eeberhar

Hey,

The massage lady said 'I dont know and weird spot' which was great because she was honest. She did say sometimes miniscus can get stuck...she did say the pain was right at the joint line. Just another option I guess.

That being said she couldnt explain the tape thing.

here is an image with the tape. https://sites.google.com/site/eeberhartest2/home the tape is about 5 inches long just below the fibula with low tension but enough to keep that area of the leg (ie the tendons etc not moving as much)

I have been digging around again on 'shin splints', seems like its a catch all for lower leg and maybe i have damaged my lower leg mucscles/tendons maybe ripped something off the bone...ok I am reaching...

thanks for asking around

2 physio appts.
1 prof bike fit (which I have now changed)
5 massage appts with 3 different people
1 regular dr and 1 sports dr
and now a sport orthotics guy who seemed pretty knowledgeable


ps - both the sports orthotics and sports massage were unhappy that the bike fit guy shimmed my right leg as they said there isnt any noticeable difference if you loosen the muscles a bit.

Carbonfiberboy 

Hey yerself,

I talked with my buddy at great length about this a few weeks ago, but I'd forgotten all about it. Typical. I classify him as a very strong rider. One of the best climbers I've ever ridden with, you know, club level, 3, that kind of thing. Anyway, he's strong and in his 40's. He had this thing go wrong with his knee last fall. He tried all sorts of things, went to doctors, got refitted by a physiologist, off his bike for a month, etc., etc. Someone finally figured out that the tip of his fibula and the stuff attached to it was the issue. Here's his response today:

"It looks about the same. It's hard to tell if that's the tib-fib joint from the picture. For me it was the tib-fib joint and associated muscles. Focusing on Gluteous (Tensor Fasciae Latae). The joint, apparently was out of whack causing muscle pain too.

"Root cause seems to be related to 3 items.
1. My muscles thigh muscles are so strong that they pull up so hard on the fibula that they cause the fibula to get stuck in the joint.
2. Lack of flexibility exacerbates the first problem because when the muscle is relaxed it's actually still drawing up on the fibula. I've been working on Gluteus, Quad and IT band stretches.
3. Poor pedaling technique - not pedaling circles. "

IMHO #3 might be very important and something you can change now. Be sure you don't push down on the downstroke until the last 45° of the downstroke and then smooth that into the pull-back and lift-up at the start of the upstroke. Try to keep a feeling of air between the bottom of your foot and the shoe. And spin at least 90 rpm on the flat and 80 climbing.

Good luck!

eeberhar

hey,

thanks so much.

now that make sense to me. i have been telling everyone its like where 'something' attaches to my tibia. that also makes sense for the taping as it calms that area down when your in the first part of the pedal stroke down...hmmm this is making even more sense.

climbing is my thing as well.... not saying to much but when i did this injury i was pretty strong : ). Just saying my muscles were pretty developed as well...

i have been saying for a few years it sometimes feel like my muscles were so strong i could wrip away my tendons. it was sort of a saying but felt really true.

super helpful! thanks for your time

thank your friend and if he/she was ok with an email let them know my account

eeberhar

ask your friend if he ever got somebody to 'yank' on his 'sore leg' to pull them apart and if that relieved pressure? i have had that done a few times but sort of forgot about it --- isnt the mind wonderful. is there something he had done to 'unstuck' the fibula or is it just stretching and strengthening as mentioned above.

thks

deep_sky

If that is indeed your issue, than it would make sense to start working on strengthening your glutes post-haste so that your quads don't continue to be overly strong and do all the work. Stretching would also be called for so that your tendons/ligaments can do their part without being either stretched too far, or end up "stuck" because they aren't flexible enough.

I noticed that if I pushed down later in the stroke when climbing, my knee would not hurt (or as much). I guess if you push too soon, you jam the knee, which likely causes the pain an irritation.

I seriously doubt it's shin splints. Having had those, you would know that you have those, as your entire shin hurts. Ay yay yay that is very painful, and nothing to be done about it except quit doing what you doing for awhile and allow the muscles to re-attach to the bone properly.

Carbonfiberboy 

I sent to my friend and included your tape pic, your question, and your addy.

eeberhar

Update after this week

- 1 ART with sports massage session
- 1 week of NAID 400mg per day
- 1 week if ICE 2x a day
- 1 week of 2x per day leg 15 leg reps (various) with downhill ski boot on and stretching
- 1 week of IT band rolling (stopping for 15 seconds then moving along about an inch)
- 1 week of 2-4x per day Traumeel external

Something is changing --- still sensitive but feels different. Its almost like I can feel it all the time a bit but biking doesnt seem to aggrevate it as much. Still early days but there has been more progress in the past week vs the past 6 months...

thanks for the sounding board - will update soon

thanks

3 days of 60 min light spin, tape for the first 30 mins then no tape.

deep_sky

All the work on the area might getting more bloodflow to it, which means things will feel different, but it is a good sign that the area is starting to recover. Keep up the good work!

JCNZL

just to throw in something differnt
i have to tape accross the top of my knee cap.

its amazing how 1 piece of tape, not even applyed that tightly can mean the difference between 2 hours pain free riding and 30 mins then sore knee......