Originally Posted by
IbikezLA
I've been talking to some people about this myth, as it is right now until I can find facts, and they claim that the problem over time back pedaling, exclusively to slow the bike, damages your cartilage. I'm really frustrated that I'm having trouble finding stuff. Am I just search engine stupid?
No, there just isn't real evidence that resisting the pedals will ABSOLUTELY give you knee problems. I play a sport with my friends every Spring when the weather gets nice, and it involves punting a volleyball a lot. Playing this sport put a lot of strain on my knee from the constant, sudden flexing of my tendons, specifically the patellar tendon in the knee. My knee got sore and swollen, and was pretty painful, and I had to give up riding for 2 - 3 weeks before the tendonitis cleared up.
If you are resisting past your comfort level and are really putting a lot of stress on your knees while resisting, then you will be putting the same type of stress on the patellar tendon, and it will get sore, just as any other part of your body would get sore or damaged from overuse.