every step. I felt completely off balance a couple of weeks ago and took 2 days off. When I came back I felt much smoother.

this is the very best one yet.great explanation of the whole thing.my quesion is pronation of my right foot is the cause.should i consider motion control shoes.it tends to correct it more?this is so great of what is going on.you can take it even a step further.when your glute med is not working your balance comes from your shins.try these type injuries achellis tendon,tarsal tunnel,ITB,runners knee,periformis syndrom,shin splints all can come from a weak glute med.

i'm seeing a PT and he has me doing lots of glute medius, hamstring, hip flexor, stuff and it seems to be helping, but there are good days and there are bad days. right now I'm just racing 800's because anything longer than that seems to cause problms (I raced a 3200 the other day and my leg started getting weak after about the mile). Hopefully the strengthening will help, it would sure be nice to get out there and hammar some 1600s and 3200s, but right now I guess I'll be a mid-distance man.

well i had a meet yesterday and no problems. I ran the opening leg in the 4 x 8 (2:07.3) and won the open 8 (2:08.10) Both are under my old pr of 2:10.1 (r) It was the first open 8 I ran since freshman year(3 years ago) so it's a bit of a new event for me, but it looks like I'll be doing a lot more soon. Hopefully the strenthening of my glute medius helps and I'll be able to run some fast 1600's in a while.

Another exercise which may of help is what therapists call the "hip hitch" or "hip hikers." I believe they use this to treat what is known as the Tredelenburg gait, which is essentially having a higher pelvis/hip on one side due to weakened Glute med on that same side.

If I'm not wrong, I think u stand on your weakened/higher side either on a step (or any elevated plane), allowing yr 'longer'/lower side to dangle a bit lower. Using only the gluteus medius on your weaker/higher side, u try to lift the hips of yr other side till it is level (or even slightly higher) with the weak side. Keep yr supporting knee strght at all times.

This is quite tough as we have a tendency to activate many other muscles, esp those on the lower side, to help with the lifting. But w practice, I think u can get a better feel of just how to 'squeeze' the glute med in isolation.

What u might notice is that this exercise leads you to alter yr gait in other parts of yr body also, though they r not directly activated. If u have a tight right torso it tends to be stretched out, and if u have tight psoas and abs they tend to be stretched out also, though I don't think u will necessarily feel the stretch that much. But u get a better idea of where yr imbalances lie.

Hope this helps. This loss of coordination problem is a REALLY TOUGH and COMPLEX condition to work thro and it can reduce one to tears! Glad many of us here r helping each other out.

Hi everyone,

How is everyone's progress going? I ran a 3k on the track last night. It's strange because it seems both of my legs feel funky now when I land. It basically feels like my landing (supporting) muscles cannot adequately support the speed that my pushing muscles generate, if that makes sense. My quads felt fatigued from the start, but never really got any worse. I don't really lose coordination in my leg anymore, but rather have to deal with constantly feeling like my knees are buckling as I run. I don't seem to have any problems while sprinting, or simply running fast and landing solely on the balls of my feet. If I land mid foot or heel strike at all, my legs immediatley will have that awkward buckling sensation.

Anyways, I hope everyone else is progressing through this extremely difficult ordeal.

Hope this helps some...I'm a 46 year old male and had back trouble for ten years and had sciatica along with it. One of my disc had totally degenerated and i had a spondylethesis of it which means that disc slipped forward and was pressing on my spinal nerves causing acute pain that shot down my whole right leg.Not only did I loose an inch in height but this problem made me walk weird like my whole right leg got weaker over time and even if i conciously tried to make it work right it wouldn't. So, from about age 32 to 44 I had this bad back problem and then I had surgery done on it at the Houston Sports Clinic in Columbus Ga. They fused L4 and L5 and after one week of rest I was told to start walking for therapy. I walked for five months every day and built mileage then decided to try running in July of 05. My right leg felt weird while walking but as the pain of the surgery subsided and my leg strengthened up it felt better but never has felt as good as my normal left leg. When I started running and was able to progress to running four to five miles at a times sometimes and most of the time my right foot would go like numb. I would conciously try to make it work right and wiggle my toes as i ran which helped some. I haven't experienced the numbness lately but i can still tell there is something wrong with my right leg because it feels weird compared to my left one. I wonder if it is nerve damage from when my back was bad all those years of if i have another injury along with it. I also had my right knee scoped for torn cartlidge under my knee cap but this has been fifteen years ago. My point here is I think my back caused this leg trouble and don't know whether to pursue seeing a doctor about it for fear they will tell me not to run. Anyway, back trouble could be the cause of this numbing and I wish you all the best

mlbfan - Thanks for the update. I'm still pretty much in a holding pattern. I'm running just enough to try to feel like I'm staying in shape and stopping before it starts to act up. Once a week I run a 10 miler on a flat smooth path and I'm generally ok except for the last mile. If I pick up the tempo, it will kick in right before I finish. If I keep it slow, it won't happen. I feel it in my upper calf just below the knee, which is kind of weird because it used to be in my quad, then my hamstring.

After every run, if I do knee lifts - like I'm trying to bring my knee to my chest, I feel a "pins & needles" type feeling in my left inner quad, whereas I don't feel anything in my right. I am sure this is related to the problem.

I'm still following Egoscue daily and will be visting the clinic in San Diego next week. I'm going by the assumption that it is postural related, although I do have an appointment in June with a vascular surgeon after seeing the post by Former Highlander.

Good luck!

After reading your previous thread weaks ago, I researched some exercises for the glutius medius. I have been doing the dangling leg lift now for about 3-4 weeks and have felt a significant improvement quickly. It is great.

I think I have "Tredelenburg gait" and this exercise is helping immensely. As others have mentioned the treadmill is the true test for inducing loss of coordination. I have improved the amount of time I can casually run on the flat service by quite a bit. (I don't generally run on the treadmill this time of year.)

As for roadrunning, I would generally start to lose it near the 2 hour mark on Sundays. Now I am having no problems beyond this point at a decent clip.

This thread has been very informative and helpful.

track dude wrote:

I feel it in my upper calf just below the knee, which is kind of weird because it used to be in my quad, then my hamstring.

PRECISELY what happened to me, it switches around those three areas

Bump.

explain dangling leg lift