I'm hoping for an ST sanity check before I start spending money and/or wasting time going down this road. Is it possible that having too narrow of a Q factor could be the source/cause of inner thigh/groin pain?
For a bit of background (I'll try to be brief—the less important parts in grey), three years ago I had a big fitness breakthrough, and I raised my race power targets considerably. Nearing the end of a bike leg on a 56k race, I had my groin/inner thighs both cramp up badly. You know that tendon right beside your boys that stretches out when you try to do the splits? Is it a hip adductor? Those. And the injury never really fully went away. They're sensitive to cramping and seize up once in a while, especially after long/fast/twisty runs, high intensity bike rides, and sometimes even getting out of the pool.
I chalk it up to being one of those injuries that never really goes away, but most of the time don't really bother you unless you do something stupid.
Last winter suspected that Q factor could be a... factor in this injury, so I pulled my cleats all the way outward, and while the change wasn't super pronounced, it felt like there *could* have been something to it.
Yesterday I got on my tri bike after a year of only road biking. That bike has a BB30 crank on it, as opposed to my road bike with GXP/adapter. When I rode it I felt like my toes were being pointed majorly inward, despite using the same shoes/pedals that I was just using 30 minutes before on my road bike. My inner thigh/groin was like "what are you doing to me?" When I came home and measured the BB30 crank arms, the end of the crank arm sat about 5mm inward of my road bike.
I suspect there may be something about my knees getting pulled inward by the adductors, when they want to travel outward. Not sure if it's a conscious "keep your knees more aero" response, or something physically guiding them toward an incorrect path.
As I type this, I think I am getting clearer about the answer—are crank spacers/pedal extenders even an avenue worth pursuing, or am I missing something obvious (like my seat is too high, or wrong saddle, cleat wedges/shims etc)? Am I being stupid by not getting a professional fitter to look at me in real life? I know the value in getting a proper fitting done, as I've done it a few times already, but when I go back I'd like to have as much info as possible to help. I love tweaking and fiddling, but don't want to waste too much energy on this.
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George Dedopoulos | @geodee | geodee.com | Team Atomica | Toronto Triathlon Club
For a bit of background (I'll try to be brief—the less important parts in grey), three years ago I had a big fitness breakthrough, and I raised my race power targets considerably. Nearing the end of a bike leg on a 56k race, I had my groin/inner thighs both cramp up badly. You know that tendon right beside your boys that stretches out when you try to do the splits? Is it a hip adductor? Those. And the injury never really fully went away. They're sensitive to cramping and seize up once in a while, especially after long/fast/twisty runs, high intensity bike rides, and sometimes even getting out of the pool.
I chalk it up to being one of those injuries that never really goes away, but most of the time don't really bother you unless you do something stupid.
Last winter suspected that Q factor could be a... factor in this injury, so I pulled my cleats all the way outward, and while the change wasn't super pronounced, it felt like there *could* have been something to it.
Yesterday I got on my tri bike after a year of only road biking. That bike has a BB30 crank on it, as opposed to my road bike with GXP/adapter. When I rode it I felt like my toes were being pointed majorly inward, despite using the same shoes/pedals that I was just using 30 minutes before on my road bike. My inner thigh/groin was like "what are you doing to me?" When I came home and measured the BB30 crank arms, the end of the crank arm sat about 5mm inward of my road bike.
I suspect there may be something about my knees getting pulled inward by the adductors, when they want to travel outward. Not sure if it's a conscious "keep your knees more aero" response, or something physically guiding them toward an incorrect path.
As I type this, I think I am getting clearer about the answer—are crank spacers/pedal extenders even an avenue worth pursuing, or am I missing something obvious (like my seat is too high, or wrong saddle, cleat wedges/shims etc)? Am I being stupid by not getting a professional fitter to look at me in real life? I know the value in getting a proper fitting done, as I've done it a few times already, but when I go back I'd like to have as much info as possible to help. I love tweaking and fiddling, but don't want to waste too much energy on this.
_____________________________________________________
George Dedopoulos | @geodee | geodee.com | Team Atomica | Toronto Triathlon Club