# Treadmills - the path to the dark side...



## wee_blondie (Oct 19, 2006)

Ouch - I'm on an oil rig (again) and like to try to keep up my training while away from home.  As you can imagine, space is pretty limited and as such means very little gym space.  Usuallly my workouts would consist of 20mins rowing/cross trainer; 30mins of isometrics; 10mins CV; 10mins weights and then a 10min cool-down.

This rig however only has free weights and an old old treadmill.  So, I got on the tread and did about 10km in total.  For the last three days my right inside thigh (think its an abductor) has been awfully painful.  Without being able to go to a pharmacy or see the doc is there anything I can do?  Stretches etc??  I'm not going home for another week.

Thanks.


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## Jonathan Randall (Oct 19, 2006)

First, if you haven't already done so, discontinue the exercise that you believe caused it. As to what else to do, I'm not a doctor and am wary of giving or taking medical advice on the net. Sorry. Hope it gets better for you.

BTW, my older sister does a routine similiar to the first you mentioned and she can work me into the ground! 

Take care.


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## exile (Oct 19, 2006)

Jonathan Randall said:


> First, if you haven't already done so, discontinue the exercise that you believe caused it. As to what else to do, I'm not a doctor and am wary of giving or taking medical advice on the net. Sorry. Hope it gets better for you.
> 
> BTW, my older sister does a routine similiar to the first you mentioned and she can work me into the ground!
> 
> Take care.




Heather, I'll just echo what Jonathan has told you, with emphasis on not doing _anything_ that might aggravate whatever caused the pain. If something's gone amiss, stretching can aggravate it. I've never yet enountered a serious pain that stretching was able to remedy. And if it turns out to be something really minor, you won't have lost that much in the way of conditioning.

First chance you get, go see a doctor. A bit of a break from training won't hurt you, but stressing a soft tissue injury definitely will! Take care and let us all know how it turns out.


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## wee_blondie (Oct 19, 2006)

Cheers guys.  I've not done any excercise since as i don't want to risk a proper injury.  Have you ever had pains after using a tread?  I usually avoid them as the impact seems to make my knees ache after a while.  But then again, I've never liked running.  Prefer to skip (no space for a rope out here though).


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## terryl965 (Oct 19, 2006)

wee_blondie said:


> Cheers guys. I've not done any excercise since as i don't want to risk a proper injury. Have you ever had pains after using a tread? I usually avoid them as the impact seems to make my knees ache after a while. But then again, I've never liked running. Prefer to skip (no space for a rope out here though).


 

I have never had any pain while running on a treadmill


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## MJS (Oct 19, 2006)

wee_blondie said:


> Ouch - I'm on an oil rig (again) and like to try to keep up my training while away from home. As you can imagine, space is pretty limited and as such means very little gym space. Usuallly my workouts would consist of 20mins rowing/cross trainer; 30mins of isometrics; 10mins CV; 10mins weights and then a 10min cool-down.
> 
> This rig however only has free weights and an old old treadmill. So, I got on the tread and did about 10km in total. For the last three days my right inside thigh (think its an abductor) has been awfully painful. Without being able to go to a pharmacy or see the doc is there anything I can do? Stretches etc?? I'm not going home for another week.
> 
> Thanks.


 
I'd start off by making sure you are doing a good warmup.  This does not have to be anything more than doing something to raise the heart rate and break a little sweat.  Some jumping jacks, running in place or a moderate walk in the treadmill are some ideas.

Stretching out prior as well as at the end of your workouts is important.  Also, have you had some time off before you began this recent workout?  I know that when I take a week off to rest my body, I'm a bit sore when I first start back up, but it doesnt last too long.

Mike


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## searcher (Oct 19, 2006)

Give me a little description on how the pain feels.   Does it feel like a knife or typical muscle soreness?   Does it hurt while you are not using it?   Does it hurt to touch?   How bad does it hurt?    Understand that I am a Group and Personal trainer and not a physician, but I may be able to help you a little bit.   I will do my best, but I can give no guarentee.


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## CoryKS (Oct 19, 2006)

Heather,
Do you find yourself running oddly, or differently than you would on an open surface?  When I use a treadmill, I tend to stiffen my legs and take shorter strides for fear that I will slip off the end.  Sometimes this makes my legs hurt like you describe.


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## Ceicei (Oct 19, 2006)

CoryKS said:


> Heather,
> Do you find yourself running oddly, or differently than you would on an open surface? When I use a treadmill, I tend to stiffen my legs and take shorter strides for fear that I will slip off the end. Sometimes this makes my legs hurt like you describe.



I agree.  People tend to run differently on a treadmill than they will out on the road.  Heather, when you are well enough, do a thorough stretch and warm up.  When running on the treadmill, try extending your stride and relax while running.  Check on whether your shoes may need replacing because sometimes shoes get worn out in odd places with the soles and then when we decide to run with these shoes, those same shoes force the feet by pressure into the worn spots and thus causes the stride to be skewed.

- Ceicei


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## arnisador (Oct 19, 2006)

You probably were pushing off or landing at an angle that is unusual for you because of how the machine is set up.

Rest is the only reasonable option, I think.


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## wee_blondie (Nov 11, 2006)

Cheers for all the tips guys (sorry bout my late reply!).

The pain was down the inside of my right thigh, and when walking each time I stepped forward with the left I could feel one streak of pain pulling along the inside of the right.  If I took shorter steps it was ok, although I tried to walk as normally as I could.

I took a break from training for bout a week until I got back onshore.  Then went to my normal class and had no problems since!  I'm still unsure how the injury happened as I am very consious of doing proper warm up and cool down exercises and drink loads of water throughout the day.

All better now but I'm back on the rig.  Needless to say, I'll be staying of the tread!


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## Drac (Nov 11, 2006)

Hope all is well with you soon..I only get on the treadmill AFTER pumping iron..


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