I have had herniated discs in the neck with associated loss of strength in my left arm due to the disc pinching a nerve. I went from pressing a 32kg kettlebell to not being able to press a 16kg bell overnight. This has happened twice. Strength mostly came back each time, but my left arm kettlebell press is probably 95% of my right arm (which is probably within the norm. Most people are stronger on one side. The right is my dominant side, as well.) The herniated discs is still there and from time to time flares up but I do some neck stretches (McKenzie Technique) have mostly eliminated the pinched nerve and further loss of strength.


I've also had aggravated discs in my lower back after deadlifting heavier than I needed to. But I've never noticed nerve pain in the leg or loss of strength. Back currently feels fine. It's my understanding that the nerves that control the leg are in the lower back.


In the last few months, I've felt, going up stairs, that my left leg wasn't firing exactly right. Just a little bit of pain in the outside quad.


Two weeks ago I started biking again after a really long layoff. I've got a Tacx Vortex that shows power, but not for the individual sides. Left side doesn't feel quite right - but I freely admit it could all be in my head.


A dual sided power meter is not in my immediate future, but I'd like to test the power imbalance to at least put my mind at ease and to know my disappointing ramp test was due to being out of shape and not due to a nerve issue in the leg.


I was thinking about a 1 or 5 min test with each leg? Would that work? What's the range of a 'normal' imbalance? (I listened to the TrainerRoad podcast where the speakers recommended not worrying about imbalances. They mentioned an Olympian with an greater than 8% imbalance that only got injured when he/she tried to fix it. I'm just hoping mine doesn't show something much greater than that.)


Any other ideas?