Lactic Burn

[ForwardGhoul]

Anyone else suffer from really bad lactic Burn especially in the calf. I eat healthy, don't drink or smoke but I've noticed recently I'm getting this a lot on the bike. It's agony and I've no idea the cause and treatment/prevention

[Cugel]

Anyone else suffer from really bad lactic Burn especially in the calf. I eat healthy, don't drink or smoke but I've noticed recently I'm getting this a lot on the bike. It's agony and I've no idea the cause and treatment/prevention

"Lactic burn"? There has been some olde wifey stuff in cycling circles about the "burn" from lactic acid production when trying hard. As I recall, this was debunked some time ago.

Pains in muscles/tendons and any other part of your body can be caused by all sorts of things. It may be too big an assumption to assume that its a "lactic burn".

A local (to this forum) scientificcy fellow will be along soon to give you, probably, the best answer, which is likely to be along the lines of "have it properly investigated and hopefully diagnosed".

[Jdsk]

Anyone else suffer from really bad lactic Burn especially in the calf. I eat healthy, don't drink or smoke but I've noticed recently I'm getting this a lot on the bike. It's agony and I've no idea the cause and treatment/prevention

I don't know what you're describing... what are the actual symptoms, and how long do they last?

Thanks

Jonathan

[cycleruk]

I get "burn" in my inner thigh muscle (vastus medialis ?) but never in my calves.
I get it when doing a spirited ride and generally I can withstand the pain.

Is it possibly a cramp and not a burning sensation ?
I have cramp sometimes in my calves at night and yes that is quite painful.

[ForwardGhoul]

Anyone else suffer from really bad lactic Burn especially in the calf. I eat healthy, don't drink or smoke but I've noticed recently I'm getting this a lot on the bike. It's agony and I've no idea the cause and treatment/prevention

I don't know what you're describing... what are the actual symptoms, and how long do they last?

Thanks

Jonathan

It's a burning sensation in my calf muscle, like someone is pressing a hot iron directly inside the muscle. It's very painful when it happens. Doesn't happen every time and the time it happens is random. It can be five minutes after I've set off or two hours in.

[ForwardGhoul]

I get "burn" in my inner thigh muscle (vastus medialis ?) but never in my calves.
I get it when doing a spirited ride and generally I can withstand the pain.

Is it possibly a cramp and not a burning sensation ?
I have cramp sometimes in my calves at night and yes that is quite painful.

No it's a burning sensation, as I've described above. I keep going but it's very painful and very unpleasant. No idea what the cause is.

[Audax67]

Whatever the cause, I used to get this about 30 years ago when I started cycling again. On hills I used to do 5 pedal-strokes and coast, 5 pedal-strokes and coast, so that first one then the other leg got a rest while the pain cleared. As my fitness improved the pain went away.

Doing the same hills since then I have a wee chuckle to myself at the memory.

[Jdsk]

...
It's a burning sensation in my calf muscle, like someone is pressing a hot iron directly inside the muscle. It's very painful when it happens. Doesn't happen every time and the time it happens is random. It can be five minutes after I've set off or two hours in.

Thanks

One side or both?

Is it only after strenuous work?

Does it go away if you stop riding? And how long does that take?

Does it hurt when you press the spot?

Any shooting sensation or pins and needles?

And are you on any medication?

Jonathan

[ForwardGhoul]

...
It's a burning sensation in my calf muscle, like someone is pressing a hot iron directly inside the muscle. It's very painful when it happens. Doesn't happen every time and the time it happens is random. It can be five minutes after I've set off or two hours in.

Thanks


One side or both?

Is it only after strenuous work?

Does it go away if you stop riding? And how long does that take?

Does it hurt when you press the spot?

Any shooting sensation or pins and needles?

And are you on any medication?

Jonathan

Left leg only

It generally starts after half an hour of riding

Yes it stops when I stop

Ive never really pressed or held it so I don't know

No pins and needles just a constant burning sensation right on the calf muscle.

No medication

Doesn't happen every time I go out and I can cycle through the pain

[Jdsk]

Thanks

I'd start by changing the position slightly. Probably by decreasing the maximum extension at the knee... keeping it more flexed.

It's often difficult with intermittent pain... how many rides would it take to think that the change had made a difference?

Jonathan

[Paulatic]

What pedals are you using?
If cleats then I’d consider moving them back away from the toes which will give your calves less work to do.
or
Switch to flats and see if the problem goes away.

[ForwardGhoul]

What pedals are you using?
If cleats then I’d consider moving them back away from the toes which will give your calves less work to do.
or
Switch to flats and see if the problem goes away.

I'm using SPD's after a horrible experience with SL's that snapped when walking and trying to ride back home ouldnt use them again. Plus the MPD530 pedals are good.

I could maybe try moving the cleats further back and changing the float, could be the position on my foot.

[briansnail]

Easy.Cycle every alternate day and cross train eg two 3 kg weights watching TV.VIP gentle warm up and ease your self in and you will do much better.Ignore the speeding cyclists.
***********************************
I ride Brompton,Hetchins 531

[Geoffroid]

The body doesn't produce lactic acid when exercising. It produces lactate, which is used as a fuel, and furthermore there is increasing evidence that lactate is a co-ordinator of whole-body metabolism.

Lactate is lactic acid less one proton. About 75% of lactate produced during exercise is used as fuel. As you exercise at a higher level your body produces more lactate to prevent muscle damage. When the body can no longer produce enough lactate you have passed your lactate threshold and this could be the point where you feel a "burn". Training to develop a higher lactate threshold will delay the onset of this burn. All athletes are an experiment of one, but some combination in a training period of short hard intervals and longer amounts of training time at threshold pace, or just below, should develop a higher lactate threshold. Provided you build enough recovery into your training.

This journal article might prove interesting: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8225492/ The opening line states: "Since its discovery in 1780, lactate has long been misunderstood as a waste by-product of anaerobic glycolysis with multiple deleterious effects."

Recent research also shows that the body produces lactate in the gut after a carbohydrate meal, and the lactate enters the bloodstream before glucose. Lactate is not a toxic by product of hard exercise, but rather an important source of fuel, and a buffer to avoid glucose spikes in the bloodstream after consuming carbohydrate. https://www.msn.com/en-gb/health/other/ ... r-BB1mrleP

[531colin]

Pain in the calf suggests you are working the calf too hard.
Unilateral pain in the calf suggests you are working just one calf too hard.

I think the main possibilities have already been flagged up;

Cleat position; your foot needs to be "somewhere in the middle" of the angular float which your pedals/cleats provide......if you are right up against one end of the arc the float provides, and you are constantly twisting your foot up against the limit of the float, your calf muscle will complain. This can obviously apply to just one side, and your natural position of your feet isn't necessarily the same both sides. (I also don't find the natural position of my feet is indicated by sitting on a table with my feet dangling, i have to ride to find out.)

Its possible that one cleat is too far forward, I guess, but mine are more or less the same.

Saddle height. I would start here. If the saddle is too high, you will be "on tiptoe" to reach the pedal at the bottom. this can affect one leg more than the other leg, because legs are often (usually?) slightly different lengths. (mine are; I set the saddle for the shorter leg, because over-reaching is worse than having the saddle a bit too low)
Have a read of my DIY bike fit piece linked below, and have a play with saddle height (and probably setback as well).
before you move anything, mark, measure and photograph, so you can get right back where you started.