Adductor Death Machine

by Robbie

This summer has been an attempt at a comeback from two years of chronic knee pain, a 6-month broken humerus, chronic adductor pain, and two torn hamstrings. In an effort to avoid more chronic injuries I have been trying to take every precaution, even if it means going to the gym. A common piece of advice given to sufferers of tendinitis (which I don't think I was ever inflicted with) is to do moderate weight training to prepare and strengthen the tendons. Another reason that I have been "pumping iron" is to help balance the muscles in my legs so that my patellas (knee caps) will track properly (because they haven't been, and now I have chondromalacia).

However, two days ago, on Tuesday, I went at it for the first time on the adductor machine, and it probably wasn't such a good idea. I haven't been able to walk since then, and it is beginning to negatively affect my riding. The reason I chose to work that movement was to balance my adductors with my abductors, and to strengthen the injury I had to my right proximal adductor attachment back in 2003. The right side is obviously weaker, and is now the one that is giving me all the trouble. I thought that maybe the pain I have been getting in my right knee might be related to a weak adductor so I thought I'd take a gander at strengthening it. It seemed like a good idea at first, and probably still is, but perhaps I should have taken a more gradual approach to this exercise.

The lesson: be careful with those damned adductor machines.