So, final week of lower leg issues before we move on to some strength work to assist with all these problems further.
Does your lower leg shoot forward?
Again there is never a one stop answer for why this may be happening however there are a couple of reasons why this may be happening.
One suggestion is that you may be tight in the front of your thigh-your quads in particular the middle muscle of your thigh that Rectus Femoris. This muscle passes from your pelvis to under your knee and therefore crosses two joints-the hip and the knee. The means it has two functions; 1: to flex the hip – this brings it closer to the body so knee towards chest and 2: to extend the knee-straighten the knee.
In order to perform these actions it shortens/contracts. When your lower leg is shooting forward this muscle is shortening to extend the knee, if this muscle has a problem causing it to be shortened then it may well be shortening without you wanting it too! Hence lower leg shooting forward.
The second issue could be an unstable pelvis. Now I think I say this is the answer to a lot of rider problems and to be honest that’s because it is! In this case if the pelvis feels unstable in order to try and balance itself it will counter balance with something else.
So the chain goes:
Unstable pelvis flexes to balance-you insist on staying upright (good for you) so sit further back-the pelvis sends the leg out for balance instead shooting the lower leg forward (think of hunting and eventing postures over enormous fences)-finishing picture you are sat at the back of your saddle with your toes by your horses ears (might be just me because mines little….) but hey presto you are not falling off so mission complete as far as your pelvis is concerned!
Great information I know, but what you really want is the solution!
For the shortened quads try this stretch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8HmpzCoGhI
And if you think Hip Stability is your issue try this exercise. Clue-if you find it difficult to do without dropping a hip or wobbling then your hip stability could be improved!
