Constriction in his iliac artery, a problem common in cyclists

[dennism]

Is there someone here who can shed more light into this? Who’s at risk? Symptoms? Barloworld’s Cox dies following surgery By VeloNews.com Filed: August 1, 2007 South African Ryan Cox died Tuesday weeks after doctors performed surgery to repair a constriction in his iliac artery, a problem common in cyclists.
Cox’s win at Genting in 2005 sealed his overall victory at Langkawi that year.

photo: Casey B. Gibson
The 28-year-old Cox, who had reported numbness, weakness and other problems with his left leg earlier in the year, had been diagnosed with a problem similar to that experienced by CSC’s Stuart O’Grady in 2002. Cox, with financial assistance from Barloworld teammate Robbie Hunter, underwent surgery in early July. Cox’s coach Clint Curtis told Bicycling South Africa that the rider showed classic symptoms of an arterial constriction. “He sometimes lost the feeling in the leg after cycling and had little power in the leg towards the end of some races,” Curtis said. “Ryan then went to see one of the leading doctors in France. It was found that the artery had, as a consequence of all the cycling, become knotted as sometimes happens to a garden hose. It often happens to cyclists because they spend so many hours on the bicycles, with their legs bent while pedaling.” While Hunter provided money for the surgery in early July, friends suspect that financial concerns prompted the cyclist to leave the French hospital earlier than recommended. He flew home to South Africa to recover. Doctors recommend near complete immobility for several weeks following surgery, with a gradual resumption of physical activity over an eight-week period. Cox was rushed to a South African hospital late Monday, where doctors unsuccessfully worked to repair an apparent rupture in the artery. Cox was a talented rider, with an impressive race resume, including the overall title at the 2005 Tour de Langkawi, a victory he secured by beating Venezuelan climbing ace Jose Rujano in a sprint to the line atop that race’s most feared climbing stage at Genting Highlands.
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[Andrew_Coggan]

Is there someone here who can shed more light into this?
Search PubMed using terms such “endofibrosis cyclists”.

[Wants2rideFast]

Quote: “Is there someone here who can shed more light into this? Who’s at risk? Symptoms?”

dennism,

I think you just missed it. Let me point it out again more clearly this time.

“friends suspect that financial concerns prompted the cyclist to leave the French hospital earlier than recommended. Doctors recommended near complete immobility for several weeks following surgery, with a gradual resumption of physical activity over an eight-week period.”

We are talking about at least 3 months of recovery here.

For many elite athletes, complete imobility for several weeks, unless it is in traction, is nearly an impossible recommendation to follow for many reasons.

First, an elite athlete believes they are elite as well as a patient and that the “general” medical guidlelines do not apply to them because they start out so “fit” whereas most patients are of “average” fitness.

Second, an elite athlete who makes his income by competing athletically can hardly sit still when it means the source of his income is stopped.

Thirdly, after surgery, recovery is the next issue and an elite athlete might as well take advantage of his/her exceptional fitness to get back in shape for competition by getting started sooner/earlier than the “average” patient.

It sounds that in this case the probable root cause of this unfortunate outcome was poor post operative decisions by the patient that were in direct contradiction to the medical recommendations of his physicians.

[dennism]

thanks! i guess missed that and just saw the dying part of the story. dont even know where that artery is. what worries me now is i`m getting varicose veins on my upper calves…more i think on sitting in office the whole day…