I woke up to my knee feeling stiff and have some pain in it. I think it is swollen too. Will riding hurt or help it?

Have you rapidly increased your mileage?

A couple of times I’ve woken up with a painful knee, the result of sleeping in a bad position. In my case, riding a little while makes the pain go away. However, what goes for me may not do so for you. You might try a short ride and see how it goes.

As someone who has dealt with a bad knee for 48 years now, I would suggest giving it a day or two to rest to see how it feels. If okay, take a short, easy ride and see how it feels the next morning. If it still feels sore and appears swollen after a few days of rest, take a short ride - in your car, to the doctor. You don't want to aggravate a condition into something worse.

It really depends on why it's stiff and swollen. Can you give more info on that?





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Cartilage worn away from heavy construction over the years.

No. I woke up with my good knee swollen, stiff and hurting.

I will rest it again today. It feels better this morning.
I am really hoping I don’t need to get it drained. That is about the most uncomfortable thing I have had- the other knee was drained a few years ago. It did feel better afterwards though.

Try ice packs. I've had both knees scoped and occasionally I have the same problem.

I will be doing that today.

I mainly just wanted to ask if cycling generally tended to make a knee worse or if it might help it.
I will try and see.

I think this is your best chance at rebuilding your knees. This guy has had some very bad luck with knees, but he was able to rehabilitate them to an incredible degree.


https://www.youtube.com/@TheKneesovertoesguy





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There are so many different things that could be wrong with a knee that it is best to contact an orthopedist to verify what is wrong, and the proper way to treat. For now try and keep it elevated and ice it for 20-30 minutes maximum, then give it about an hour to warm up, then apply ice again. You can do that all day long without worry. Normal icing times are 20 minutes on/40 off, but with the kneecap you can go a little longer (30 min max) so the cold can get through the bone. A good knee rehab program may help, but you have to determine what is wrong first.

I have had knee problems for decades and frequently have a stiff knee. Cycling seems to help in my case, but that doesn't mean it will help in yours. My thought is, give the bike a try, and if the knee gets worse after the ride, lay off the riding for a while.

It felt better when I got up this morning. I rested it and mostly kept it elevated.
I will be riding tomorrow. Sunshine, 83° and a wind 10-20mph. I’m not missing this.

sounds good

make sure to warm up properly - and don’t push big gears … ‘spin to win’ …

you will need your knees when you get older

I was bone on bone in my knees in my early 40's. Cycling kept me going until both finally had to be replaced at 58. Spin a good cadence and just pay attention to any discomfort while riding. For me my saddle position had to be in a very precise spot to let me ride without pain or swelling. I ride a bunch of bikes and as long as I kept the saddle position the same on all, things went well.

Cycling doesn’t usually put stress on a knee the way walking, running does, or construction work if your in your feet all day. My wife worked as a scenic artist, on her feet in concrete floors for 10 hr days. She and many colleagues all ended up with bad knees, may have had knee replacements. OTOH, some scenarios about cycling can cause knee problems. Position, too low or high a saddle. shoes and cleats, etc…l can all cause problems. Starting out with too much effort or distance can certainly cause soreness. Ice it, see how it feels, maybe think about heading to an orthopedist.

Older? I will be 67 this year.

I usually don’t push hard for at least the first 2 miles.
I will leave it in the small ring for a while. There are a lot of short climbs.

no - I mean real old !

gotta be in good shape for future walker and rollator races !


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what crank / chainrings do you have ?

if you are riding a trail or route with a number of ups and downs and punchy climbs etc - the smaller ring might be (and will probably be) a better option

First suspect dehydration! Remember it sneaks up on the best of us.

Then rest, alternating heat and cold, light compression, dont do down for a few days. As in down a path, or stairs. Walking down moves that femoral head over to the edge of your tibia aggravating the injury. You also might want to try moving your seat down about 1cm - ⅜".

Bravo! I see it coming...

😄

I will work on it.

I stand by checking out Kneesovertoesguy's YT channel (above link), because he gives great advice/exercises for repairing joints, especially knees, since he's had awful knee problems in his own life, but no longer.

Cycling is great, but cycling will NOT rehabilitate most knee injuries, simply because it's a highly repetitive exercise that if done too much can result in overuse injuries. However, I agree that cycling is a good form of low-impact cardio exercise that usually won't irritate many knee injuries.

Having said that, the sad fact is that life is NOT a low-impact activity. We start losing muscle mass at about age 30, albeit very slowly. Yet as we age that muscle loss greatly increases and gravity starts having a much bigger effect.

There are news reports all over covering research that has shown Exercise is Medicine. Unfortunately, most people flock towards not only just cardio, but also low-impact cardio, all the while we keep losing muscle mass.


Don't take my word for it, here's a short video from another YT channel (Greysteel: Fitness after Fifty) started by a doctor (emergency Physician)

An introduction to what he does:










And here's just one video introduction to Kneesovertoesguy

67 is the new 47.