Hi there. I am hoping someone out there can help me out with this problem I have had off and on for the last 30 years. I am a lifetime exerciser and a cyclist for the last 15 years so a fairly good level of general fitness and leg strength. I first noticed this problem years ago when I was descending from a mountain while hiking with friends in the Lakes District. My quads seized up to the point of excruciating pain and the only way I could make it stop, was to stop moving. Needless to say it took a lot longer to get down the mountain than up. As mentioned, this has happened with increasing regularity, always on going downhill or stairs, to the point where I avoid both situations wherever possible (difficult!). I can go backwards down the stairs no problem. If I allow the pain to escalate, ie: “push” through, I end up with quads that are tender for days. Stretching is almost impossible because of pain. It is worse after a period of inactivity ie:long haul plane flight. I have lower back issues and always assumed this was the reason until a neurologist biopsied my quadriceps and found them to be almost absent of fast twitch muscle fibre. I have since been researching like mad and found a cycle forum that discussed this issue back in 2009. It seems I am not alone and appears to affect cyclists in particular, the theory being that the constant concentric muscle action required in cycling inhibits the eccentric muscle action required for downhill walking. The conversation thread that I found petered out with no real solutions but plenty of hypotheses. Every medical specialist I have seen for this looks at me blankly. I think I’ve been tested for everything and the muscle fibre situation seems to be the only clinically significant finding.
So, If anyone else out there has experienced something similar, please share especially if you have found any sort of solution. Thx.
So, If anyone else out there has experienced something similar, please share especially if you have found any sort of solution. Thx.