Tomzie

Help me out folks,
I'm starting to get some pain on the back left side of my left knee, which I believe is the ligament.(It's that piece that sticks out that runs from your calf to your thigh). I went out today, and it started out as mild discomfort, but at mile six it started to go from the calf to the thigh. At mile ten the pain started to creep around to the left side of the kneecap. By the time I finished 15 miles it was hurting with every stroke.
This started three weeks ago, and I actually took a whole week off before this ride today to rest it up, but it hurt even more than last week. And today I made it a point to ride easy with a gentle cadence to test it out.

Has anyone experienced this before? If so I'd like to know what you did to take care of this.
Thanks

Granny

How's your saddle height? Too low and you'll put a lot of stress on the front of the knee - esp on hills, too high and you'll pull the ligaments in the back.

oilman_15106

What kind of pedals are you using? Had real knee pain using SPD. Switched to Bebop pedals because of postings about the float. The pain is gone. Also search forums on this subject about moving seat up and other adjustmenst to try.

LilSprocket

get a pro fit, don't push too hard too soon, see a doc if it doesn't improve soon after fitting, rest, hydrate

cc_rider

Upgrade ........your knees.


Adjust seat, get fitted, etc. etc.

San Rensho 

I'm not a doctor, but I will play one here on the forum.

If it started 3 weeks ago, you took a week off and then eased back into riding and it hurts that much, its MRI time. Seriously, go see a doctor.

If you aren't going to see one, then I would take a couple af days off and ease back in at a high cadence, 120+, to take it really easy on the knee.

Whats your cadence now and how much of your riding is climbing?

Tomzie

My cadence is 80-90, and I only have a steadily inclined hill to climb up on the way back home. I've been looking on the internet and it looks like this could be a hamstring injury, since it runs from the back of the knee up to the middle of my thigh.

San Rensho 

Definitely try to get your cadence up over 120 consistently after a rest. Could be that 80-90 is just too low for you. I messed something up in the back of my knee when I first started racing. Kept riding on it,it got worse. Rested for about a week, got back on the bike, still hurt. Finally had to let it rest for about 2 weeks and it finally went away.

As I said before, go see an MD. He'll poke around in the back of your knee and when you squeal, he'll know what the problem is. Internet is a great thing but the knee is a pretty complicated thing and I wouldn't try to diagnose it with Wikipedia.

msheron

A custom fit would be my suggestion and if that does not work, you may have to live with pain. As you get older you accept those things. Try IcyHot!

Tomzie

My only concern with doing a cadence at 120 is will I end up bouncing out of the saddle?

I am going to rest for two weeks (this will drive me nuts!) and gradually start over again. If it comes back then, I'm off to the MD.

San Rensho 

Just dial up the cadence little by little and concentrate on not bouncing. I find that at a certain cadence, I will start to bounce but if I increase the cadence, the bounce goes away. Also, when spinning fast I'm not really sitting on the saddle but almost floating over it.

High cadence smoothness is one of the most important skills in biking and also difficult. It takes a lot of practice.

Al1943

What kind of pedals? More float might help. Stretching exercises before and after riding could help. Saddle adjustment may help, usually raising the saddle. BTW it's not a ligament problem.

Al

Tomzie

Pardon me for asking, but what does float mean?

pedex

float allows your feet to swivel left or right while attached to clipless pedals

Hop on Bike

Tomzie,
I'm no doctor, but your initial description with the pain coming around the side of your knee sounds like IBS. I have a similar pain to the pain you describe in this post, but mine is restricted to the tendon in that same area behind my left knee that connects my hamstring to my lower leg. I've never had any hamstring/tendon issues in 31 years of running, so I suspect that my pain is directly associated with cycling. I just started last year and had recently upped my mileage to three rides of about 30 miles per week when the tendon started hurting. I think that since it's just in one leg that it's probably something in my cleat/pedal set-up for my left foot. Seems to me that if it were a seat location issue that both legs would have similar pain. I've been off the bike and resting (besides a few runs) for a few weeks, and I'm going to adjust my cleat before riding again; I'm going to start by moving my cleat as far to the outside of the shoe as I can because I am bow-legged and tend to walk/run on the outside half of my foot (supinate). I also need to get better about stretching; I do it religiously before and after running, but haven't been with cycling. I'll let you know if the cleat change relieves my pain when I get out later this week. Please post a follow-up to any successful changes that you make.

Mark

nova

At first yep its gona feel funny riding at high cadence. Wont feel like your realy doing any thing power wise. Then one day youll notice your 2 gears higher at same cadence. High cadence takes some getting use to but personaly i never let mine drop below 90ish i like having mine up in 100 to 110 range.

bluehair

I've read enough. I am a doctor. First take two aspirin. You need to deal with the inflammation and soft tissue swelling. Actually, if you have Aleve, take two Aleve, but whichever don't switch back and forth and take as per bottle directions. If your knee hurts walking or climbing stairs, stay off the bike until that goes away at least. San Rensho is correct. Your cadence is too low, way too low; don't pedal under 100. If you're not used to 120, it's pretty hard to do, but 100+rpm...you should be able to do. Get yourself into a neutral pedaling position to get the stain off your knees. Pedal with your heals on the pedals with your cycling shoes on. Raise or lower the seat until you're pedaling confortably but not losing contact with the pedals and not dropping your hips from side to side. Now drop a weighted string from your knee, just behind your knee-cap, to the pedal. It should pass through the axle of the pedal. Move your seat front or back to get this right. Hopefully you'll be able to start riding. But really, a cadence of 80 is a significant strain on your knees. Call me in the morning.

ggusta

You may do fast pedal intervals at 120, I don't think it would be too comfy to do 120 rpm regularly unless you have a naturally high cadence. (which I don't) Cadence of 90 - 100 is plenty high for most of us.

Make sure your saddle is high enough. Make sure your seat post is clamped tight so it doesn't slide back down as you ride. A little fine sand on the post works well for slippery posts. Especially when 245 pounds of @$$ is on that puppy for hours at a time.

When going up a hill make sure you keep your cadence at least at 70-80 if not higher. Shift into lower gears, get a triple if you don't already.

If pain persists see a specialist and take some time off the bike. Stretch (I don't much, but i guess you're supposed to.) Tendonitis is serious and can ruin the fun of cycling. When I get a flare up I take it easy, especially on hills and use glucosamine sulfate (much cheaper than Glucosamine and Chondroitin) and flax oil.

Gregg

Tomzie

Since you are all recommending a higher cadence, I have two questions:

1. Doesn't it make you feel like your pedaling fast but moving slower?

2. Wouldn't a faster cadence irritate the injury because if increased revolutions?

Hop on Bike

So 'Doc' - what is the actual diagnosis? Tendonitis? Muscle strain? Ligament damage? In my case, it feels like the tendon behind and to the outside of my left knee that I think connects my lower leg to my hamstring. It is fine when walking/running and only hurts on the bike. If it is a matter of seat position, why would there be pain in just one leg? Seems like improper seat position would make both legs hurt.

chromedome

Tomzie, I didn't notice if you mentioned your age. Age and longevity of use can have significant meaning.
Anyway, its probably not a ligament, and probably is hamstring strain. Hurts, dont it?

A higher cadence, around 100, will make you feel like you're going nowhere at first, but soon it will feel natural to you. And a faster cadence shouldn't irritate the injury as there's actually less strain. True, there will be more revs, but less strain overall. (The reason we use lower gears to climb hills.) Just try riding around in one gear lower than what you would normally ride, but keep up the same speed.

Try not to make drastic changes in your seat height or position. Just lower it a half inch. At the height its been at, your knee has been stretching out just a tad bit too much, and your hamstring has been trying to protect your knee by taking up some of the slack.

Do you know what pre-eventing is? Getting high before going to the concert? Basically, thats how anti-inflamatories should be used. Get your potentially sore muscles high before your strenuous exercise. Use NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflamatory drugs) before you get the exercise. Naprosyn is an excellent choice for strain to muscles, ligaments and tendons. Also is good for arthritis. Whatever you try, take it 1-2 hours before your ride.

Remeber RICE in treating injuries. Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. In you situation, go with the rest and ice. Alternate ice on, ice off, ice on, ice off, ten minutes each for about an hour after exercise. This will reduce pain and inflamation, and will give you something to do while you are resting. Compression or elevation won't do you much good because there's not much swelling.

Sports massage--which is expensive--and accupuncture--which is even more expensive--are both very effective. But often insurance will cover both. And if you go to a MD, go initially to an orthopedist, sports med orthopedist if you have one available. If you go to a family practice of general practitioner, they'll give you an opinion then send you to an orthopedist for that second opinion. Be square with them if you don't have much money or time for a lot of diagnostic tests.

To maintain your fitness while you are off your bike, swim. And I don't want to hear whining about how you don't swim well. LEARN if you don't know how.

Good luch and have a good summer.

rob999

In the earlier post it was said:
"Now drop a weighted string from your knee, just behind your knee-cap, to the pedal. It should pass through the axle of the pedal."

This always confused me, the "just behind you knee-cap" part, exactly where do you usually place the string on your knee? I thought on the front of the knee-cap???

Tomzie

Thanks for your imput. By the way, I am 40 years old, so the age factor is definetly an issue! When I decided 2 years ago that I was going to get healthier, I passed on jogging because of the strain on the feet, ankles and legs, so I went into road cycling.....and then this shows up! Guess you can't win 'em all.

Tomzie

Actually I'm curious myself, since I am the patient here My problems sound exactly like yours.

ranger5oh

Ha.. this is a common misconception. Spinning at a higher cadence will initially make you feel that way, and it will also run you out of breath quickly. However, aftera a couple weeks, you will be faster and last much longer on the road. And no, it wont lead to increased injury. Although you are spinning faster, you are spinning lighter. The lighter spinning puts much less stress on your joints, and is a MUCH better way to ride. Try to spin at over 100, the only time you should be at 80 is if you are going uphill.. then it is acceptable.

Also, yes, get some eggbeater style pedals. They have about 20 degrees of float, which is tons. My roommates knee problems dissappeared after he switched from SPD to eggbeaters.