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knee pain

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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

knee pain

Old 02-04-09, 11:16 PM
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knee pain

OK, i know theres a ton of these threads. But they all seem to talk about regular pain. Is it normal when cycling that when ur going really hard u get knee pain? my knees are fine, until i come to a big hill and power up it. Its worse when i stand up. Is this just something cyclists live with? I never get it on flat roads or when im going all out.
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Old 02-04-09, 11:25 PM
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it could be due to a number of different reasons, probably not severe, but its not something that should be looked over. talk to a doctor.
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Old 02-04-09, 11:28 PM
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oh and if it makes a different i'm 20
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Old 02-04-09, 11:29 PM
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not normal..
have you recently ramped up your training? could be IT band tightness... sounds similar to what I have experienced in the past..
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Old 02-05-09, 12:00 AM
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probably would make it more of a problem then. but like i said. doctor.
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Old 02-05-09, 12:37 AM
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You say when go up a big hill and power up it, do you mean you pedal at a low cadence in a relatively high gear? If so, downshift. If you didn't know already, pedaling at a higher rpm (cadence), usually 90 revolutions per minute, will be less likely to upset your knees.

You're going to have to go to the doctor and point at where, exactly, the pain is and under what circumstances. When you express yourself, you'll have to be as clear as possible as using vague expressions like "going all out" and "going really hard" might not be helpful. The better you can communicate, the better the doctor can help you.
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Old 02-05-09, 12:59 AM
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is knee pain something doctors can actually do something for?
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Old 02-05-09, 04:48 AM
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No knee pain when going hard, but some knee soreness for a few hours after rides over 4 hours. No knee pain when i'm actually riding or doing any kind of climbinb.
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Old 02-05-09, 07:15 PM
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i put my seat up and it was not nearly as bad, i've put it up more so after next ride i'll see how it goes. might play around with cleats too. I think its a set up issue more than anything. Im to young and havent been doing it long enough to have knee issues frm cycling
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Old 02-05-09, 07:37 PM
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Have you looked into crank arm sizing? Sometimes if the crank arm is too long you can get a specific type of knee pain. Google it .
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Old 02-05-09, 08:39 PM
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My left knee hurts immediately if my seat height isn't perfect. I'll raise it a little and then bam no more pain. That leg is longer than the right, so it seems to be more sensitive to it. You may be a mutant as well.
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Old 02-05-09, 08:48 PM
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You may want to have a fitting done that will include cleat set-up as the cleats will often allow fore-aft and lateral adjustments, which need to be set in a way that suits your proportions and biomechanics. Of course, the fitter will also determine your seat height and fore/aft.

Spend the money and get it done. Make sure the fitter gives you a print-out of your fitting numbers so you can reapply the fit to your bike or to a different bike.
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Old 02-05-09, 09:22 PM
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get it looked at give the best description possible

try pedaling at a high cadence uphills

my IT band has cost me 1500.00 so far and I'm still getting massages
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Old 02-05-09, 09:37 PM
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+1 on the bike fit. Got mine from the UC Davis Sports Med group in Sacramento. I have/had IT band problems and I was going to PT at the time. Turned out I needed some varus wedges on my cleats. This alone helped tremendously.

One bummer that I encountered was swapping saddles after the fitting session. I went from a Arione to a Toupe. The saddles are a different lengths and the measurements relating to saddle setback were from the bars to the nose of the saddle. It took some interesting measuring and a several small adjustments to get the fit dialed after the swap.
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Old 02-08-09, 12:36 AM
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after todays ride i've decided its more quads than knees, which would explain why it feels like a lactic burn. I'm guessing everyone gets burning legs when climbing and using more leg power?

Thanks
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Old 02-08-09, 06:13 AM
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The fact that you moved your seat up and the pain diminished but didn't go away is a clear sign that you have a fit problem. Go to your LBS and have them put you and the bike on a trainer. There's no such thing as "too young" for knee problems from cycling; my first encounter with bike knee pain was at age 23. There could also be other things:

Do you stretch at all before or after your rides? As with any strenuous activity you should stretch, preferably dynamic stretching.

Do you try to "power up" every incline? If so, you might be trying too hard too soon. Stay in the saddle, gear down and pace yourself through it until you build up some long-term muscle strength.
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Old 02-08-09, 06:30 AM
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I've had similar knee pain. It's not bad but like after doing short max efforts on the trainer my other knee can feel a bit sore, but the pain is very mild and it does not limit the range of motion of the knee. Usually goes away in a day or so. Maybe its just that I'm not used to training yet. Not sure if its normal or if I should do anything about it since it doesn't really affect anything.

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Old 02-08-09, 11:16 AM
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Originally Posted by dmotoguy
not normal..
have you recently ramped up your training? could be IT band tightness... sounds similar to what I have experienced in the past..
What is IT band? I'm having some probs too. Feels like I can touch a ligament or something and shoots pain sensation acroos my knee.

Thx!
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Old 02-08-09, 12:02 PM
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Originally Posted by UtahWasatch
What is IT band? Thx!
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