Knee problems...

[CtnSmith]

Hi all... Please excuse me if this has been discussed before. I went thru the first 6 pages and couldn't find anything.

 

I have never been a seriously active cyclist but would climb on the bike to do the odd race or social ride with a family member who rode. However after being roped into doing wines2whales this year, I decided to get my bike setup done properly. All seem fine until I started doing hill work. Started with a slight niggle under the front of the right knee. Is only sore when I ride and can walk without much pain. I decided to go back and re check the bike and some minor adjustments were made to the saddle. Sadly I'm now having issues with the left knee. Front above knee... I don't know wether I need a second opinion on the setup or what?

 

Was the change in bike setup and some physio work I've had done supposed to have taken the pain away automatically?

 

I have played competitive level football for 30 years and have had various minor injuries and I know things don't dissappear overnight unless they are rested and treated.

 

Can anyone comment on similar issues and how they rectified it?

[J Wakefield]

I have replied to you via DM.

[Johan_Kleynhans]

There were a few discussions before on knees.

 

This is what I know and it seems as if you have started with the bike setup which is the first item. Years ago when you got a new bike (talking about road bikes here) you would push the saddle as far back as it could go. Things got a lot more scientific in recent years.

 

The point is where is your knee in relationship to the BB. Both in terms of height and forward/backwards position.

Is the saddle level.

On your shoes (assuming you have clip in pedals) where is the cleat.

Is the cleats setup to ensure your feet are straight or not.

 

As far as riding is concerned the following:

Have you recently started doing a lot more miles than before.

Do you push light or heavy gears.

On long trips do you stretch or not.

Do you sit and pedal mostly or do you stand a lot

 

Do you have more than one bike. Are they both set up in the same way.

 

In a lot of instances it could be a bit of overtraining and a bit of inflamation if the rest is ok.

 

I used ice to massage my knees last thing before I slept when I had sore knees. Later we used a gelpack which you could wrap around the knees. My knees got so sore at one stage I could not sit through a movie without having to straighten my legs. When I was told about the ice massage it got a lot better.

 

Hope it helps.

 

Johan

[bikebloke]

_K.I.S.S

 

[CtnSmith]

Thxs for the replies gents... Difficult to look at the graph above and implement this when both knees have issues in different places. I think the one was brought on by the other... If that makes sense.

 

Will the pain go away straight away once the problem area is diagnosed properly?

[bikebloke]

Thxs for the replies gents... Difficult to look at the graph above and implement this when both knees have issues in different places. I think the one was brought on by the other... If that makes sense.

 

Will the pain go away straight away once the problem area is diagnosed properly?

 

if the pain is the front of the knee - and it is on whichever side then your saddle must go a bit up and a bit back - if its one knee not the other remember that few people have two legs exactly the same length (and one is always favoured )so some small adjustments might be needed to get a balance that works for you

[J Wakefield]

Thxs for the replies gents... Difficult to look at the graph above and implement this when both knees have issues in different places. I think the one was brought on by the other... If that makes sense.

 

Will the pain go away straight away once the problem area is diagnosed properly?

 

Yes and no, if there is no damage and only a small amount of inflammation then yes, 1 or 2 rides, if it is deeper then no. 

[WaynejG]

I started getting pain behind my knees. Dropped my saddle 15mm. Never had problems again.

 

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[AryM]

Seems like a little of fitment and óveruse symptoms!

 

If fitment is done, go see a physio just to make sure...

Too much mileage a little too quickly can cause this inflammation too.

Also, climbing hills adds that extra strain to your joints.

 

Ease into the longer distances.

 

All the best & keep us posted

[CtnSmith]

Thanks guys... It seems like a case of slight bike setup issues but also maybe to much too soon with not enough strengthening exercises to build up muscles used for cycling.

 

I just hope I can manage to get thru 3 days of the w2w...

[Wannabe]

Seems like a little of fitment and over use symptoms!

 

If fitment is done, go see a physio just to make sure...

Too much mileage a little too quickly can cause this inflammation too.

Also, climbing hills adds that extra strain to your joints.

 

Ease into the longer distances.

 

All the best & keep us posted

 

 

This.^^^^

My setup is done properly, and I find when I ramp up my training intensity before a big race, that my knees start to ache, especially when I start to push hard gears. As soon as I go back to my "normal" riding, the aches disappears.

[AngryAustrian]

Might also be ITB related. My bike setup hasn't changed in 2 years and recently ramped up milage back to 250km+ a week from a long lazy on/off winter and guess what, pain on the outside of the knee within the first 10km of a ride...no pain whatsoever during the day.

 

And of course this would happen in the 2 weeks before the amashova!!

[Letum911]

What the guys said above.

 

I had a setup done on my first MTB, would be fine on short flat rides but as soon as the hills started coming and the miles roll by I would develop severe pain on the front outside lower part of my knee, had the setup checked and re checked.

 

By dumb luck at some point I broke the cleat out of my shoe, and had to swap over to flat pedals (no money for new shoes and I had a spare set of flats), that was the end of my issues. I have no idea whether it is the slight change in foot angle/position or less pulling on the pedals but I now do longer rides, climbing like a mofo and no pain whatsoever.  

[Baracuda]

I had very much what you describe when I started training hard for a stage race and started to ramp up intensity.

 

I'd recommend contacting a descent physio, what you may have is anterior knee pain which can be caused by incorrect bike set up, but is also caused by an imbalance in the muscles in your legs which lead to your knee cap been pulled out of line, which rubs, which cause the pain. One may need to strengthen your glutes and the inside of thighs and then stretch out the others. 

 

I initially pushed my saddle forward a bit and started spinning on lighter gears, which  helped, but what really nailed it was a physio who gave me a set of exercises and stretches.

 

Something along the lines of:

 

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/15-minute-routine-to-ease-chronic-knee-pain-monthly-yoga-with-abi-2016.html

 

 

There is heaps more if you google anterior knee pain.

 

But I would contact a good physio

[CtnSmith]

Went to a physio last week. Itb and hip were out which no doubt along with the sudden increased work load affected the knee.Went to see Wendy at sports science yesterday and she double checked bike setup and made some adjustments.

 

She also mentioned and gave me some strengthening exercises. Going to start them tonight. I guess now its a case of nursing the injury along.

[michaelbiker]

Also, don't be too surprised the issue can be resolved by literally moving your saddle 1 degree or 1mm. I had a similar issue and found I was moving mine too much (5mm) because I thought it wouldn't make a difference in such tiny increments. Turns out it does...