There are so many structures involved with the knee that it could be anything. It could be a muscle imbalance, or your patella could be offset a little. You didn't give a lot of information of what kind of pain, where, when it hurts, etc. so I can't really make any kind of an educated opinion. See if you have a local college that has a bicycling team and find out the ortho they use, or the physical therapist (PT). If they are nice, maybe the schools Athletic Trainer (AT,C)can evaluate you. The Athletic Trainer is the first and last one to see an injured athlete, so usually has a better grasp on what is going on with an active person than some doctor who sees sedentary people all day long and doesn't have a clue as to what you want to do.
Normally, a good stretching and strengthening program will help. Ice your knee at the end of the day, 20 minutes on, and at least 40 minutes off to allow it to warm. If the pain is under the kneecap, then go for 30 on and 40+ off as bone doesn't transmit cold very well. A good knee brace, a neoprene one with a hole at the patella (kneecap) is probably the best, but a good PT or AT,C can give you a better idea of what you need. You may just need orthotic inserts in your shoes to put your foot at the correct angle, so it could be many things. Don't give up, just keep looking until you find the right person. Someone in medicine with a cycling background is the best, so check with the local bike shops and clubs to see if they know of a Doc, PT, AT,C, who also rides.
Last, but not least, you're not 19 anymore, so the body does wear out, but if you had arthritis or any other significant bone problems I would imagine the MRI would have shown it, so maybe they saw an older person and just figured that you don't really do anything so just said for you to take it easy. We have a guy who rides with our group who is 95. He got into a big argument with his doctor because he wanted to ride 60+ miles a ride and the doc said no, so you have to let the medical people know that you are active and what type of exercises you are doing so they will understand.
Last edited by HIPCHIP; 01-30-14 at 10:05 AM.