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

Does your hamstring problem get worse if you stop to stretch them during a run? I was going through that for awhile as well. If I stopped to stretch them out during a run, once I started up again it felt like I was springing off the ground uncontrollably. Really strange.

mlbfan24:

what does the left foot do? is it everted more than the right? or is the foot stiffer - less range of motion? The area of the quad you describe - lower quad is consistent with lateral ankle weakness, sprain. turned ankle?

track dude wrote:

That's weird because I don't feel a problem in my quads now either...mine starts in the lower hamstring, right behind the knee. It just feels like my foot is flying forward and I can't do anything to slow it down. When I first developed the problem over a year ago, it was always in my quad. Hopefully this means that I'm making progress...

One other peculiar symptom that I have when the problem develops during a run is that I feel a weird funny bone sensation in my right forearm from the elbow to my hand. It only lasts for a second at a time, every couple of minutes. Most people would think that points to MS, but I've already been tested for it.

this is the symptomatic side? scalenes, neck muscles trying to help lift the leg? It's not unusual with people who have altered patterns to overuse neck muscles on that side to try to progress the pelvis forward - that or you have mouse arm from the computer.

My left foot is fairly straight, although when my legs start tightening up it begins pointing towards the outside. I've noticed ever since having this problem, I land more on the outside of my foot and excessively pronate. My right foot naturally lands pointed outward due to my knee (and probably entire leg) pointed outward. At the insertion point of my left hip, my femur bone sticks way out whereas my right side looks fairly normal. I haven't had any ankle sprains, but perhaps weakness?

It's actually the opposite side of my symptomatic side. When I mentioned this to a chiro that I saw many months ago, he said there is no nerve in the left leg that is connected to the right forearm. We concluded that it was most likely a result of the postural change that occurs when I get fatigued.

mlbfan - I wouldn't really know because I don't stretch anymore. I definitely wasn't going anywhere with stretching so I stopped completely.

mlbfan24 wrote:

My left foot is fairly straight, although when my legs start tightening up it begins pointing towards the outside. I've noticed ever since having this problem, I land more on the outside of my foot and excessively pronate. My right foot naturally lands pointed outward due to my knee (and probably entire leg) pointed outward. At the insertion point of my left hip, my femur bone sticks way out whereas my right side looks fairly normal. I haven't had any ankle sprains, but perhaps weakness?

then my guess is, tfl overuse on the left - which kicks in piriformis and psoas.

my guess is weak foot, weak left quadricep.

try airbench from egoscue?

track dude wrote:

It's actually the opposite side of my symptomatic side. When I mentioned this to a chiro that I saw many months ago, he said there is no nerve in the left leg that is connected to the right forearm. We concluded that it was most likely a result of the postural change that occurs when I get fatigued.

mlbfan - I wouldn't really know because I don't stretch anymore. I definitely wasn't going anywhere with stretching so I stopped completely.

then right arm and scalenes trying to balance loss of coordination on the left tfl?

have you had anyone look for severe trigger points in that left tfl? OR YOU MLB? how about psoas shortening on the left? is the left side measuring shorter?

My right upper body is very tight. I think my right side might be short, because my right foot kind of slaps the ground as I land. My right side in my lower back often is tight, and when I drive for longer than 30 minutes or so, my right hip will tighten up to the point that I have to continually shift to a new position.

I haven't had trigger point therapy done, or any kind of massage for that matter, but it wouldn't surprise me if I have some trigger points in my left leg. I know I have one in my right scapular area somewhere, because my right arm's range of motion is terrible and certain motions produce pain and restriction. Also the upper portion of my right trapezius, right near my neck, often is extremely tight.

is the right hip higher?

It's really hard for me to tell. I think it is slightly higher but I'm not sure. The only thing I'm sure of is my left femur sticks out noticeably where it inserts into the hip joint. if I turn my left foot inward about 30-45 degrees, it looks more like my right side.

then the coccyx is twisted to the left, you have a L5 rotation.

What exercises should I do for that type of rotation?

16x wrote:

then right arm and scalenes trying to balance loss of coordination on the left tfl?

have you had anyone look for severe trigger points in that left tfl? OR YOU MLB? how about psoas shortening on the left? is the left side measuring shorter?

I do feel that my right shoulder often gets fatigued, even on easy runs. No doubt its trying to offset the loss of coordination on the left. Could that also contribute to the funny bone sensation in the forearm?

Yes, my left hip is higher...I haven't had anyone look specifically for severe trigger points in the left tfl or mlb. I will talk to my massage therapist about this. I was getting a lot of ART treatments on my left psoas because the chiro noticed it was tight.

mlbfan24 wrote:

What exercises should I do for that type of rotation?

you could go to the egoscue.com site and follow the free exercises for posture 2 (rotation). I had a similar rotation with the coccyx shifted to the left, the left leg lost coordination and would shut down - I had to balance both diaphrams, scapula, head, hips, had an osteopath and still took 5 months.

if you had a tight psoas on one side, then that same side will have a tight tfl (read julstro book). It pulls the femur back and the glutes min and med no longer work. I think it rotates the si joint up and back. the obliques on that side would be affected now. The obliques hold any abnormal pattern that had lasted for some time.

I don't know a lot about the arm lines, the forearm pain is most likely coming from the should upper rib cage region. I'm sure it would correct with a balanced pelvis.

16x,

After hanging from a bar and looking in a mirror while doing so, I can see that my right side is higher and I am rotated forward on that side.

Were you running while going through therapy? And if so, was it a minimal amount or were you trying to train normally? I have one cross country season of eligibility left and really do not want to miss out on it.

mlbfan24 wrote:

16x,

After hanging from a bar and looking in a mirror while doing so, I can see that my right side is higher and I am rotated forward on that side.

Were you running while going through therapy? And if so, was it a minimal amount or were you trying to train normally? I have one cross country season of eligibility left and really do not want to miss out on it.

I ran very little and very slow, of course, before that I wasn't running at all!

I would say if you could get your issues resolved in the next 3-4 months, you will have a great x-c season, cause you won't be hurting and you will be efficicient when you run - that is what I found. I run now and I'm not fighting my body the whole way.

Your right is high and anteriorly rotated. There are so many muscles involved in this rotation, quadratus lumburum, your ITband and TFL, quad and psoas are shorter on one side. surely there is someone who can help you get balanced.