Training & Nutrition - Noooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!

Four days until this year's Brisbane river ride, 25 days until this year's tour, and an old knee injury that I thought I had buried five years ago starts acting up again. Suffice to say, I am somewhat less than amused by this development. Does anyone have any idea wtf is going on here? I have changed nothing in terms of my riding position or riding style lately, and if anything I have had less riding than usual over recent weeks due to Sunday rides being shortened because of bushfires.

The pain seems to be at the back of the lower end of the knee-cap. I'll be catching the bus to work and not riding until at least Saturday. Is there anything else I can do to prevent this tragedy?

HELP!!!

:cry:

Hi Chris. I don't know if it's what you have, but it is very common. ITBS. I had knee pain this year for the first time and started looking into it. I started doing the stretches for ITBS and haven't had any pain since. Don't know if you stretch or not, (I never did before), but it's worth a try.
http://www.itbs.info/
http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/2000/02_00/fredericson.htm
http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/itband.html
This last link is the stretch I usually do.

Thanks DG. I'll check those out when I get home tonight.

No problem Chris. Hope it works out for you. Let me know how it turns out. Best of Luck! :)

Hmmm... The pain in my knee cap seems to be a little lower than ITBS (mine is right at the bottom of the knee cap, as opposed to the centre). Nevertheless, I'll rest it for a couple of days and try those stretching exercises. What bugs me is trying to figure out exactly what caused it. I haven't had a really hard ride since Glorious Mee (a month ago), and where did it go for the last five years?

:confused:

Could be Patella tendinitis. It tends to be a pain at the bottom middle of the knee cap. Hurts worse walking downstairs or downhill. Only solution is RICE and lots of stretching to stop it reoccuring.

I get it from hiking downhill with a 40lb pack. Haven't had it from the bike ... yet.

If it's acute, I'd have ice on for 20 minutes every hour and gulping down some anti-inflammatories.

Update of the saga... I put some anti-inflammatory gel on it just before bed last night and again this morning. The whole injury has now seemingly disappeared. I even rode to work this morning and still haven't had a problem. The headwind this evening could test it out, but so far it seems to have disappeared as mysteriously as it appeared. Now I'm really confused.

:confused:

My doctors advice for a similar ailment: Anti-inflammatory medication, like naproxen (one brand is Aleve in the US), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), or good ole aspirin (in that order) can help a lot. In addition to reducing the discomfort caused by inflamation, by reducing the inflamation they also reduce subsequent damage, helping to give the inflamed area a chance to heal.

Originally posted by Cirrus
Only solution is RICE ...

How is driving around in a Honda with 23" chrome wheels, neon lights, doof doof stereo and a 4"tailpipe going to help??

(Sorry couldn't resist...:rolleyes: )

i have a simular comlaint in my left knee, its at its worst in the winter & when i climb stairs its at its most painfull , it turns out that its arthritious:mad: but the good news is that cycling is good for it as its a low weight bearing exersise. its a case of use it or lose it, my doctor advised so when its sore i just drop down a gear! anti -inflamitaries help ,just disprin does it . i also use a neoprene knee support, mainly to keep it warm in the winter as i wear shorts all year round (only on the bike !) the joys of getting old:( keep riding but take it easy .

Originally posted by greywolf
its a case of use it or lose it, my doctor advised so when its sore i just drop down a gear! anti -inflamitaries help ,just disprin does it .

Yep, this was what I did. I found the anti-inflammatories to be particularly effective when applied just before bed. That way they can do whatever it is they do without me putting anymore stress on the joint. However, I hope to God I'm not getting old just yet! :eek:

I dealt w/ patella tendonitis back when I was a runner. The ice and anti-inflam regimines as previously notes are the standard treatment.

One thing I have noticed is that keeping my joints warm is becoming increasingly more important. So if it comes back you might want to try knickers (below the knee tights not underwear :) ) or leg warmers.

Glad to hear it has cleared up.

Oso

I learned all this the hard way :(

Just getting over some nasty patella tendonitis. It was a case of rushing to school in a big gear at 5 degrees fahrenheit. To make it worse, I had to ride back home later, and then went riding on the weekend! What a moron! I think I learned my lesson though.

My sister has some anti-inflammatory gel that I rubbed on it every day. Cleared up pretty quick, but I don't want to upset it again.