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

Not me. ^ Flattering someone would use my name though lol. Anyways I came here to post that I lost control of my leg today on a 15 miler. Around mile 8 we dropped down from like 7 flat pace to 6:30 then 6:00 pace. It gave out on me and my right shoe was crashing into my left calf, and hitting the ground before it was supposed to and not extending the way it should. You know.. the "loss of coordination" feeling. So I stopped to stretch then ran 7:30ish miles the rest of the run. I don't feel it unless I'm going fast. I can run 7:30-8:00 pace all day and it not happen.

Do you overstride? More so when you run faster (reaching instead of pushing off?) Don't know? Have someone videotape you while running so you can see for yourself. If you DO overstride, correct your stride before you spend a dime on PTs and other docs!!!!! If a perfected stride doesn't fix the problem, then by all means, check with your local running community for help in finding a doc that understands runners ailments well.

Tip: Legs tend to follow your arm movements so for some the easiest way to start fixing their stride is to fix their arm movements. Tuck those arms in close to your side, keep the forward/backward swing relatively short, make sure forearms are pointing forward on the swing rather than swinging across your body. You'll still need to address the leg movements but a good arm swing will get you started down the right path.

arm will not manipulate your leg to not lose coordination.

you have to strengthen the hip/glute muscles

this worked for me ( and im currently in the best shape of my life 25 yrs old (3:45 15, 1:49 800) )

lay on the side of the "good" leg and do side leg lifts to about a 45 degree angle. make sure the toe is pointing inward almost facing the ground when u lift the leg. do 3 sets of 10.

you should feel the burn on your side hip/glute area this means its weak.

eventually work ur way up to using ankle weights and BOOM... no more loss of coordination!

You dont think that I havent been doing that...Are you crazy. Thats what I did everyday in the trainer's room for like three months straight. I didnt get an real improvement. If it was a muscle thing then I think I would have seen some improvement within at least a month. Dont you think?

I haven't read this whole thread, but there seems to be quite a few posts similar to: "you idiot! You just need to strengthen your hip flexors! Or stretch your glutes! Or go to a chiropractor! It's so simple!"

What these people aren't considering is that a lot of you probably have pretty similar symptoms stemming from completely different problems. This also explains some of the minor differences in symptoms: some of you have more problems on flat, hard surfaces, others on soft, uneven surfaces, some have trouble at any pace, others only at faster paces, etc.

Having a headache is a symptom of dehydration. And if you have a headache, by all means try having a glass of water. But don't come on a message board and assume that everyone is too stupid to figure this out, because headaches can also be a symptom of head trauma, a brain tumor, etc.

Good luck to everyone in resolving this injury.

I'm very glad that strengthening the hip/glutes has worked for ryanstentson BUT it clearly hasn't worked for others.

My post is for those still seeking a solution, especially if they've ever been told they overstride. If the leg coordination problem goes away or becomes less problematic on a soft/uneven surface vs. a hard/flat surface, that's a solid clue because stride tends to change a bit in switching between those types of surfaces - usually just enough to move the repetitive stress to a nerve location that hasn't yet fallen victim to repetitive stress syndrome. If the problem generally occurs on the surface you spend most your training time on, that's another clue you may be suffering repetitive stress syndrome. This is a nerve problem, not a muscle strength problem. In my experience most doctors are unaware of the bad stride / lack of coordination connection unless they are very well schooled in the ailments of serious runners.

Some of those seeking a solution to the leg coordination problem have other issues. If they don't overstride then this clearly isn't a solution for them. But I DO know what I'm talking about when I say it will work for many who ARE overstriders. I've seen it work multiple times. And what do you have to lose by trying it? A couple weeks of effort once you arm yourself with some knowledge as to what a good stride looks/feels like.

btw...shortening your arm swing really will help shorten your stride. It's not the total solution to fixing your stride but might make it a little easier for some to get started. That's the only reason I mentioned it.

Lost...

I am sorry I didn't see your response before. If you can leave an e-mail on this thread that I can reach you at I would be happy to give you some great info I have regarding your questions. Yes, it is highly possible you could have labral tear and/or impingement in your hip. Although, it is still possible to have some sort of lowerback issue. I would need to ask you some questions to try and give you some advice on what type of doctor to seek out and what type of imaging you are going to want to help diagnose the issue. It's REALLY easy to miss a problem like this in your hip capsule. You definitely have nerve impingement symptoms from what you are describing. Leave me an e-mail...

I've been having this same problem for over two years. I'm so glad I've finally found a "support group" of sorts. It would be great if some of you smart folks could give me some individual insight on my situation. The sensation almost feels like a "numbness" going all the way down the side of my right leg and around the inside of my quad muscles. although, "numbness" might not be an accurate description, but I don't want to call it "pain" because it doesn't really hurt. Some days are worse than others. Often times I'm able to make it through a whole ten miler without it really bugging me and sometimes it bugs me right at the start of a run. But it's especially bad when I get up to around tempo pace or faster, it's like my leg just doesn't want to move in a straight line.

History: It began after my sophomore high school track season. Around July while building a base for the coming XC season, I noticed a weird, random fatiguing sensation in my right quad. I got a doctor's appointment and he put me on some VMO and glute strengthening exercises with ankle weights. This was a termporary success as I was able to race 5000 meter XC races without much trouble. Like an idiot, since my symptoms were better, I quit doing the exercises and the coordination troubles came right on back during track season. I was able to race the 800 and 1600 without really any trouble, but my leg would just "give out" around lap 5 or 6 in the 3200. I would literally almost trip over my self it was so bad. It was like my right leg couldn't figure out where it was supposed to hit the ground. It was like that loose and "whipping sensation" that LOST! was talking about. My form will look perfectly normal for a few laps and then BAM, my right leg will just fail.

I skipped XC in the hopes that some rest would make it better, but to no avail. It was even worse my senior track season. I couldn't even make it through a 1600 without practically tripping over myself by the third lap. I was able to race the 800 and 4x8, but even then it would sometimes crap out on me, but the race is so short that I could sort of "fake" my way through it. I'm able to "fake" my way through interval workouts as well. I can still feel the sensation, but the rest interval allows me to complete the workout. Because of all this, I can still get very fit, but that doesn't matter if I can barely even race!

Right now, I'm attempting to run for my college track team, but I really don't want to be "that guy" who's just perpetually injured and I want to run and compete soooo badly. Right now I feel like I'm in the best shape of my life other than the fact that my right leg is always failing. I can do my mileage and finish workouts, but I can't hold it together and race. Can I get some insight here? I have noticed that there is some popping in my hip. Does this sound like a labral tear or something else? Does anyone have any thoughts about trying trigger point therapy or ART?

I suffered through this issue for about 2-3 years of my college running; it hardly affected my xc races, but I had to drop down to shorter distances in track, sometimes had trouble with longer track intervals, and almost always experienced the problem (several times) on a single long road run. It really became a huge problem for me I was never able to understand or describe.

Now I am nearly two years out and I don't really have this anymore. Attributing factors: I don't train heavily and haven't raced. Anytime any inkling of the problem comes in, I make an effort to plant my foot right under my center of gravity. I never thought of myself as an overstrider but perhaps I was overstriding just a bit all this time, because it seems to help. I also run on soft surfaces almost exclusively.

Any time I am too busy to run often, when I come back I will notice more coordination loss than usual and my groin gets very sore. After that first run I am okay.

All this being said, I experience some of the problem still but never actually lose control of my leg. At least by doing all of these things I never have to fear running and can actually enjoy it. Knock on wood however, because I'll be trying a race very soon and may have other things to say...

Bumpage.

"I'm able to "fake" my way through interval workouts as well. I can still feel the sensation, but the rest interval allows me to complete the workout. Because of all this, I can still get very fit, but that doesn't matter if I can barely even race!

Right now, I'm attempting to run for my college track team, but I really don't want to be "that guy" who's just perpetually injured and I want to run and compete soooo badly. Right now I feel like I'm in the best shape of my life other than the fact that my right leg is always failing. I can do my mileage and finish workouts, but I can't hold it together and race."

Exactly what happens to me. People think I'm a head case when my leg gives out on me during a race. They say something like "Theres no way you could do all that training if your leg is injured." I FEAR my first track race in 20 days. It crapped out on me in my last 3 races in during XC. Like others said, I'm in the best shape of my life but can't prove it.

"Exactly what happens to me. People think I'm a head case when my leg gives out on me during a race. They say something like "Theres no way you could do all that training if your leg is injured." I FEAR my first track race in 20 days. It crapped out on me in my last 3 races in during XC. Like others said, I'm in the best shape of my life but can't prove it"

This statement right here sums up my ENTIRE last year of running before I figured out what was wrong with my leg. I knew I was in great shape because when my leg would randomly hold up for a workout, I would run amazing. However, I was training for the marathon and this rarely happened since most workouts were too long for it not to sh*t the bed on me halfway through. I can totally sympathize with feeling paranoid about your next race. The worst part is that it doesn't even hurt...it's as if the muscles just stop working properly. Then when you stop running there is no one particular symptom or pain that is easy to describe to a trainer.

Ian, do you have any other symptoms besides the random loss of motor control in your leg? And if so, do you experience them when you are not running (i.e. sitting, walking, standing, laying down, etc).

Adam, I have a lot of info I can give you in regards to the symptoms you have described on here. One thing that is certain is you have obvious nerve entrapment/irritation. I don't think the nerve problem is the MAIN issue. I am going to tell you right now, it does sound like a labral tear; however, sometimes these are easy to diagnose and other times they can be a nightmare. It truly depends on the type of doctor you have evaluate you, the type of imaging they prescribe, and if it even SHOWS on the imaging. Secondly, most labral tears involve some form of impingement in the hip which is also hard to diagnose and presents itself VERY differently in almost ever individual. The only reason I can confidently say I recognize your symptoms are because they sound like they are out of my own running journal. I feel like I've written all of those complaints myself before a million times. If you can, leave me an e-mail on here and I will contact you with advice in regards to doctors/imaging and how to go about trying to get a diagnosis. You can't keep training like that because believe me, the day will come when you are going to be on a run and you won't be able to go any farther. I ran like that for my senior year of college and 2 years after before I literally was forced to stop dead in my tracks one day (this summer).

Neliah2507 wrote:

Ian, do you have any other symptoms besides the random loss of motor control in your leg? And if so, do you experience them when you are not running (i.e. sitting, walking, standing, laying down, etc).

I don't feel like I have any other symptoms. Sometimes when lifting weights I get a weird sensation in my leg/hamstring.

When I run fast I feels like my hammy is just getting tighter and tighter before my leg finally gives out. The trainer at my school thinks its just a strength problem, and that I can fix it by lifting weights. I originally strained my quad(on the same leg that gives out) and when I was recovering from that my hamstring got weak(according to the trainer) So as of right now I'm doing 5-6 leg exercises per day doing sets of 3x10.

Also I've done 2 interval workouts so far this year and it hasn't gave out on me.(yet)

I "feel" my hamstring everytime I run.

My email address is "adambluee@gmail.com"

hillrunner8 wrote:

link didn't work too well. Like this:

http://www.physicalfitnet.com/exercise_video_library/thumbnails/320x240/673_2.jpg

I'm gonna start trying that. What else have you done that helped besides that?

How well are you running now after the surgery?

4078jcrs wrote:

How well are you running now after the surgery?

I am not running yet. I CAN run without pain but the hip-capsule itself is still too weak and I am working on ROM. It's a very active recovery. I was biking 24 hours post-op (very slowly). It's been about a month and a half and today I biked 45 miles and it felt great :) Running is generally allowed 3 months post-op.

My leg gave out in a 3k last weekend that I was running EASY. Then I had to double back and run the 1600 of the dmr. It didnt "give out" but I felt like it was going to. Has anyone else with the loss of coordination problem found success with racing shorter events?