Severe knee pain!!

[xrfireguy]

Ok so yesterday I under went my first long road ride of the year. A nice 64 mile metric centry, nothing hard mainly just farm roads. The first 30 we set a good pace where we averaged 23 MPH, and on the way home 17-19. But i noticed that the last 5-10 mile my left knee was starting to get real tired and sore. THis is unusual and I've never had this happen before. Granted this was only my second time on the road bike this year, but I've been Mt. biking pretty regularly and haven't had any troubles. I did a full century two years ago on this same road bike without any knee pain. Now the outside of my knee is very sore, it's ok to walk, but going up stairs hurts and going down is almost unbearable. It feels like it's on the outside of my knee joint. Any help would be great. thanks

[msincredible]

Are you using clipless pedals?

[xrfireguy]

Yep, and i haven't been fitted yet professionally on my road bike. So i'm not sure if that could be some of the reason?

[veloGeezer]

if the outside of your knee hurts, check your cleat alignment. You may have your toe pointing too far inward.

Also set the release tension on your pedals to be lighter so you aren't stressing your ligaments when you unclip.

Check your saddle height, too, and verify that your overall height is the same as what you have been riding on your MTB. any more than a 1/4 inch difference and you could cause problems

but chances are its your cleat alignment.

[Hammonjj]

Yep, and i haven't been fitted yet professionally on my road bike. So i'm not sure if that could be some of the reason?


Please, PLEASE get yourself fitted. I can't tell you how many of my friends complain of pain and then I tell them to get fitted. After the fitting, a large majority of them say the pain/discomfort is gone!

I know it can be expensive, but it's cheaper then a knee replacement many years down the road!

James

[Roody]

I agree that fit is most likely the problem, although that is a pretty strenuous ride for early in the season.

I'm not sure you need a professional fit. There's lots of advice on the web and in books for adjusting saddle height. It really isn't rocket science, but might require a lot of minor tweaking before you get it right. Then mark the post so you don't have to readjust every time you take the saddle off.

[LifeIsSuffering]

Ok so yesterday I under went my first long road ride of the year. A nice 64 mile metric centry, nothing hard mainly just farm roads. The first 30 we set a good pace where we averaged 23 MPH, and on the way home 17-19. But i noticed that the last 5-10 mile my left knee was starting to get real tired and sore. THis is unusual and I've never had this happen before. Granted this was only my second time on the road bike this year, but I've been Mt. biking pretty regularly and haven't had any troubles. I did a full century two years ago on this same road bike without any knee pain. Now the outside of my knee is very sore, it's ok to walk, but going up stairs hurts and going down is almost unbearable. It feels like it's on the outside of my knee joint. Any help would be great. thanks

I am fairly convinced that mtb riders are less prone to knee issues. The nature of mtb riding makes you pedal in different positions. The road bike has a tendency to fix you in a limited range of positions.

You later make the comment:

Ok so yesterday I under went my first long road ride of the year. A nice 64 mile metric centry, nothing hard mainly just farm roads. The first 30 we set a good pace where we averaged 23 MPH, and on the way home 17-19. But i noticed that the last 5-10 mile my left knee was starting to get real tired and sore. THis is unusual and I've never had this happen before. Granted this was only my second time on the road bike this year, but I've been Mt. biking pretty regularly and haven't had any troubles. I did a full century two years ago on this same road bike without any knee pain. Now the outside of my knee is very sore, it's ok to walk, but going up stairs hurts and going down is almost unbearable. It feels like it's on the outside of my knee joint. Any help would be great. thanks

If you did not change anything on the bike, this can be a result of less base miles this past winter (you didn't give any details in this regard) and/or an aggravation of the knees doing something else (a common error made by cyclists is doing too much leg presses - which is an inferior exercise - over the winter).

It can simply be a culmination of incorrect decisions in training and/or riding style. Unlike a fall resulting in a broken collarbone, injuries such as yours rarely - and I do mean rarely - just appear out of the blue.

You did the right thing by NOT sweeping this under the rug. First and foremost, stop riding or do anything that irritates the knee. RICE can be effective. Just remember to ice in 15-minute intervals; otherwise, your body can actually be tricked into believing that it's freezing and send more blood to the area (which you want to avoid when treating inflammation at this particular stage). NSAIDs can also offer relief IF you can tolerate them (be sure to take them with food to avoid stomach distress).

You mention how unbearable it is to descend the stairs. This next suggestion may come across as irresponsible and even absurd; however, IF you have the coordination and IF the surroundings are safe, carefully descending backwards down a flight of stairs was a part of my rehab for patella injury. I live in a three-story house. By carefully looking back and holding onto the hand rails, I was able to move about by descending backwards. I've gotten so good at it, I still do it from time to time.

Knowing what I know now, I'd play this one safe and seek the consultation of fitting experts as well as knee specialists. It's not yet May; if you resolve this completely now, you have the rest of the season to enjoy.

I also recommend doing a search on this forum. You WILL dig through a truckload of manure to find a few grains of gold.

Let us know how your progress and feel free to bounce any questions or doubts on this forum. I yelled at pcad (one of senior old coots on the road cycling forum) not too long ago because he criticized someone for offering his particular experience on a knee injury. As I see it, even the so-called experts don't get it right all the time. In fact, it's down right terrifying how often they're wrong. And it's generally better if you go into the fitting or the medical office as a knowledgeable party who doesn't just passively do what he's told.

[Carbonfiberboy]

Chances are you've just irritated something by giving yourself too much all at once without a careful buildup. My bet is that it will just go away. Ibuprofen. Try 600 mg. three times/day for a week, whether it hurts or not. If that helps, extend it to two weeks. During the first week, try spinning easy on the bike, about 30 minutes at a time, but only if it doesn't hurt to do that. Keep whatever you do below the pain threshold.

[LifeIsSuffering]

Chances are you've just irritated something by giving yourself too much all at once without a careful buildup. My bet is that it will just go away. Ibuprofen. Try 600 mg. three times/day for a week, whether it hurts or not. If that helps, extend it to two weeks. During the first week, try spinning easy on the bike, about 30 minutes at a time, but only if it doesn't hurt to do that. Keep whatever you do below the pain threshold.

The OP described descending stairs as "almost unbearable." Unless he's a complete and hopeless candy ass, I'd hardly call this an irritation.

NSAIDs have their place in a treatment program. However, absolutely no rehab is effective until the original cause of the problem is resolved.

You're taking the wager that "it will just go away." That's fine if the chips you're playing with are your knees. They're not.

To the OP: I still say be conservative and look into the possibility that your problem is a culmination of seemingly insignificant errors for which you are finally paying a toll. Fail to address those and you'll just have similar problems in the future.

[wagathon]

ITB -- it may be a problem for years ...maybe not; but, it's something you can work with. Good luck.