Road Cycling - Knee Woes

I recently (10 weeks) had my right knee scoped for a torn meniscus. Procedure lasted about 25 minutes and I walked out without crutches. I had no discomfort really but about two weeks later my knee started bothering me again. My surgeon, who is a cyclist himself said it would take time to heal and that I could ride my road bike but take it easy(no mashing of big gears). I realize this was an invasive procedure but was wondering if anyone has had a similar experience. I am riding about 3 days a week and trying to just spin. One of the exercises in rehab is on the bike spinning. I also started some exercises loike leg lifts and such. Any advice would be most helpful.

I had my knee scoped for the same problem 5 weeks ago. By the second week I was back on the bike and it's only gotten better. I've had no pain except when I tried to kneel on it once and this week I'll log 90 miles. Most of those miles are on the big chainring pushing the higher gears.

Did you have a repair or an excision? A repair does take longer to heal. I had an excision.

I had a meniscus REPAIR in April, and I'm still getting through the rehab process. My knee still puffs up a little bit on long rides and causes some pain. My knee won't be fully healed until October.

This is what has worked for me in terms of pain/swelling:

-Use an over-the counter anti-inflamitory (Advil, etc) BEFORE and AFTER long rides

-Supliment the anti-inflamitory with ice - but do this only AFTER the ride. You can apply ice for about 20 minutes @ a time. I bought one of those velcro ice bag things that go in the freezer. It's filled with some sort of material that doesn't freeze, yet stays cold for about 30 minutes after popping it out of the freezer. It also has velcro straps to hold it on your knee, or other damaged part! However, you could also use a bag of frozen peas, etc.

Anywho, I'd try this route first, but if you don't get any satisfaction - you really should consult your ortho doc again. That's why he makes the big bucks! :D

I'm going to give it a couple of more weeks. Like I said, after the surgerey my knee felt awesome for about two -three weeks. Then it started getting sore. I took 10 days off the bike and just did a 30 miler at a slow pace (17 mph). I try to pick the route with the least amount of climbing and try to stay seated in the saddle. Hopefully, it will work out, if not, I'll be back to the ortho. MD. requesting a new MRI. It figures, I'm going to Yosmite for a long deserved vacation.

A close friend of mine recently underwent arteroscopic knee surgery. He felt fine iimmediately afterwards and tended to disregard instruction regarding elevating the leg, using crutches., etc. I suppose when we don't actually feel pain we jump to a conclusion that all is well.

My friend had no noticeable swelling. His movement wasn't particualrly restricted and he though his kne felt better after the surgery. Within a week, he was back to the surgeon complaining of increased pain, noticeable swelling, etc.

His misbehavior didn't go so far as taking bike rides, though he certainly missed them. Neither did his misbehavior do any lasting harm. It just slowed the healing process and perhaps brought him some additional discomfort that he might have avoided.

At any rate, he got back on the crutches, elevated his knee, took ibuprofen and generally followed all the medical instructions he should have been following originally. It should be noted that he was originally told to follow the regimen for six to eight weeks.

After and additional six to eight weeks, he is apparently back to normal. In fact, he and I are going to do 10 or 20 road miles this Saturday at an easy pace to see how he does.

I have said all this as a long way around recommending that you allow the appropriate amount of time to pass and not be misled by how you feel into thinking the knee is ready for a full load.

My friend has been away from it for so long that he genuinely expects this neophyte rider to shame him somehow this Saturday. I don't think that will happen.

Carl

Hmm...if you guys don't mind telling me, around what age groups are you?

I'm 18 and I do quite a lot of long distance running/jogging on hard pavement. It's definitely not the best activity for my knees...and now you have me worried :)

It's not something I'll have to be worried about anytime soon right? riiight? :D

I'm 49 yrs. young and been cycling for many moons, I also mt. bike and run off trail in the winter. Probably the hardest thing to do is abstain from something that you are truly passionate about.

I can still claim to be 50, but only for one more week:p

Originally posted by KennethToronto
Hmm...if you guys don't mind telling me, around what age groups are you?
It's not something I'll have to be worried about anytime soon right? riiight? :D

I'm 35, and had my first knee injury this year. I did it skiing though! :)

48 here thank you. Had my first knee surgery 2 years ago. I began having problems in my 20's.