Hey all! This is my first post – long time reader. I'll get right to it...
Three weeks ago, after some weird injuries and symptoms, my physical therapist diagnosed me with "central fatigue", stating that I had been overreaching for too long, and that a hard month of racing pushed me over the edge. We shut things down and since I've been resting and recovering: extra sleep, longer dog walks, light stretching, and 30 minutes on the bike every few days at 30% effort (70-90 watts, around 100 HR). I've largely accepted the diagnosis, acknowledging that I was training hard with no more than a few days of consecutive rest over a period of two years, and have been keeping patient knowing this is a pivotal learning moment. However, in all of my searching on the diagnosis, I've been hard pressed to find people with my symptoms and I'm not experiencing the hallmark symptoms either (fatigue, low libido, low motivation, etc), so I thought I'd post here to accomplish two things: 1. Share my symptoms in case someone like me is searching the internet for closure and 2. See if anyone has else has experienced what I'm experiencing.
Context:
Diagnosis
Symptoms I've been experiencing
Symptoms I'm not experiencing
Where I'm at after three weeks of rest
So the question is..
Has anyone experienced something similar? Is this a normal part of "central fatigue" / overreaching? What was your experience? What was your recovery time?
Thanks all!
Three weeks ago, after some weird injuries and symptoms, my physical therapist diagnosed me with "central fatigue", stating that I had been overreaching for too long, and that a hard month of racing pushed me over the edge. We shut things down and since I've been resting and recovering: extra sleep, longer dog walks, light stretching, and 30 minutes on the bike every few days at 30% effort (70-90 watts, around 100 HR). I've largely accepted the diagnosis, acknowledging that I was training hard with no more than a few days of consecutive rest over a period of two years, and have been keeping patient knowing this is a pivotal learning moment. However, in all of my searching on the diagnosis, I've been hard pressed to find people with my symptoms and I'm not experiencing the hallmark symptoms either (fatigue, low libido, low motivation, etc), so I thought I'd post here to accomplish two things: 1. Share my symptoms in case someone like me is searching the internet for closure and 2. See if anyone has else has experienced what I'm experiencing.
Context:
- Two years of building endurance and speed, resting once per week, but no more than a few days between races, such as marathons, olympic and half-iron triathlons, and other similar endurance endeavors. Towards the end I was doing 12-15 hours per week consistently with way too many hard days. Seldom did I actually do an easy workout.
- Under-eating. Most days staying 300-1000 calories beneath my total prescribed calories. For example, 2200 base + 1000 burned = 3200 total. I'd probably eat 2500-2700ish.
- Mostly vegan. I eat eggs and supplement with B12, Magnesiums, and Vitamin D. A dietician I talked to after the diagnosis was happy with the nutrient content I was eating but agreed I wasn't eating enough.
Diagnosis
- My PT said I had "central fatigue", not overtraining syndrome, but overreaching for too long.
- My primary care provider agreed with the diagnosis and ruled out nutrient deficiencies and other common diseases (lyme) with blood tests. We didn't test magnesium, other B vitamins, or vitamin D this time but have in the past.
Symptoms I've been experiencing
- Aches and pains in my ankles and feet that moved around to almost every possible spot. Pain level was 2/10 and it wasn't constant. Agitated by stretching, stability, or even too much walking. No actual tissue damage. Finally beginning to resolve after 6+ weeks.
- Aches and pains anywhere I "agitate", if I sleep a certain way, rest my hand somewhere for too long, etc, the pain/twitching, etc goes there.
- Muscle contractions - leading up to the diagnosis, I started to realize that my legs were almost always somewhat flexed even when laying down. My toes would periodically just flex and then slowly release. Post-diagnosis and rest, my legs started to finally relax at rest.
- Constant twitching somewhere. Seriously, the twitching has not stopped. Sometimes it's lighter, sometimes it's stronger. Sometimes there is pain and sometimes it's just a sensation.
- Shaky legs. If I quarter squat and rest my hands on the outside of my legs, I can feel tons of muscle twitches/contractions happening over and over. It makes me legs feel unstable. The first week these twitches/contractions were very visible from 6-10 ft away and made even stretching hard.
- Rare but painful cramps. I've had jolts of cramping pain in my feet, ankle, and knees. They occur when the muscle flexes under weight and last a few seconds. There is residual pain afterwards.
- Soreness after any form of exercise. Walking, yoga, or 30 minutes on the bike would make me very sore.
- Extreme hungry. I've been listening to my hunger and just eating without tracking, but I'm almost always hungry. I'll wake up in the middle night hungry.
Symptoms I'm not experiencing
- No fatigue - plenty of energy in the morning and throughout the day.
- No interrupted / abnormal sleep.
- No decline in motivation - so so ready to train again.
- No depression.
- No decline in libido.
Where I'm at after three weeks of rest
- The muscle contractions have largely resolved. Muscles are relaxed when laying down.
- Aches and pains in my ankles and feet have finally declined after 6+ weeks. Still present here and there but less often and at 0.5/10
- The shaky / unstable legs has decreased but is still present whenever I quarter squat to test it.
- Less soreness after walking / yoga / easy cycling.
- Twitching has not resolved.
- Maybe slight decrease in hunger.
So the question is..
Has anyone experienced something similar? Is this a normal part of "central fatigue" / overreaching? What was your experience? What was your recovery time?
Thanks all!
Last edited by:
henryreuben: Sep 3, 19 16:54