I’ve had loss of coordination in my left leg on and off for two years. It usually starts to show up after 1 mile of running. Basically, my leg has no control and it feels like I’m dragging it. It also gets weak and forces me to slow down the pace. Sometimes it will last a week then go away for months. I don’t really notice it on the road/trails but just on the treadmill. Also, I have experienced 2-3 times that my foot will get tingling sensation. I will also have some tightness in my left glute and hamstring tightness (I think this is from compensating for it). It seems to be lingering more than usual this time around.
I’m wondering if this has something to with my sciatic nerve. But why does it come and go? Should I see a neurologist or orthopedic doctor?
This week is the 2nd anniversary of an accident I had at home. No big deal at the time, but in retrospect I did some serious damage. To cut a long story short, in the time it took to see a doctor, get MRI’s done, wait out a specialist (this is Canada you don’t snap your fingers for instant service unless it’s life threatening) I did all kinds of research online, did all kinds of therapies shown there and got all kinds of advice from friends and experts. You would be amazed at what erectly ignorant people are prepared to tell you. That I can still walk after all that advice is luck, not judgement.
Self administered solutions may look good on the movie screen. but in real life…
Get yourself to a real doctor. They will tell you who to see next.
I’d go see a doctor. I don’t want to be an alarmist, but what you described is quite close to what my wife experiences when she exercises, and she has MS.
I’ve had loss of coordination in my left leg on and off for two years. It usually starts to show up after 1 mile of running. Basically, my leg has no control and it feels like I’m dragging it. It also gets weak and forces me to slow down the pace. Sometimes it will last a week then go away for months. I don’t really notice it on the road/trails but just on the treadmill. Also, I have experienced 2-3 times that my foot will get tingling sensation. I will also have some tightness in my left glute and hamstring tightness (I think this is from compensating for it). It seems to be lingering more than usual this time around.
I’m wondering if this has something to with my sciatic nerve. But why does it come and go? Should I see a neurologist or orthopedic doctor?
Hey, I have been dealing with this type of thing on and off for 4 years after a pretty bad accident in 2011 (head injury, several fractures, pelvic/groin/knee injury), so I can totally relate to what you are talking about. I would go check this out. For me it was head injury/motor control related, but yours could be as simple as peripheral nerve problems, lower spine problem, or as another poster said, there could be some general nervous system thing like MS. I think you want to get to the back of it.
By the way, my worst coordination was treadmill on a flat at speed. On actual ground it was better and treadmill uphill at slow speed the coordination was OK too.
Thanks Dev. My guess its something to do with my lower back (My PT thinks so too). I commute 2 hrs a day and sit 90% of the time at work. If I had to guess this is the basis of my problem. The deceiving part is my lower back doesn’t hurt and I have no pain what so ever. I also train very hard and never take care of my body (foam rolling, massage, etc). I think its finally catching up to me. My PT has me doing some lower back/core work to do so hopefully this helps. I also need to massage and foam roll more often.
Thanks Dev. My guess its something to do with my lower back (My PT thinks so too). I commute 2 hrs a day and sit 90% of the time at work. If I had to guess this is the basis of my problem. The deceiving part is my lower back doesn’t hurt and I have no pain what so ever. I also train very hard and never take care of my body (foam rolling, massage, etc). I think its finally catching up to me. My PT has me doing some lower back/core work to do so hopefully this helps. I also need to massage and foam roll more often.
Nobody wants to hear this, but go get screened for MS as posted above multiple times as it doesn’t seem you are taking it seriously.
look into Illiac Artery Endofibrosis (search around on the board for info). I went to a number of health professionals before I finally got a diagnonsis … it just does not seem to be a well-known disorder.
Thanks Dev. My guess its something to do with my lower back (My PT thinks so too). I commute 2 hrs a day and sit 90% of the time at work. If I had to guess this is the basis of my problem. The deceiving part is my lower back doesn’t hurt and I have no pain what so ever. I also train very hard and never take care of my body (foam rolling, massage, etc). I think its finally catching up to me. My PT has me doing some lower back/core work to do so hopefully this helps. I also need to massage and foam roll more often.
It may be lower lumbar related, and I am no doc, so who knows. May want to get a standing desk at work just to sit less. I recently got one and it “seems” to have helped somewhat from where I was recently. I’m going to start another thread of my own describing my former injuries and how they are affecting me now.
But as others have said, I think you should also consider looking into the other possibilities as you never know.
Thanks Dev. My guess its something to do with my lower back (My PT thinks so too). I commute 2 hrs a day and sit 90% of the time at work. If I had to guess this is the basis of my problem. The deceiving part is my lower back doesn’t hurt and I have no pain what so ever. I also train very hard and never take care of my body (foam rolling, massage, etc). I think its finally catching up to me. My PT has me doing some lower back/core work to do so hopefully this helps. I also need to massage and foam roll more often.
Nobody wants to hear this, but go get screened for MS as posted above multiple times as it doesn’t seem you are taking it seriously.
I don’t think you or I have enough information to know that he is not taking it seriously. Maybe he’s only at the first stage of figuring it out. Don’t jump all over him, at least not yet.
I don’t think you or I have enough information to know that he is not taking it seriously. Maybe he’s only at the first stage of figuring it out. Don’t jump all over him, at least not yet.
That’s a gentle nudge on the ST scale. Also possibly hurting someone feelings a bit for a few seconds is small price to pay for even the possibility of reducing the time to a serious diagnosis.
I’m x3 on eliminating MS as a possibility. My wife has it, and “MS” was the first thing that popped into my head when I got to the “c” in coordination on the subject line. Could be a thousand different things, but SEE A DOCTOR.
I’ve had loss of coordination in my left leg on and off for two years. It usually starts to show up after 1 mile of running. Basically, my leg has no control and it feels like I’m dragging it. It also gets weak and forces me to slow down the pace. Sometimes it will last a week then go away for months. I don’t really notice it on the road/trails but just on the treadmill. Also, I have experienced 2-3 times that my foot will get tingling sensation. I will also have some tightness in my left glute and hamstring tightness (I think this is from compensating for it). It seems to be lingering more than usual this time around.
I’m wondering if this has something to with my sciatic nerve. But why does it come and go? Should I see a neurologist or orthopedic doctor?
If your problem is pinched sciatic nerve that causes sciatica, then you can see either an orthopedist or neurologist. Orthopedists are probably more familiar with various exercises to deal with sciatica, though.
In sciatica, you can have pain in the lower back and back of the thigh and calf, but you can also have only pain in the leg without pain in the lower back. You can also have only muscle weakness and tingling in the leg without any pain.
One common cause of sciatica is a herniated disc in the lower back.
Herniated disc
Another cause is a pressure from piriformis muscle at the bottom of a buttock on one side (piriformis syndrome), which is relatively common in runners and cyclist.
In both cases, the pain is aggravated by sitting.
Good luck finding out what it is. I have struggled for about 4-5 years when a weakness in my right leg and when running at race pace my right foot goes numb - result I race at about 85-90% of what I am capable. At recovery and easy paces I have no problem but as soon as I had pace, it malfuctions. Its the weirdest thing to have your heart and lungs say you can go faster, your left legs says go-go-go and your whipping your right leg around to keep up. I have spent thousands on therapy, everything has been scanned. I have some muscle-skeleton issues from a childhood health event that cannot be fixed. Now at 51, my body just struggles to stay healthy. At this point, I am just trying to manage it so I can keep running so I pick my spots to run hard.
Definitely see a doc - and then, if all comes out well and the problems are from sitting, get a stand up desk. I’ve had one for years and it makes all the difference. Even makes a difference in motivation at work since, for example, it’s mentally easier to just turn and walk out to grab something from the printer right away rather than saving it for the next time you happen to get up.
Get one that raises and lowers since it’s almost as bad to stand all day as it is to sit, and consider adding a walking treadmill. I got a small one that I can fold up out of the way, since walking = better posture than slouching against the desk when standing. You can get one on Amazon for under $200, instead of spending $1000 for a desk-specific version. Movement = keeping things aligned and “lubricated” rather than stiffening into a frozen seated posture.
Definitely see a doc - and then, if all comes out well and the problems are from sitting, get a stand up desk. I’ve had one for years and it makes all the difference. Even makes a difference in motivation at work since, for example, it’s mentally easier to just turn and walk out to grab something from the printer right away rather than saving it for the next time you happen to get up.
Get one that raises and lowers since it’s almost as bad to stand all day as it is to sit, and consider adding a walking treadmill. I got a small one that I can fold up out of the way, since walking = better posture than slouching against the desk when standing. You can get one on Amazon for under $200, instead of spending $1000 for a desk-specific version. Movement = keeping things aligned and “lubricated” rather than stiffening into a frozen seated posture.
Thanks for the walking treadmill idea. This would be something good for me to look into eventually for my standing desk.
I went to a sports ortho doc. He assessed my hip function which tested fine. He said my loss of coordination and tingling was either coming from my back or tight muscles around the sciatic nerve. He felt the latter was the most likely cause. He said to really work on my core and glutes for the next month and if its still persists then he might order an MRI. He also said that I need to have regular massages or foam roll more often.
The last week I’ve been symptom free without doing anything…
Glad you went to see a doc. I had an issue that was very similar to yours. On the treadmill, my left foot would start slapping after about a half mile. It turned out to be Piriformis syndrome. Rolling and stretching helped eliminate the problem. Strengthening the glutes and hip abductors has also helped greatly.