Quad pain during running. Help?

Michelle01

Michelle01

New member
My run today I had a bit of trouble. I was doing speed drills today. Did complete and proper warm up and did my brisk walk first. My first 30 second sprint, by the third step, I had horrible pain in my right quad. I kept going and made it to 20 sec. Did my min recovery walk for a min and a half instead. Then ran again, little less pain, but when I was walking could feel tightness in my quad. Did four sprints and then walked home. I noticed at first, when the pain started, I took smaller steps beause of the pain which made it worse. If I took longer strides, then it wasn't so bad and could at least make my 30 sec. Now, I'm feeling fine and during my quad stretch I felt minimal tightness then just felt like it normally does during a stretch. The lifting my leg was the painful part. Pushing down was fine.

During my walk home, it felt tight but not painful.

My next run is scheduled for Friday morning- about 3 miles on a walk 2 run 4 min interval. It's a bit slower though, not for speed. If I experience pain, I'm going to stop this time and maybe make an appointment depending on how painful it is.

Is this a problem any other runners have experienced when starting out? It's my second week going 3 times per week.

Any idea's? Right this second I'm not experiencing pain or tightness, but before my run today, I had no pain whatsoever either.
 
notme said:
speed drills... sprint... horrible pain in my right quad... lifting my leg was the painful part. Pushing down was fine.
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Was it on the inside of your leg near the top? This is a very common area to get pulled muscles at with sprinters. I saw all kinds of dudes get hurt there while I was in track. It's typically specific to sprinting, trying too hard too fast while too cold. Usually with slower running you don't have to forcefully pull your quads forward as quickly as possible, they just kind of swing back and forth much slower. When your leg is all the way back and you pull it forward to take another step, that's usually where the problems happen with sprinters in this area.
 
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Corndogggy, it was near the top, little less than a hands length down from my hip joint. And right in the front, not to either side, but everyone is put together a bit different.
Is there a specific name for this type of injury so I can google it?

I did some fast walking today and felt fine. Stretched and there was very minimal tightness, so I don't think I'll need to see my doctor. Tomorrow I'll be running, weather permitting. But will stop if I feel pain. Supposed to have thunderstorms and possible tornadoes tonight and tomorrow morning. It may have to be tomorrow evening.

Do you have any suggestions for preventing this from happening again?

My current program is from the army protocol...
One min each- bend and reac, rear lunge alternating legs, high jump, rower (sort of like a sit up, start flat, then bring knees and body up together), Squat and bend, windmill (hand to opposite foot), forward lunge, prone row/back extension, bent leg twist, push up.
Verticals, pretty much marching in place at a quick cadence.
Side stepping, step to side, jump both legs together. I do this inside so go the length of my hallway back and forth for the minute. (there is a 25yd x3 sprint that I don't do on Wednesdays). Do it across the parking lot on Mon & Fri)
I then leave my house and walk about half a mile to the end of my road. My pace is a minimum of 4.5 mph max to 5 mph while walking. I start there with the sprint.

Any suggestions appreciated :). Thanks so much!
 
sounds like a minor strain. To be sure, is the pain sharp and acute in one specific spot, or is it dull and throbbing in a larger area? if it is sharp and localized, then it definitely sounds like a strain to me. even though it is a bit after the injury, I would still get a few rounds of ice/heat in. 15 mins ice it, 15 off, 15 ice 15 off, and then you can do a few cycles of heat if you have a pad or something. If this happens again during your next session, stop immediately, go home, ice on and off in 15 min cycles for at least 4 cycles, and call your doctor. Ibuprofen is a good muscle relaxant for these things as well, though I would never recommend taking it before a session, only after. Also, if it happens again, I would plan on at least a week of no lower body strenuous activity. even if it feels ok, that doesnt mean it is ready to sprint again, so be careful and listen to your body.

EDIT: I am not familiar by name with the exercises you mentioned as your warm-up. Are those static, dynamic, or ballistic stretches? or something else alltogether? You may be able to help prevent further issues by doing your walk first to get blood flowing, then doing your sprints, and then doing the stretches at the end. it kind of depends though, as I am not exactly sure what each of those are, or how you perform them.
 
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It was sharp and local at first and tight and achy also local. I should have iced.. knew I should have and didn't.

I do those in the order posted, they're all dynamic. I do them again afterward plus static stretches (lunge, down dog, cobra, sidelying quad stretch).

Coach Crimson, here's a brief description :). I was thinking I could add in leg swings to the back, though the rear lunge seems to incorporate that though, too.

bend and reach- Bend to touch behind the heels then reach to the ceiling. Knees bend when reaching down.
rear lunge -alternating legs
high jump- count one, squat, count two stand, count three squat, count for jump as high as possible- arms swing to assist.
rower- (sort of like a sit up, start flat, then bring knees and body up together),
Squat and bend- count one squat, count two stand, count three bend at hips knees straight to touch floor, count four stand
windmill-hand to opposite foot keeping legs straight as possible stand upright between each
forward lunge alternating legs
prone row/back extension- lay on stomach. Count one reach forward, count two pull arms in as the back arches up.
bent leg twist- Lay on back, knees sway from right to center to left to center
push up's
Verticals, pretty much marching in place at a quick cadence. Bringing knees to hip level.
Side stepping, step to side, jump both legs together. I do this inside so go the length of my hallway back and forth for the minute.
 
though many of those do have some dynamic stretching incorporated, I would really consider that routine to be more like a calisthenic workout. Personally, I would recommend doing something a little more low key first, get the blood flowing, then do that workout. depending on what your goals are, I might even do the sprints before that workout as well. that is dependant on what your purpose is, overall fitness it doesnt matter much, but if you are specifically trying to increase your sprint speed, then a light warmup walk/jog would be all i would do before sprints. Speed workouts should generally be treated like weight lifting, you want to be fresh for them, and emphasize quality over quantity. In any case, I would definitely suggest that the walk be the first thing to get blood flowing and get warmed up before any of the rest of it.

anyways, i think you dont have much to worry about at the moment, definitely sounds like just a strain. of course, i say "just a strain", but it should still be treated like any other injury. Ease into your next workout, and just take care. If you start to feel anything at all come back, stop, ice, and call a doctor.

Hope it is just a one time thing for you. Not much sucks more than some nagging injury slowing down your progress.
 
Thanks Coach :). I do the speed drills again next Wednesday. I'll try it with a walk to jog before the sprints and see how it goes. I'll probably still do the warm up though, since it doesnt wear me out, maybe I'll cut it down to 30 sec each then increase my walk/jog before sprinting. Wednesdays though, my goal is increasing speed.

I'll definitely ease into my endurance run tomorrow and depending on how it goes, I'll either be taking a week off or continuing. Since the longer strides didn't bother me as much, I'm still a bit leary about next Wednesday.

Thanks again! And I'm saying NO to nagging injuries ;). If it were only that easy...

And corndogggy if you have anything to add, please do. I know this is sort of your forte.
 
notme said:
And corndogggy if you have anything to add, please do. I know this is sort of your forte.
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I don't really have anything else in regards to healing, but... your warmup routine sounds kinda crazy for sprinting. I was in track as a sprinter for years, even in college, and we never did anything like that and never felt the need. Biggest problem is that it looks like you're going straight from these calisthenics types of things to sprinting. Well, I guess you noticed what happens. :)

Personally, if I were going to do a sprint workout, I'd warm up by doing something like this:

1. a slow 0.5 to 1 mile jog very first thing.

2. hurdler stretches. You need to do hurdler stretches religiously.

3. butterflies (groin area)

4. leg crossover and twist, and similar (for outer upper hips and IT band)

5. calf stretches up against a telephone pole or sidewalk

6. cherry pickers (stand up, spread legs, bend down, touch ground, come back up). This warms up your lower back.

7. warmup sprints. very important. You never want to go from just doing a stretching routine to full blast sprinting. Take off a few times an run some half-assed sprints at 70% of your full blast sprinting intensity. Try to stretch out your legs, take long strides. Skip this and you'll start pulling muscles.

8. At this point I like to do more hurdler stretches. You should be warmed up and limber enough at this point that you can put your face flat on your knee with a straight leg while stretching your hamstrings and hold it for awhile without serious pain, and should be able to lay back and stretch your quad with your leg folded up beside you and lay there all afternoon if you really wanted to.

9. Now, you can sprint.
 
I had pain on the outside of my leg under the hip - I wonder if you experienced the same - and an old runner told me it was perhaps ITB. After a day or so it passed with stretching and not running. I have not experienced it since although I have not pushed my running that hard, either.
 
corndogggy said:
I don't really have anything else in regards to healing, but... your warmup routine sounds kinda crazy for sprinting. I was in track as a sprinter for years, even in college, and we never did anything like that and never felt the need.
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Yep, I was kind of meaning the warm up ;). Thanks so much. I guess following army protocol for sprinting... not a good idea, eh? I feel great and the weather is nice (thought it might be hot, but it's not) so I'm about to attempt my endurance run.

The cherry pickers are the only one I don't exactly know, but will give it a try. If I feel the stretch somewhere other than my low back, I'll know I'm not doing it right.

Thanks again, it's greatly appreciated!

Indigoiis, thanks for your input. I know for sure it's not my IT band, though I hear that is a common problem with runners, too.
 
notme said:
The cherry pickers are the only one I don't exactly know, but will give it a try. If I feel the stretch somewhere other than my low back, I'll know I'm not doing it right.
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While going down, you'll mostly feel the stretching in both your lower back AND your hamstrings. Coming back up you'll be contracting your lower back. Not everybody does this but I've found that it doesn't shock your back as bad.
 
I think I did them correctly. I gave them a try and did feel it in my hamstrings when I did them, but also felt a slight stretch in my low back. Not as much of a stretch as in the hamstrings, but any way I repositioned my legs, I pretty much felt it. The hurdler stretches need some improvement! I'm not all that flexible yet. I'll get there :).

I just did my endurance run yesterday, no sprinting. I noticed no pain or tightness during my run, but a little today so I iced anyway just in case.
 
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