fthomas

Well I had a short appointment with my Primary Care Physician at the Veterans Administration Out Patient Clinic. Before you think anything negative, after all it is the VA right, my PCP and the staff at the Laguna Hills VA Outpatient Clinic are absolutely exceptional. Awesome group of people who really do a great job and are sincerely interested in the welfare of the Veteran.

The conversation went something like this:

Me: My left foot is bothering me after cycling and it has started to give me some minor knee pain on outside of the knee after walking a couple of miles.

Primary Care Physician: Are you wearing the same shoes?

Me: Yes

Primary Care Physician: I recommend you change shoes and check your saddle height and setup. If it doesn't get better I'll send you to the podiatrist.

Me: Oh, OK good idea!
Red face starting to show! LOL!

Duh! Why didn't I think of that?

OldTryGuy

Sometimes you just can't see the forest for the trees.

RonH

Walking in your cycling shoes???


My primary care doc, my spine doc and the maxillofacial doc I saw last year after my bike-car mixup are all cyclists.
They all encourage me to continue riding. My spine doc told me in July (after being diagnosed with spinal stenosis) that my 2001 Litespeed was great but my 2015 Cannondale Supersix EVO was not helping my back. He recommended getting rid of it and getting a better quality bike. So after a lot of research I got my new bike earlier this week -- a 2014 Cannondale Supersix EVO Hi-Mod Team bike. It was a demo bike so the price was too good to pass up.
My back loves it and thats what counts.




Now if i could only get my cardiologist on a bike.

rck

My PCP is also a VA doc. She may not be a biking genius but its hard not to love someone who tells you that you need to eat more food and add salt to your diet!

OldsCOOL

Mine is a cyclist as well. He gets a kick out of me when I come in. Of course he already knows I dont fit his study groups and will refuse his scripts....but as for any fitment probs, you shouldve figured that out on your own.

John E

If more doctors were athletes, the country would be a lot better off.

John_V 

My PCP, urologist and my ex-oncologist (he retired) are all avid cyclist. When I go in for an office visit, it seems as if we talk more about cycling than why I'm there. A great bunch of docs.

Gerryattrick

My doc has just had a lot of time off sick, due to a broken shoulder caused in a downhill mountain biking accident.

My physiotherapist (not a cyclist) has just set me a course of remedial exercises for my back problem that includes daily cycling.

fthomas

In doctor patient relations I think it helps if the patient adds to the physicians day a enjoyable distraction from the norm.

TGT1

One of the reasons I got into cycling more intensely a couple of years ago was to loose the weight gained from a thyroid removal and the titration back up process to get the levels normal. (they start out with a low dose and bring it up which slows your metabolism and can lead to rapid weight gain)

My endocrinologist always want's to know about the latest bike or mountaineering exploits and last visit had me explaining hydration/electrolytes to two med students.

He's an exception.

The other physicians I've run across don't know quite what to think of a 60+ athlete. Things like a low resting pulse rate or slightly enlarged heart can freak them out. That's probably largely driven by the practice of liability defensive medicine.

Dave Cutter

My GP was a friend of mine for years before he became my doctor. It's nice to have a rapport with my doctor... or anyone you I business with.

Earlier in the season I noticed my left foot was sore after rides. More or less in the area where my cleat attached. I inspected the shoe and found an indent of sorts and stabilized both the shoe and sole insert with duct tape. That seemed to solve the problem. So then I stopped in at Performance and bought some new shoes... that I really like better.

I don't know how many years/miles a pair of cycling shoes last. But apparently something I need to keep an eye on.

doctor j

My PCP in northwest Arkansas is a snotty-nosed, smart-alec, punk-kid road cyclist. We got along famously, and he was a great doc. Yes, we talked bikes and riding a lot.

Now I'm retired and back down in central Louisiana and will be looking for a cyclist doc down here. Hopefully, I can find one. I think it makes a positive difference when the doc knows about this addictive avocation.

B. Carfree

The last physician I went to was Eric Heiden. You may have heard of him if you watched Olympic speed skating a few decades ago. He also gave cycling a try after he retired from skating and before he headed off to med school. I had done a number on an ankle while playing soccer with some kids I was coaching twelve years ago. The local orthopedic surgeon was pretty dismissive of the need to do much since I was, at the time, in my forties so, in her words, it wasn't like I was going to need that ankle to perform for much more than short walks. Since I was riding about 400 miles per week at the time (very long commute), I was equally dismissive of her take on things. I headed to a clinic 500 miles away that just happened to have Eric Heiden on staff. The team decided to send me off to a surgeon to screw it all back together. It took three months or so to get back on the bike (lots of ligament damage), but it all works fine now. I shudder to think what the outcome would have been under Dr. Dismissive.

trackhub

Having a PCP who is a cyclist is like finding a gold mine. OK, maybe not that great, but you understand. My previous
PCP was a cyclist who rode to his Cambridge office from his home in Brookline. He kept his bike in his office, pulling his
desk away from the wall to make room for it. He understood what a fixed-gear was. I did not have to explain it,
only to be met with a totally blank stare, which is the case with my present PCP.

My present PCP (Plan's choice, not mine) is not a cyclist. He simply doesn't "get it". His only comment,
"Oh yeah, I've seen you guys around". Yes, I am looking for a new PCP, but, interestingly enough,
there is a shortage of Primary care doctors, here in the "Medical Mecca" of eastern MA.

So, if you have a PCP who is a cyclist, I think that is most excellent! Keep going!

zonatandem

Our GP is a fellow tandem rider . . . as a matter of fact, we sold him and his spouse a tandem 20 years ago!

B. Carfree

That's awesome. My wife is trying to talk her ophthalmologist's wife into riding with her husband on our spare tandem, but we're more likely to get him to ride with one of his daughters than his wife. One of those daughters is in med school now and will be someone's cycling physician in the near future. With some luck, she'll come back to Oregon to practice so we can have two physicians who are worth their salt.

qcpmsame 

Having a PCP that cycles is a big plus for me, I fired my old PCP a few years ago, he was busy building up a "super practice" with as many patients as he could cram in, and the staff sucked as far as their attitude towards helping the patients. New PCP is great, he takes time to listen, does a good through examination and isn't out to set records for prescriptions, or for the most expensive ones. I've gotten much better care, and learned a lot from him on nutrition and what I should be doing on my part.

Glad that your VA clinic is one of the good ones, they aren't all as bad as the ones that dug the deep hole, and probably killed some patients in the process. The VA patients are lucky here in Pensacola.

Bill

Bill

Garfield Cat

That was his response? A podiatrist who may not ride? Ask the physician who he/she uses as a fitter. Get a recommendation.

ColaJacket

The only thing better would be a fitter referral. With a referral, insurance might cover part of it.

GH

fthomas

As a Disabled Vet I am fortunate to have a great PCP. Appointments with specialty clinics are taking longer than the 30 days - try 90 to 120 plus days. So much for Veterans Choice, which is no choice at all. Now if I could get the VA to spring for a really good fitter I would really be pleased. Don't think it will happen!

Garfield Cat

Maybe with the Affordable Care Act, there will be a new classification. Perhaps tomorrow's fitter will be some kind of physical therapist sub-specialty.

You know, dealing with chronic injuries of a sports nature. This way we will know if the fitter has a bit more qualifications than just doing thousands of fittings that everyone raves about.

ColaJacket

I've heard that there are physical therapists that are also fitters. So, they are out there (although not necessarily in all areas). You may have to ask around, or go to some type of sports medicine physical therapist.

Doctors can prescribe orthotics for normal, walking and running shoes. Why not for cycling shoes?

GH

qcpmsame 

A good number of big name fitters are physical therapist, makes sense to learn proper fitting, and the use of one of the various systems out for doing this. I read through one of the big name system's ads with a listing of where their locations are, and who would be doing the sessions, a good number of the specialist listed were physical therapist.

Our insurance won't cover orthotics at all, not any podiatrist work is available with our low budget coverage. We are fortunate to even have this with the current construction situation in this area. I have used a podiatrist in the past, and he did a fantastic job. If our insurance would pick up things like orthotics and fitting it would be nice to have that available, but with the current laws and the cost of the "Cadillac Coverage" policies, I don't foresee that happening. No dental or eye care either. Its cash up front for me for those things, no big deal, just save for a bit in order to handle it.

Bill

fthomas

Some interesting perspectives above. Had my crank swapped out to a Deore with much lower gearing. Still waiting for a consult with a Podiatrist. Changed shoes and added Superfeet inserts. Hoping it will help.

esther-L

If I were you (fthomas), I would look up IT Band pain and see if it matches your pain on outside of knee. There are stretches you can do to help with IT Band. If your symptoms are consistent with that, a physical therapy referral can be a big help.