Training & Nutrition - For all the medical professionals out there...

I'm hoping somebody out there can help. I seem to have a problem, but I just don't want to go to the doctor to have him say go to another, and another, etc...

This is the situation. I have pretty severe pain in my knee and this pain gets worse with inactivity (bike riding). I'm not talking about weeks, or months of inactivity, but days. I find that when I ride everyday, the knee pain tends to go away, but even taking one or two days off, the pain comes right back. Now I know some will say, just ride everyday...well I wish I could, but I need a rest day every now and then, just like everyone else.

What could this pain be caused by? I have some ideas, but I'm not a medical professional. Depending on what I get back for replies, I may be forced to go see a doctor (anybody living in or near Toronto knows what I'm talking about when it comes to getting a complete analysis of a problem...it could take years).

Information on where the pain comes from: the pain comes from the front part of the knee, right at the very top of the center of the knee cap. When the knee is in just a little motion (ie. walking), it doesn't give much pain. If walking up stairs, it feels more painful (a dull pain...its never been a sharp pain) and seems to be 'weak'. As well, if the knee is left motionless for 5 to 10 minutes, the pain starts up as well.

So, if anybody has any ideas to what the problem is, and what the solution is, I would greatly appreciate hearing from you. Remember, I would like to make a visit to the doctor a last resort. Thanks everybody.

Regardless of what advice you may get you need to have an actual screening and close inspection of the problem. There are tests and stuff that a good doc will perform on the joint to determine possibilities. Chatting over the net cannot produce the same diagnosis that being poked, pulled and proded will.

Sounds like you may need to visit with an Orthopod or sports medicine doc.

samdabikin man is right. I gather your hesitancy to see a physician is based on the system in Toronto where it is hard for you to self refer to a sportsmedicine specialist without going through heck.

Are you female or male? Have you played other sports like jumping sports, volley ball, basketball etc? Is the pain worse going up stairs or down the stairs. biking makes it better but how about running? If you were to kick your legs out while seated and someone pushed down to resist it, does the pain increase?

see link http://www.clinicalsportsmedicine.com/chapters/24a.htm

You could have a number of the things stated. I personally think you have quadriceps tendinopathy purely by the location of the pain at the top of the knee cap, but the others symptoms sound like suprapatellar syndrome. All this is guess work since nothing beats a good exam by a clinician. I tell you, if you have a friend who is a physical therapist, they can be just as good as a sportsmedicine doctor in terms of offering a suggestion on what this may be.

Many of the syndromes above improve with quadricep strenghthening so I am not surprised the biking helps. My concern is the pain that is so persistent with rest. The link talks about resting pain (especially with prolonged sitting at movie theatres) associated with some of the subsets of suprapatellar syndrome, but yours seems out of proportion to most. I would really recommend you see a clinician at some point.

Best of luck.

I'm no doctor but I have the same prob. & I HAVE been to see one !!It turns out to be arthritus(spelling??) cyclings good for it , jogging /running is,nt. Cycling is non-weight bearing exercise , a couple of anti-inflamitry pills (asprin /panadols ect) seem to help but go to the quacks & get it checked it out ,just in case ,

good luck :beer:

PS .arthritus ISNT a sports injury ,its Im becoming an old-fart thing:eek:

Asprin is not an anti-inflammatory just so you know, ibuprofen is though. Make sure you stretch twice a day morning and night and after each ride. This may help. Go see a doctor still. Of course as a paramedic I wouldn't know what this painn would be from.

scoger, you should not try to use an internet forum as a substitute for seeing a doctor. There is simply no way that we can correctly diagnose your problem. Even a doctor would need to see your knee and probably need to have x-rays, and MRI. or even do some motion studies to determine what problem YOU are having. Depending on your medical insurance, you may need to visit more than one doctor to get the required tests. The best anyone could do here is point you to general information about symptoms you describe. Other than that, you're on your own.

Aspirin is an anti-inflammatory. It's just real tough on your stomach lining.