Training & Nutrition - what did I do? (the outside of my right leg at the knee has some discomfort)

the outside of my right leg at the knee has some discomfort when I straighten the leg. it is not affected by flexing the foot

lateral collateral ligament injury? IT band tendonitis?

I don't think it's a lateral meniscus tear because the discomfort goes away and I've had meniscal tears before where the discomfort did not subside and required some quickie surgery. I don't think I have arthritis of the joint yet, I'm only 50 and the onset was after a bike ride.

I 1st noticed it after an epic 26 mile ride on new years eve right after a 3" snow fall on a MTB bike with studded snows. I was testing my work commute. It's a new bike for me but I think I have the fit correct. by time I got home and after a bath I was very stiff getting up and walking - but it quickly subsided

I did another 26 miles on the same bike yesterday (1st full work-day commute) and was a little sore in this same area last night but it subsided by morning

this morning I biked in to work 13 miles on my regular 700c bike but by time I got to work the discomfort had elevated to the point where I'm very stiff getting up and walking. the discomfort returned about 1/2 way into the 13 miles.

I'm leaning towards IT band tendonitis or iliotibial band (IT band) syndrome because of these common causes:


Faulty saddle height or position (new-to-me MTB with saddle too high?)
Pushing excessively high gears (slow cadence in cold weather) 3 words: Goodmans Hill Road

your self diagnosis sounds accurate

get it accessed asap I was out 3 months last year because I pushed through the pain

the added weight of the studs and having pt push through snow might have aggravated you if your fit is off or it would be exactly like pushing to big of a gear.. I find in snow although my first year I get in a gear and just spin spin spin

also try to warm up before a big climb even more so in the winters.. make sure your dressed for it... get in your post ride stretching and you might also want to purchase a foam roller

Sounds a lot like what I did to my knee the day before Thanksgiving. I haven't ridden near as much since then and it is doing much better. I'll feel nothing.... nothing... nothing... then it starts. The first time I did it, I was just trying to get home but was about 5 miles out and I pushed it way beyond what I should have. A week or two off, I tried it again and it was killing me again after about 10 miles. Some more rest, then my wife got me a single speed bike for Christmas and oddly enough the knee feels a lot better: I think the combination of a varied cadence coupled with having to get up out of the seat more (when the knee starts to hurt, it stops if I stand on the pedals and ride that way for a while) seems to be conditioning the knee back into usable condition.

I'm thinking about riding into work tomorrow; we'll see.

thanks guys. I made it home last night. I did get up out of the saddle a couple of times, so i wonder if that helped. I also walked about 3 miles at lunch, went over to the indoor mall. those seniors are on to something! :-) it's funny that most of my discomfort was felt sitting at my desk in a chair. as the day progress it felt better. it acted up on my way home but I was cautious in my pedaling.

I'm not one to mash and am a big fan of spinning but I have a few killer hils that even in my lowest gear require steady slow strokes on the strong side. I normally stretch befor riding and in my research I picked up a new one - where you cross your legs and then touch your toes with straight legs. admittedly I don't stretch when I get home but I do take hot baths instead of showers. I find they are wonderful for the muscles. if the water didn't cool off I would never get out!

Taking the day off due to a work assignment - been thinking about riding tomorrow or friday. ugh - so hard to resist. thanks for the feedback and suggestions!

If the problem persists, you could have a fit issue. Fitwerx has a place outside Boston.
I had a fitting done there, they are good.

If it's right at the knee joint, probably is ITB, so lower the saddle a hair. Whenever I've had ITB issues, I've gotten them to go away quickly by stretching immediately after each ride. But I'm probably lucky. If it's below the knee, where that bone sticks out, that's a different thing which can be very complicated.

I lowered mine a bit and it seemed to help.

Lower you seat a bit and rub your leg from the hip to knee on a foam roller. It will hurt like hell but the pain will go away after a while.

thanks guys. my last ride home on the road bike was not so bad and I've been feeling good enough to try again today except I didn't ride for other reasons. resting the leg another day will be good for it. my plan was to lower the seat a smidge on the new-to-me MTB. I did rub it and the bath was good too. while i was ridign home the other day I wondered if it would be good to tape a hand warmer to that area for the ride. However in reading the hand packed it stated to only use it for the hand.

+1 for ITB get a foam roller and do a search for stretches. I had a bad time with it finally the roller and stretching helped