cramping in left thigh near the knee

[jimbooffa]

I experienced craming in my left thigh near the knee after 50 miles of a ride that was hillier than I have been riding recently. I stopped for a while, got back on the bike and rode in the lowest gear. When I tried to uoshift and push it little bit the thigh would cramp up again. Finally had to stop and get a ride (good thing I had a cell phone with me.

Is there anything I can do to a avoid this in the future? Why is the happing only in the left thigh?

 

[tanggoman]

it could be a lot of things - are you properly hydrated? are you properly positioned on the bike?

try massaging the affected area and see if it alleviates cramping.

 

[seriousturtle]

if the pain is toward the back of the knee, its because your saddle is too high. why left and not right? because no one's body is perfectly symmetrical. your left leg is probably a few mm's longer.

~the turtle

 

[jimbooffa]

Originally posted by seriousturtle
if the pain is toward the back of the knee, its because your saddle is too high. why left and not right? because no one's body is perfectly symmetrical. your left leg is probably a few mm's longer.

~the turtle

Thanks for the reply. Cramp location was the lower inside thigh toward the knee. When I bring the bike back to the shop to have the derailuers adjusted, I will ask them to check the position of the saddle.

 

[Randybaker99]

I agree with the suggestion that you may have been a bit dehydrated. If not that then it may be that you just need to do some gentle stretching midway through your ride.

I find that if I skip my stretching regimen, my muscles start getting all knotted up.

 

[jimbooffa]

Originally posted by Randybaker99
I agree with the suggestion that you may have been a bit dehydrated. If not that then it may be that you just need to do some gentle stretching midway through your ride.

I find that if I skip my stretching regimen, my muscles start getting all knotted up.

It was a hot day but I drank about 5 or 6 water bottles of water. I think that I should have done some stretches when I stopped for lunch.

 

[nutbag]

Originally posted by jimbooffa
It was a hot day but I drank about 5 or 6 water bottles of water. I think that I should have done some stretches when I stopped for lunch.

It is actually a cramp, or a cramp/strain-like pain?

Was the area sore, and/or sore to touch after the ride?

I started having similar problems in my lower, inner thigh (vastus medialis or VMO) a while ago. It started on one side then progessed to both. It's not a cramp, it seems to be some kind of muscle imbalance and/or weakness I have with my vastus mediali.

I haven't totally got to the bottom of it, but it seems to have a lot to do with weak abdominals, tight hamstrings, weak vastus mediali, and tight IT bands.

 

[davef]

>I experienced craming in my left thigh near the knee after 50 >miles of a ride that was hillier than I have been riding recently.

How recently? According to several sources slowly building up to the effort required will provide the correct conditioning. Search for "cycling preformance". He has a good list of causes for exercise induced cramps.

Standing up for the final sprint gets me just about every time, so I am also trying to work around this one.

Good luck

davef

 

[jimbooffa]

Originally posted by jimbooffa
I experienced craming in my left thigh near the knee after 50 miles of a ride that was hillier than I have been riding recently. I stopped for a while, got back on the bike and rode in the lowest gear. When I tried to uoshift and push it little bit the thigh would cramp up again. Finally had to stop and get a ride (good thing I had a cell phone with me.

Is there anything I can do to a avoid this in the future? Why is the happing only in the left thigh?

I found a strecth that may help avoid the cramping in the future. I told a friend of mine what had happened on the ride and he suggested this stretch. When I tried the stretch my left leg was much tighter than my right leg.

The Stretch
Lie face down on a mat, grab left ankle with left hand and then use right arm to lift yourself off of the mat. Hold for 30 seconds and then switch arms/legs.

I haven't been on a ride that was as strenous as the one where the cramp occurred but hope this will help