Quad Pain While Running

Bigger Stronger Leaner Injuries and Rehab
1

Let me start with some personals:
205-210 lbs
5’-10"
47 y.o.

In the gym:

Lifted since I was 15 y.o. and was to dumb to stop.
One body part a week, 3x a week
Always squatted, 670 lbs when I was 35 y.o. 600 lbs 2 months ago.
Typically layoff every 4 months for a week.

On the road:

Started running 3 miles 3x a week about 3 years ago.
Up my mileage to 4 miles 3x a week 2 years ago.
Ran three 5k’s. best time 24:32
6 months ago started training for a 10k and worked up 5-7 miles
Ran the 10k last week at 50:39

Now my issue is some pain in my left quad when I start to run. It started to bother me about 4 weeks prior to my 10k so I cut out all leg training; I could have cried doing this but the 10k was the priority. The pain subsides after about 1/2 mile but my first 1/4 is very gimpy. It feels deep but hard to pinpoint; running from my outer hip to the inside of my knee.

No pain when I walk down steps but I can feel it when going up. It seems any stride with a straight leg does not bother it but when I bend my knee it hurts. It does not feel like a rip but more like an inflammation. The only stretch that bothers it the I.T. band stretch; left leg behind the right and lean left; some hip popping is present.

My typical response form weight lifts is stop running so damn much; and from runners it is that’s too much weight. I have learned it is hard to serve two masters but not impossible. I welcome all suggestions or ideas to what this may be.

2

2 guesses: hip flexor strain, IT Band syndrome

3

[quote]smallmike wrote:
2 guesses: hip flexor strain, IT Band syndrome[/quote]

Any way I can determine which one it is? How about treatment?

Thanks!

4

I sometime feels like the muscle is about to pull off the middle of my femor. I could really use some help.

5

it band syndrome would be more pain tenderness on the outside of affected leg(99% sure.no a pt or anything)
the sartorias or however its spelt runs from lower back over front of the hip to inside of the knee,goggle it sounds like your pain is following that track.
your last post…i had a small tear in rec fem back along and it felt fairly bad on the front of the femur
hope u recover soon enjoy ur 10k

6

[quote]davyboy wrote:
it band syndrome would be more pain tenderness on the outside of affected leg(99% sure.no a pt or anything)
the sartorias or however its spelt runs from lower back over front of the hip to inside of the knee,goggle it sounds like your pain is following that track.
your last post…i had a small tear in rec fem back along and it felt fairly bad on the front of the femur
hope u recover soon enjoy ur 10k
[/quote]

Ya, I think I have some tight IT Band issues because I do have some hip poping going on but that seems to be a small unrelated issue. I looked up the sartorius muscle and that may be the problem. Thanks for the tip and I will keep you posted.

7

The majority of leg pain for runners is due to IT band issues and/or hip inflexibility. Everything is connected. See a ART practitioner.

Have your gait analyzed.

I have taught running clinics for years and can safely say that 95% of the problems runners had/haves due to tight IT band and/or Hip inflexibility.

the remainder 5% was usually plantar fascia.

8

[quote]JFG wrote:
The majority of leg pain for runners is due to IT band issues and/or hip inflexibility. Everything is connected. See a ART practitioner.

Have your gait analyzed.

I have taught running clinics for years and can safely say that 95% of the problems runners had/haves due to tight IT band and/or Hip inflexibility.

the remainder 5% was usually plantar fascia.

[/quote]

I’m leaning to one of the last posts that said the sartorius muscle may be the culprit. I think I overtrained by about 3 weeks prior to my 10k. I’m taking about 3 weeks off from running and 2 weeks from lifting.

Any info to offer on tight hips? I have always squated heavy and should have spent more time on keeping flexable on my off days. Any hope for my old muscles?

9

we are the same age.

Why are you taking so much time off? Keep moving, just make sure there is 0 pain.

And unless you have a professional telling you it is actually the Sartorius, it’s not. Go see a chiro/ART pro, a physiotherapist, anything. If you self diagnose, your therapist is a moron.

What running program are you following? What weight program are you following? Look up Cosgrove hip mobility video’s on you tube.

For the past 5 years, I have been doing stretches and foam rolling BEFORE my squats (or any leg work for that matter). That 5 minutes before lifting is a god send. Wish I would have started in my 20’s.

You are older, not dead. You need more time to warm up, start with low weights (to this day, I still start squats with an empty bar and move up), take Omega 3’s (Flameout is amazing, I buy the Costco brand that is almost as good) and MAG-10. yeah, MAG-10 for anybody over 35 is a plain amazing. I have tried all kinds of BCAA’s and different brand Hydrolyzed whey/casein, and MAG-10 is above and beyond anything else. My recuperation time is just amazing.

10

[quote]JFG wrote:
we are the same age.

Why are you taking so much time off? Keep moving, just make sure there is 0 pain.

And unless you have a professional telling you it is actually the Sartorius, it’s not. Go see a chiro/ART pro, a physiotherapist, anything. If you self diagnose, your therapist is a moron.

What running program are you following? What weight program are you following? Look up Cosgrove hip mobility video’s on you tube.

For the past 5 years, I have been doing stretches and foam rolling BEFORE my squats (or any leg work for that matter). That 5 minutes before lifting is a god send. Wish I would have started in my 20’s.

You are older, not dead. You need more time to warm up, start with low weights (to this day, I still start squats with an empty bar and move up), take Omega 3’s (Flameout is amazing, I buy the Costco brand that is almost as good) and MAG-10. yeah, MAG-10 for anybody over 35 is a plain amazing. I have tried all kinds of BCAA’s and different brand Hydrolyzed whey/casein, and MAG-10 is above and beyond anything else. My recuperation time is just amazing.[/quote]

Sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner. Here’s an idea of my weekly workout:
Currently I am on a layoff from a 10k run but if numbers will help, here’s what I was doing about 2 months ago:

Monday:
Roadwork; 4 miles

Tuesday:
Flat bench- 225x6,260x3,285x6,305x6,325x4
Tri pushdowns (machine - 45x8,55x8x65x8
Tri extensions (machine)- 3x8x45
Upright rows- 85x8,95x8,105x8

Wednesday:
Roadwork; 5.5 miles

Thursday:
Lower cable rows- 135x10,180x10,205x8,230x8
Lat pull downs - 135x8 180x8,205x6x230x6
Tri extensions (machine)- 3x8x45
Upright rows- 85x8,95x8,105x8
Abs- what ever you call those things Rocky did!
Dumbbell curls- 10x40,8x50,6x60

Friday:
Off

Saturday:
Squats- 405x4,440x6,480x6,520x4
Roadwork; 4.5 miles

Sunday:
Church!

I finished my first 10k race 3 weeks ago in 50:39. It was a good goal but tore me the hell up. I was over trained for the last 3 weeks and would have stopped everything if I didn’t have this race.

As for your advice on “Keep Moving”, my personally is like a light switch; off or on. I will look into the MAG-10 and Cosgrove video, thanks for the tip!

11

Two things.

If that is your 10K “training”, it’s really bad. Just like weight training, get on a proven program. Yours has not enough mileage, LSD (Long Slow Distance) and no hill, tempo, fartleck, etc days. It tore you up, because it is a lousy training program.

Also, get rid of squat Saturday. Races are usually Saturday or Sunday. You are killing your legs and trying to run a race. Doesn’t work. Tuesday or Wednesday would be better.

Your left quad started hurting because you did too much, too fast. Seen it a few hundred times. I can also bet you that your left foot “flickers out” when you run.

You are 47, this “on/off” mentality needs to change. Shades are important. Listen to your body, make subtle changes, stretch more, get some ART done, get on a proven program, make sure you have the right running shoes, etc.

12

[quote]JFG wrote:
Two things.

If that is your 10K “training”, it’s really bad. Just like weight training, get on a proven program. Yours has not enough mileage, LSD (Long Slow Distance) and no hill, tempo, fartleck, etc days. It tore you up, because it is a lousy training program.

Also, get rid of squat Saturday. Races are usually Saturday or Sunday. You are killing your legs and trying to run a race. Doesn’t work. Tuesday or Wednesday would be better.

Your left quad started hurting because you did too much, too fast. Seen it a few hundred times. I can also bet you that your left foot “flickers out” when you run.

You are 47, this “on/off” mentality needs to change. Shades are important. Listen to your body, make subtle changes, stretch more, get some ART done, get on a proven program, make sure you have the right running shoes, etc.[/quote]

Yup, that’s my program! I will say I added half a mile to each day over the last 2-4 weeks prior to the race.

I respectfully disagree with the too much to fast. I’ve been running 3x a week for about 3 years now. My previous milage was always around 3.5-4.0 miles. My goal was to just finish the 10k without stopping so I’m happy; doing it in 50 min was a plus for me. My ultimate goal would be to compete in a powerlifting competition, squat 600# and run a 6.2 non-stop. I think if I could have picked a day within that last month, I may of had a shot!

Tell me more about this FLICKERING OUT leg thing. I have had issues with my left hip before when squatting heavy so I think something’s up there. Running on a crowned road didn’t help. My left leg was always on the low side when running.

13

You can respectfully disagree all you want. Your running program is shit. The fact is there. You finished the 10k, but you paid a price. Your pace is about 8 min/mile. Your week end run should be around 9:30-9:40 pace. 12 weeks before a race, you start at 3 miles. Move 10% max every week. Week 10, you should be around 7.5 miles. Week 11 should be around 5 miles. Then next week is race day. Tuesday run is kept at race pace and lower mileage. Thursday run is slightly faster the race pace, but less mileage then Tuesday.

On a very serious note, go get your gait analyzed. By a pro. I paid $50 for mine and it was worth every penny.

He body is a wonderful thing, but it compensates for the weaker parts. The flicker is an example of that. Your left muscles re tight, so when you run, your ankle “moves to the left or right” when you approach the top part of your kick back. The root cause is a tight muscle. What you are trying to achieve is to have no deviation of your ankle. Just google “gait analysis”. No, you don’t have to do the whole camera thing, just a professional that will observe how you walk/run.

I stand by my original assessment. Thight IT or hip inflexibility.

14

[quote]JFG wrote:
You can respectfully disagree all you want. Your running program is shit. The fact is there. You finished the 10k, but you paid a price. Your pace is about 8 min/mile. Your week end run should be around 9:30-9:40 pace. 12 weeks before a race, you start at 3 miles. Move 10% max every week. Week 10, you should be around 7.5 miles. Week 11 should be around 5 miles. Then next week is race day. Tuesday run is kept at race pace and lower mileage. Thursday run is slightly faster the race pace, but less mileage then Tuesday.

On a very serious note, go get your gait analyzed. By a pro. I paid $50 for mine and it was worth every penny.

He body is a wonderful thing, but it compensates for the weaker parts. The flicker is an example of that. Your left muscles re tight, so when you run, your ankle “moves to the left or right” when you approach the top part of your kick back. The root cause is a tight muscle. What you are trying to achieve is to have no deviation of your ankle. Just google “gait analysis”. No, you don’t have to do the whole camera thing, just a professional that will observe how you walk/run.

I stand by my original assessment. Thight IT or hip inflexibility. [/quote]

LOL! If that was the price to run 6.2 miles at an 8 min mile pace, I’m ok with that! If I decide to do something as silly as that again, I promise I’ll take your advice and be a lot smarter and healthier in the end.

While I was digging around for the videos you were talking about, I bumped into a good stretch that pulled nice on the hip flexor. We’ll see, but it stretched in the right place.

15

UPDATE

I haven’t ran since my race but have been hitting the elliptical for 40 min. It’s not like the workout you get from running but it gets my blood flowing. I’m back to squatting, lost about 100 lbs on my reps of 6 but I’ll get it back, it just my take 3 months.

JFG,
Thanks for your help. I have come to terms that I will never run a marathon, but then most marathon runners sent squatting 600#. I can jog across the parking lot without pain. If you remember, it was at the start of my run that hurt. One other thing, the elliptical never bothered me. When you do the elliptical, you never really straighten your leg out.

Would that put less stress on the hip flexor? I am staying faithful with my stretching, every morning for 20 min other than the day after my squatting. I don’t believe in pulling on a muscle that has been under that type of trama.