Knee pain during & more so after a ride

[Rushdee]

hubbers, pretty sure someone has posted a topic related to this a few times already. if so please post a link so i dont waste anyone's time. however the pain im experiencing during a ride is a nagging pain which feels like its coming from inside or the back of my knee. Tolerable during the ride but afterwards while relaxing it gets slightly worse. started about 3 weeks ago when i started intensifying my training routine. Its gotten marginally worse since & after yesterdays relatively short ride today i found myself limping around the office a bit. when im not riding & taking it easy the pain is almost non existant. its only during & more so after a ride. & im a recreational cyclist so i dont put in nearly as much ride time as most. just worried at this rate i may not make the Argus which will be extremely dissapointing.

[Oltremo]

Sounds as if you are increasing effort, beyond what your knee is able to handle. Back it off. Do long slow rides, Z1 - Z2, allow the knee to heal

[rattlesnake]

might be bike setup... slight deviations from the correct settings become accentuated by increased time in the saddle. I would go some place that offers a professional bike set up.

[DaLoCo]

Back of the knee pain could be a saddle that is too high....generally. Maybe have your bike setup with someone else and see if it changes much, or lower it by 5mm increments, making sure the original position is marked. The bike setup is also according to accepted measurements, but will vary minutely from person to person. My best saddle position is about 20 mm higher than the measured setup, which gave me bad kneepain under my kneecap. I am not saying my LBS stuffed it, just that I am not comfortable with their setup. Once I changed it I have not had an issue for the last three years.

[Eldron]

Back of the knee pain could be a saddle that is too high....generally. Maybe have your bike setup with someone else and see if it changes much, or lower it by 5mm increments, making sure the original position is marked. The bike setup is also according to accepted measurements, but will vary minutely from person to person. My best saddle position is about 20 mm higher than the measured setup, which gave me bad kneepain under my kneecap. I am not saying my LBS stuffed it, just that I am not comfortable with their setup. Once I changed it I have not had an issue for the last three years.

 

Just for some clarification...he says "behind the knee"....

 

If you mean pain behind the knee cap then chances are your saddle is too low. If like Daloco says you have pain at behind the whole knee (at the back of your leg) then your saddle is probably too high.

 

Google saddle height - there are several formulae for setting up saddles - my favourite is inseam X 0.883 = distance from centre of BB to top of saddle.

 

This is a good start but depending on preferred crank length and foot length this can change by a few mm.

[SeeKooigaap]

I have started getting pain behind my kneecap after switching from normal shoes and pedals to clipless..

think its seat height related ?

[DaLoCo]

I have started getting pain behind my kneecap after switching from normal shoes and pedals to clipless..

think its seat height related ?

 

Quite possible....raise it a few mm and see what happens. I had raised mine by 20mm before the pain went away....

[DaLoCo]

Just for some clarification...he says "behind the knee"....

 

If you mean pain behind the knee cap then chances are your saddle is too low. If like Daloco says you have pain at behind the whole knee (at the back of your leg) then your saddle is probably too high.

 

Google saddle height - there are several formulae for setting up saddles - my favourite is inseam X 0.883 = distance from centre of BB to top of saddle.

 

This is a good start but depending on preferred crank length and foot length this can change by a few mm.

 

[djh]

I'm having the same problem with pain in the back of my left knee. I was also getting a bit saddle-sore, so it must be related to my saddle height as well.

 

Thanks for the tip, guys.

[Eldron]

I have started getting pain behind my kneecap after switching from normal shoes and pedals to clipless..

think its seat height related ?

 

This doesn't quite make sense...going from normal shoes to clipless should effectively raise your saddle height (cycling shoes have thinner soles than takkies). This normally leads to pain at the back of the leg.

 

Check your cleat position - middle of axla should be under ball of foot. shoes should be almost parallel to crank. Maybe try a floating cleat that gives you some felxibility...

[The Saint]

Generally knee pain will be caused from incorrect saddle height. Remember over the months your weight on the saddle and gravity will cause your saddle height to decrease so minor adjustments over periods of time are necessary.

 

Overuse pain normally occurs in muscles around the knee joint rather than the knee itself and this is unlikely unless you have really stepped up your training program by this i mean a sudden increase by a large percentage.

[DaLoCo]

This doesn't quite make sense...going from normal shoes to clipless should effectively raise your saddle height (cycling shoes have thinner soles than takkies). This normally leads to pain at the back of the leg.

 

Check your cleat position - middle of axla should be under ball of foot. shoes should be almost parallel to crank. Maybe try a floating cleat that gives you some felxibility...

 

I think you are correct.....my cycling technique when I just got cleats was bad, and had my cleats been too far forward, ie axle under my toes I would also have felt like the saddle is too low....I used to cycle with my toes down, which would effectively have made the perceived seat height lower....

[Eldron]

I think you are correct.....my cycling technique when I just got cleats was bad, and had my cleats been too far forward, ie axle under my toes I would also have felt like the saddle is too low....I used to cycle with my toes down, which would effectively have made the perceived seat height lower....

 

You must have developed monster calves

 

The latest cycling broohaha is that the axle slightly behind the axle is better for power generation in mountain biking... I prefer my axles a few mm behind the ball - balances thigh/calf use I find.

[Rushdee]

to clarify, feels like the pain is coming from inside the knee but more toward the back of the leg, however its not on the surface of the back of my leg, its deeper inside & toward inside/middle of knee. Definitely not toward or anywhere near the knee front. Funny thing is its just the left knee. Right is fine.

Not to put a spin on things but few years back i had back pain (before cycling days) & specialists found my right leg to be approx 1cm shorter than the left which caused an imbalance when i walked, causing my pelvis to be at a lower level on the right side (compared to left) causing my spine not to be as upright as it should be & eventually resulting in lower back pain. i've since needed to wear an inner sole in my right shoe in order to correct the imbalance which, combined with back exercises, has reduced the back pain considerably.

 

Strange thing is the right leg is 1cm shorter yet the knee pain is in my left leg? If right leg is shorter surely it should be stretching longer to complete the crank revolution when peddling meaning pain should be coming from right leg??

[SeeKooigaap]

Thanks for all the tips, will check out my cleat position and saddle height tonight.

[Eldron]

to clarify, feels like the pain is coming from inside the knee but more toward the back of the leg, however its not on the surface of the back of my leg, its deeper inside & toward inside/middle of knee. Definitely not toward or anywhere near the knee front. Funny thing is its just the left knee. Right is fine.

Not to put a spin on things but few years back i had back pain (before cycling days) & specialists found my right leg to be approx 1cm shorter than the left which caused an imbalance when i walked, causing my pelvis to be at a lower level on the right side (compared to left) causing my spine not to be as upright as it should be & eventually resulting in lower back pain. i've since needed to wear an inner sole in my right shoe in order to correct the imbalance which, combined with back exercises, has reduced the back pain considerably.

 

Strange thing is the right leg is 1cm shorter yet the knee pain is in my left leg? If right leg is shorter surely it should be stretching longer to complete the crank revolution when peddling meaning pain should be coming from right leg??

 

The inseam X 0.833 should set the saddle halfway between your two legs...if that fails try moving it up to the length of your "long" leg then down to the length of your short leg.

 

I have heard of people using two different length cranks but that is expensive! The the inseam thing first.

 

One other though - have you recently started running? That strains knees - especially if you've only been cycling - cycling creates softy poofter knees...