I’m not sure if this is something you can help with, but I’ve had a strange issue for the past couple of years. I’m 60 and have been strength training consistently for 20 years.
This started when I added running alongside lifting. I followed a separate 3-day/week Couch-to-5K plan and completed it successfully, running a weekly 5K plus two shorter runs. I felt great until, suddenly, my right quad became so painful I could barely walk. I stopped running and leg training, and it took months to improve.
Since then, any cardio, even light walking over 30 minutes causes the same quad pain to flare up. Squats and deadlifts don’t bother it at all. I own a Peloton and treadmill but can’t tolerate either.
I did see a PT who attributed it to weak glutes and prescribed clamshell-type work, but that explanation never really made sense to me.
I know this is hard to diagnose remotely, but do you have any initial thoughts or patterns this sounds like?
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Hey there! An interesting question and case, for sure.
I’d be curious about where the pain is in the quad, e.g. close to the knee, in the middle, near the hip, etc. That would help me organize my thoughts regarding tendinopathy.
That said, having the symptoms with light walking and cycling, along with the duration of symptoms, raises some concern for an issue with blood flow, which would generally be more problematic with sustained efforts (cardio) vs. short, intermittent efforts (lifting).
Not medical advice, but if it were me, I’d be firing that PT (complete nonsense) and trying to see a sports medicine physician. I would specifically raise the issue of a concern with blood flow to the legs that may need to be investigated.
Yikes. That never occurred to me.
The pain seems to be mostly near the top of the knee, but it’s not knee pain. But, the pain is along some kind of tendon or muscle fiber that seems to run from my hip flexor almost straight down my leg to the top of my knee. I can use hard pressure with my thumb, and massage it. And that helps, but maybe that’s not what I should be doing.
I will go see a sports doctor right away, you kinda scared me now. Although, I appreciate the info. I know you’re just kinda taking a stab in the dark, but if it is something like that, I need to have it looked at pretty urgently. If it’s not that, then awesome.
Yea, the goal isn’t to scare and it’s probably not that…but being on the internet and talking to a stranger, it’s hard to un-think what comes to mind.
Anyway, keep me posted on what’s going on. We’re also available for consultations if needed.
Thank you Jordan. I appreciate the insight and the potential situation that could be happening. I’m searching for a sport medicine doctor in my area today.