Road Cycling - Knee pain after running

I have had pain in both knees when I run for any length of time. When I get in the saddle, everything is just fine. Could this be my legs aren't used to the constant pounding on the ground, or what? Back in May I used to run 2hrs a day or so and had no problem but havent run since.

Why run when you can ride a bike? :D

Haha. Very true. But soccer season has started and needless to say, coach likes to run us... ALOT.

It's because, as a cyclist, you have underdeveloped hamstring muscles, and you strain them when you run. A strained hamstring tends to contract, causing a tightening in your lower back and knees. If you do run, make a point of stretching thoroghly, with special attention to your hams, before and after each run.

Take a yoga class and discuss the problem with the teacher. Since I am a cyclist, I bring yoga asanas that work on the hamstrings and lower back into my personal yoga practice. I also use them in the yoga classes I teach, because there are a number of cyclists in my classes. A competent and knowledgeable yoga teacher should be able to show you what you need to do.

Rich

biking in generaly is going to be much gentler on your body, so that's not totally unexpected. I cross train between running and biking, and i've had a very severe knee injury before, which i am probably 95% healed from now, so i know where you are coming from, somewhat. probably the main reason for your knee pain is that some of the leg muscles you're using when you run are well developed, while the rest are struggling to play "catch up" since you haven't been using them. This puts stress that would normally be taken up by your muscles and puts it on your knees. The most important thing to remember when running is to keep a good form. Make sure your stride is smooth and even, especially when you're starting to get tired. If you want a mental image of it... think to yourself "run with your muscles, not with your bones" Don't let your legs get sloppy and "fall" onto the ground. The reason I injured my knee is because I tried to keep pace with a friend who was MUCH faster than me, so I was flopping my legs around to keep up. I couldn't walk without pain for 2 weeks.

For physical therapy, this is what my doctor suggested (and it worked, much to my surprise!)
lying on your back raise one leg 6 inches off the ground for 5 seconds, tensing up your leg (quads) as hard as possible, so that your knee locks into place. do this 10 times, and then switch to the other leg. after you're done that, repeat again... you're going to want to do 30 of these "knee squeezes" total... 3 sets of 10 on each leg. This will help build up the muscles around your knee to kinda "cushion" it from the stress of running.

Hey guys thanks. Sound like good ideas. THANKS!