Adductor cramps - anyone else?

ROK ON

Hi
Very occasionally I get very painful adductor cramps. I have had two bouts in past two weeks.

Anytime that they have occurred there have been similarities:

Very long ride or very hard ride.
Cycling on the flat for a while then hit base of a hill and bang.
All days have been hot.

Last three times:
140k cycle yesterday - 110k in. Base of climb. Tough cycle.
200k cycle - 180k in. Very easy until the cramp.
Club race last year - final lap - base of hill.

When it happens it feels like you are going to die - the pain is simply incredible.
Leg locks - completely immobilised.
Takes 10-15 minutes of massage by roadside to loosen leg enough to crawl home.
Leg tight for days after.


I have spoken to doctors - no clue.
Web is deeply confusing:
Drink - already do this
Eat bananas - yep
Spin more
Mash more
Do weights
Stretch
Salt
Cock knees in/out etc
Change cleats
Move seat back
Sick of the ad hoc nature of so called cures

Does anyone else get these. If so has anyone found a reasonable solution or can recommend someone that actually knows about this area.

shaka

What stretching you doing? I have to do a lot of hip flexor stretching cos I spend so much time driving

The tax man

Yeah I used to get them towards the end of long or hard spins for the past few years.
Haven't had them at all this year. Saying that, I haven't had any of my usual cramps or knee issues this year. The only thing different this year to others is the mileage in the legs. Nothing in my diet or what I use when riding has changed.

Hitting the base of and climb and bang sounds very familiar to me.
I never found a solution,just put it down to going too hard and beyond what my body could take. I learned to read the signs of them coming and take it very handy so my muscles wouldn't cramp up.

Juan More Time

I would have a look at your Q- factor..ie your stance width. Usually a Q-factor that is too wide can cause adductor issues as the knee tries to track inwards during the recovery phase of the pedal stroke.


Your crank arms may also be either too long or too short for your particular leg length.

The origin of the adductor muscles is your sit bones, so your saddle height, angle, or indeed saddle choice could also be causing issues..

You also mentioned the pain is in only one leg. This could be due to a leg length discrepancy..

I would advise you to have a bike fit done, and perhaps visit a neuro muscular technique therapist.

rollingscone

Juan More Time wrote: »

I would have a look at your Q- factor..ie your stance width. Usually a Q-factor that is too wide can cause adductor issues as the knee tries to track inwards during the recovery phase of the pedal stroke.


Your crank arms may also be either too long or too short for your particular leg length.

The origin of the adductor muscles is your sit bones, so your saddle height, angle, or indeed saddle choice could also be causing issues..

You also mentioned the pain is in only one leg. This could be due to a leg length discrepancy..

I would advise you to have a bike fit done, and perhaps visit a neuro muscular technique therapist.

I was also going to say check your cleat position. I'd my spd sl cleats on too straight and ended up having to stop and adjust them because my IT band was on fire.

ROK ON

Thanks guys.
Not sure any of this helps.

This occurs only rarely and always when hot.
However it does not always occur in the heat - for example I have done a four day 720km cycle in 35-40 degree heat and I have been fine.

I don't think that it could be cleat position or Q factor. If so, why would it not always be an issue? Also it has happened on many different shoes/cleat combos and on many different bikes/BB/cranks.
Also when it happens it occurs simultaneously on both thighs.

Some sources say it occurs when lacking electrolyte - but it has also occurred when I have had Nuun in my drink. This prompted me to stop wasting money on ridiculous orange tablets. I drink a reasonable amount on a bike.

That is the reason for this thread - no single cause by itself makes sense. Only environmental factor seems to be it doesn't occur in the cold. In fact shortly after it occurred on Saturday it began raining very heavily and the temp dropped. The leg began to loosen out then.

Thanks for the help, but I am looking for something/someone more definitive.

If I change set up on bike without this I could end up doing more harm than good.

Idleater

For me I have correlated muscle cramp pains with lack of water, but mine tend to occur during the night after a cycle rather than during.
Of course this also sometimes coincides with (a) beer or a glass of wine, both of which are dehydration causes.
As a result I have pretty much ignored the issue :-\

ROK ON

Idleater wrote: »

For me I have correlated muscle cramp pains with lack of water, but mine tend to occur during the night after a cycle rather than during.
Of course this also sometimes coincides with (a) beer or a glass of wine, both of which are dehydration causes.
As a result I have pretty much ignored the issue :-\

I have done a lot of online reading on muscle cramp due to dehydration. Web is very mixed. A lot of sources put it down to dehydration. However several sources dismiss this in the particular case where the cramp is always localised - ie adductor/hamstring/quad/lower back. They reason that dehydration causes cramps in different places regularly.

I will try drinking more.

Wondering if it could be circulatory. Docs don't seem to think so but get no reassurance there. So a recommendation of a doc/physio that knows something about cramping would be appreciated. Legs are still very tight today - 2 days later.

nak

I have never had cramps myself, but have friends that do and they said that taking a magnesium supplement has alleviated their symptoms.

Only time I get adductor pain is cyclocross racing from jumping on and off the bike.

ROK ON

nak wrote: »

I have never had cramps myself, but have friends that do and they said that taking a magnesium supplement has alleviated their symptoms.

Only time I get adductor pain is cyclocross racing from jumping on and off the bike.

A lot of online sources cite magnesium. I eat a lot of magnesium rich foods (spinach, mackerel, pecans, bananas). I will look into supplements.

CptMackey

Any other part hurting? Had a pain in my hip which my physio traced to a problem in my knee. Recurring soccer injury.

Had to stay off the bike for two weeks and then build up slowly while the physio worked on the knee and hip.

Worth checking to see is it a symptom of another problem

outfox

Would it be something to do with a subtle change in position when you reach the base of a climb? Say, are you moving slightly back on the saddle? Maybe if you could recreate this situation (ie. coming to the base of a climb) on a trainer, you could try to gradually eliminate potential causes due to positional changes? Just a thought. It seems the most consistent factor here is reaching the base of a climb after a flat stretch.
Now that I think about it, perhaps the damage is being done not at the climb base, but something to do with the way you maintain tempo on the flat?

tamaskan

ROK ON wrote: »

Hi
Very occasionally I get very painful adductor cramps. I have had two bouts in past two weeks.

Anytime that they have occurred there have been similarities:

Very long ride or very hard ride.
Cycling on the flat for a while then hit base of a hill and bang.
All days have been hot.

Last three times:
140k cycle yesterday - 110k in. Base of climb. Tough cycle.
200k cycle - 180k in. Very easy until the cramp.
Club race last year - final lap - base of hill.

When it happens it feels like you are going to die - the pain is simply incredible.
Leg locks - completely immobilised.
Takes 10-15 minutes of massage by roadside to loosen leg enough to crawl home.
Leg tight for days after.


I have spoken to doctors - no clue.
Web is deeply confusing:
Drink - already do this
Eat bananas - yep
Spin more
Mash more
Do weights
Stretch
Salt
Cock knees in/out etc
Change cleats
Move seat back
Sick of the ad hoc nature of so called cures

Does anyone else get these. If so has anyone found a reasonable solution or can recommend someone that actually knows about this area.

Got the same thing earlier this year at the base of a steep climb 100km into a 145km spin. Was really tight afterwards for a few days so went to a sports masseuse who is also an A4 racer and he recommended Dioralyte from the pharmacy. It's actually a prevention/cure for diarrhoea but it contains all the minerals our bodies need to get us through a long ride without dehydrating. It works really well. I only use a sachet before an event rather than long training spins and have never cramped since while on it, but I did cramp last week while not on it.
The other thing which he recommended was magnesium spray. You just spray it on to your legs and rub it in before you set off on your ride and it works it's magic. I've always used the two together but never had another cramp while on them. The Dioralyte sachets are like a fiver for five sachets. The spray could have been like twelve yoyo's.
Hope that helps.
Rok On

petethedrummer

I have adductor problems. They do cramp and my leg locks but I don't feel like I'm going to die.

The cause of the problem was over stretching for a football which caused trauma. Since the football incident, cycling on my race bike in particular was causing them to cramp up. I jammed my saddle forward and switched to speedplay with the cleat extender plate to move the cleat back towards my heal a bit more. The goal was to try and engage my hamstrings more. It seems to have worked in that it takes much longer to cramp now.

To try and resolve the underlying problem I use a sliotar to self massage my trigger points as directed by my physio. I was using a foam roller but it's hard to get right in on them. My trigger points are down towards the knee and up around my crotch. It's painful as hell and makes my eyes water but it seems to be helping.

It's not fully resolved, I need to be more consistent with the sliotar. I wasn't cycling for a few months due to my collar bone break and had stopped working on the adductors. But now I'm back on the bike I'll endeavour to resolve it 100%.

petethedrummer

http://rhinofitness.ca/articles/article_trigger_point_adductors.html

The tax man

I'll add my name to the others that take magnesium supplements.

ashleey

ROK ON wrote: »

Thanks guys.
Not sure any of this helps.

This occurs only rarely and always when hot.
However it does not always occur in the heat - for example I have done a four day 720km cycle in 35-40 degree heat and I have been fine.

I don't think that it could be cleat position or Q factor. If so, why would it not always be an issue? Also it has happened on many different shoes/cleat combos and on many different bikes/BB/cranks.
Also when it happens it occurs simultaneously on both thighs.

Some sources say it occurs when lacking electrolyte - but it has also occurred when I have had Nuun in my drink. This prompted me to stop wasting money on ridiculous orange tablets. I drink a reasonable amount on a bike.

That is the reason for this thread - no single cause by itself makes sense. Only environmental factor seems to be it doesn't occur in the cold. In fact shortly after it occurred on Saturday it began raining very heavily and the temp dropped. The leg began to loosen out then.

Thanks for the help, but I am looking for something/someone more definitive.

If I change set up on bike without this I could end up doing more harm than good.

I got bad cramps on the TdKK last week after going up Woodstock (too fast). The weather was awful, so I definitely wasn't drinking enough fluids. I was wearing leg warmers as I was freezing. I couldn't get rid of the cramp until I rolled them down. I suspect that the grippers were squeezing blood flow at the top of my thighs and I have found similarly with new shorts with tightish leg grippers.

Could that be your problem?

petethedrummer

The tax man wrote: »

I'll add my name to the others that take magnesium supplements.

I think the supplements, electrolytes and hydration may extend time before cramp but they don't resolve the underlying issue. I take magnesium supplements and still get these particular cramps. I was out on Saturday and could feel them start to twinge towards the end of the spin, so had to back off. It's always in the same 2 or 3 muscles (Hamstrings/Adductors) in my right leg and I have knots/trigger points/scar tissue in those areas.

ROK ON

Thanks again.

I will try the spray & supplements.
Part of me thinks it's lack of fitness, but I have had this issue regardless of fitness.
Part of me thinks it maybe due to excessive sweating and salt loss in very humid weather - as it hasn't occurred in dry heat?
Part of me thinks it could be due to circulation due to bad varicose veins in my right leg - but then I also cramp on my left adductor.

It always happens after a gear shift in anticipation of a change in gradient.

Last three times I would have gone from a prolonged period of reasonably high cadence in front ring to lower cadence in the lower ring - so going from say 35kmph+ to <15kmph. Usually on a long spin. But last time before the last two teams was May13 in a league race (45km).

Has never occurred in the cold or while wearing leg/knee warmers.

Juan More Time

How old are you? If you are the wrong side of forty it could be just a natural part of the aging process.

Did you ever suffer a groin pull in the past? If so there could be some residual damage in your adductors.

If you say the cramp strikes in both legs simultaneously, then it could be a neurological problem and you should pester your GP to send you to a neurologist..

Lambretta

I've had the exact same issue and it has caused me to drop out of many sportives in the past - the pain is excruciating.


I no longer have this problem.


Strategy you could consider that worked for me.


1. Take it easier - simple as that , as annoying as it is slowing down and have others pass you, but at least you will finish the event. I really only ever cycle at 80% capacity especially on the hills.


2. Stretch every day - hip flexors particularly, hamstrings, quads, groins, lower back, gluteus - incorporate into your training programme - listen to music on your ipod so you don't get bored - think of it as helping you on the bike and not a chore.


3. Strengthen / activate the glutes so your hip flexors etc. are not doing all the work - get a good training programme from good PT following analysis to ensure you have no weak areas from a physio.


4. Consume tiny amounts of Sea salt, magnesium, alkaline smoothies (google them) e.g cucumber, celery, sea salts, banana and apple juice


5. Try and chill out during the cycle and plenty of sleep the night before.


6. Avoid too much coffee the day before or during the event.


I am not a physio but completely understand how frustrating this is - let me now if you have any questions at all.


Cheers,
Lambretta