Why does my left leg move like this?

Bump

wasnt expecting to see your knee point out in such an extreme manner.

what did the specialists say is the cause and best solution?

did this suddenly start happening recently? if so, any event that triggered it?

I had the gait problem April to July 2023 and ran through it. It disappeared in July 2023 all the way until January 2024, and I haven’t gone back to normal yet. I can’t think of a specific “trigger” event.
Herniated discs, possible nerve damage, and muscle weakness is what I’ve been told so far.

we mayb different.

my left leg whips. my skeleton is crooked. left hip protrudes forward. I heel strike left leg. push weight to outside of foot and kinda push off around foot instead of big toe/ arch. as the leg recovers, it has to whip back.

Every nyc hospital has said I can't run.

yet, I've run 2 marathons & countless races.

don't expect much better help. seek the best advice u can get and go on your own journey, learn how to mitigate your deficiencies.

Break down each body part. Go thru strengthening and mobility / range of motion. Breakdown to simple movements. be ur own pt. find out where in chain ur going wrong.

basically, I switch off run styles for one bad to hurting myself till I can't stand it and goto a different running style till that one hurts and switcharoo. Yeah, I'm no time qualifier runner.

(1) Are you the OP?

(2) A “bulging disc” is no joke if causing this (which seems possible). A “herniated disc” (where gel actually leaks) is an even bigger ‘no joke’. So that is just speculation, or you have had an MRI?

How much time do you spend driving a car?

And what is your age?

what the hell. that's disturbing. please don't post any more videos.

1) yes I’m the OP. Idk why but I posted the original post with an unregistered account, now it won’t let me reply with that username so I signed into my account lol :P

2) The herniated disc is speculation. Maybe it’s a bulging disc and not a herniated disc, I don’t know. I have an MRI of my brain lined up in 2 weeks, and I’m going to try to get one for my spine (although that could take a long time).

Not much. 1-2 hours per week.

Getting to basics, since you fortunately haven’t mentioned pain, can you at least force yourself (if you think about it) to walk correctly?

Here is how (with your situation): deep stretch your left calf/achilles, pushing into a wall. Then, when walking, concentrate on pushing off (from the left big toe area) before the foot leaves the ground.

Yes, technically I can force myself to walk correctly. However, I get a bunch of terrible symptoms when I force myself - glute + quad spasms, weird hitch in my stride, and toe catching the ground. Knee driving diagonally is the only way that feels natural and isn’t accompanied by bad sensations/symptoms.
Thanks for the tips though. I will try it!

And you can’t run at all, even with a diagonally-driven knee? No amount of form adjustment will allow you to run pain-free?

MRI on your brain? For something completely unrelated?

That’s a good thought. OP, have you ever had a head injury?

Sorry I forgot to mention - this is all completely painless. However, if I start to try to run with a straight-driven knee, I get these spasms and I end up running diagonally anyways. I don’t want to run diagonally though because I don’t want to ingrain the habit even more or cause another injury.

I’m glad to hear that it’s completely painless.

I hope I’m not misunderstood when I say this: I think running diagonally is probably the best compromise for your body. Something obviously is wrong enough that your body is self-compensating for.

I understand your apprehension to continue running diagonally; I’d be concerned whether another injury develops as a result, too. However, I also think that being able to move pain-free means you’ve found a functional workaround.

You could continue trying to diagnose it further, and hope to find a way to return to a “normal” running form. But it will take a lot of time and effort. The amount of time needed is unknown. If it were my body, I’d accept it and try to run cautiously, observing for any unwanted injuries developing. But you’re not me, so you may much rather choose differently.

by the way, I’m not a doctor, so feel free to dismiss my words. I have, however, been to enough doctors for my running injuries (albeit minor in comparison to yours) and I’ve lost faith in their ability to diagnose and treat running injuries.

You say it is bad on the elliptical, but ok on bike or ARC trainer -- does your posture change between those machines? Also the vid shows you walking with vertical posture -- what happens if you lean a bit forward at waist? What happens when you walk up a steep hill?

What about one of the ligaments in your knee. Mcl or lcl. Had any knee injuries?

Or damaged meniscus or a piece of bone cartilage stuck in your knee somewhere which is throwing a spanner in the works.