Time to Work On the Quads

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. My right leg has been giving me grief. My right side has always been my more flexible side, but for the past year, the back of my right thigh has felt pinched in a way that I know isn't right. It's more than tight muscles. I've watched my flexibility steadily decline to the point where I can't even bend over and touch the floor without having to bend that knee to almost a 60 degree angle.

I've been hoping it's a phase that will pass, but recently I've developed a kind of twisty pinched feeling in the thigh that hits me when I'm sitting at my desk or driving a car. Plus, my leg has buckled a few times in yoga and, frankly, I'm frustrated at the lack of flexibility when I know it used to be there.

So I saw my doctor. I was mainly looking for advice. Do I need a chiropractor? Orthopedic doctor? Bruce is a runner as well, which is nice. He said the placement and complaints aren't typical of a standard running injury. He measured my legs and my right leg is almost a half-inch longer than my left, which may or may not be contributing to the problem. His recommendation is that I spend a month strengthening my gluts and hamstrings with weight training, in addition to being religious about stretching after my runs. (Something I'm not good about doing now.) If that doesn't help, then he'll refer me to a sports medicine specialist.

So my weight machine and I will do a little bonding this month. It would be lovely if this were just a case of imbalanced muscles.  Meanwhile, he also said I might want to do a little cross-training. He suggested biking, which I loath. I might to back to Tae-bo, although I wonder if I can do those leg kicks with this pinching.  If not that, there's always paddleboating. =)

Cheers,

Dena