Hello,
I have been dealing with a unilateral loss of coordination/extreme muscle weakness issue for over a year. It is similar to what is described in the runner's dystonia thread, however the major difference is it feels like it stems from my left glute/hip/thigh, as opposed to my lower limb and foot (which is where I believe runner's dystonia most commonly presents itself).
It was manageable initially, but it has progressed so severely that I have hardly been able to run for the past 4.5 months, and walking has become very difficult in the last 8 weeks or so. I have constant painless spasms when I walk, and I am so weak that I have a hard time lifting my foot high enough to clear the ground (leading to lots of trips). Thinking my leg was the problem, I have gone to lots of appointments and imaging tests for my leg, with little success from the appointments and almost no findings on the imaging tests. Although the symptoms/pain mostly present themselves in my glute/hip/legs, my doctor thought we should get an X-ray of my spine. I got the results:
"Severe foraminal narrowing demonstrated at L5-S1 with facet hypertrophy and osteophytic protrusion, potentially affecting the L5 exiting nerve roots and concordant with the patient's symptoms".
Jeez...is this bad? Could this explain all of my loss of coordination/extreme weakness? My doctor has ordered an urgent MRI, as an X-ray is apparently not sufficient to decide next steps. Has anyone overcome something like this? I'm only 27 and I'm worried that my running days are behind me...thanks for your input.