Yes, I've been over doing it, (6000 miles in 14 months) but the alternative is staying off the bike more. In September it got to be quite painful; I even went to a fitter with a reputation for successfully treating knee problems. It helped some but a few foolish attempts trying to keep up with a toddler brought it all back. I've been alternating between Ibuprofen, Aspirin and Voltaren with only limited success. For me Ibuprofen helped the most but I am leery of depending on it for a chronic situation. My mother in law once had to go to the ER for complications from using Ibuprofen habitually; she almost died.

Voltaren helped when my knee joint was acting up but it's proven to be next to useless with tendonitis. I went through all the joint medication at a drug store. Most of the products used combinations of camphor, aspirin (salicylate) and menthol. Then I came across a tube of Arnica. We were introduced to it after slipping on some stairs on a trip to France. I've been using it for three days and the discomfort has all but subsided. Fingers crossed.

I thought I'd pass it along for any of you experiencing patellar tendonitis.

Rich

Glad to read that you have found something natural that seems to be helping. Much better that Ibuprofen.

good to know, thanx for sharing

Keep us posted on your progress. I am a big fan of turmeric for controlling inflammation and the pain it causes.

I've been using Quercetin & Bromelain (Vitamin Shoppe) for years for my Spring bronchial allerigies, but honestly it could be a placebo. In Aug I started taking turmeric but it keeps me up at night if I take it near bed time and I don't see any benefit for the two plus months I've been taking it. How're you taking it...doses?

Rich

Rich....ever tried acupuncture? I use it for sciatic nerve pain that 3 doctors can't seem to pinpoint why I suddenly developed early this year. Might give you some relief.

No I hadn't thought about it. I'm open to most alternative means of dealing with pain management. As an engineer I don't see a connection between inflamed tissue and inserting a needle into it to stop its inflaming.

Rich

I didn't either, but I got relief from it. It had gotten bad enough I was willing to try anything, and since I'm not crazy about putting chemicals in my body, I figured it was worth a shot. Is it placebo effect? Possibly, but the end result was positive. And I've never been so relaxed in my entire life as during an acupuncture session.

The most potent toxins known are natural, so natural doesn't mean it's good for you. Arnica is a moderately toxic herb. What type of preparation and what concentration that you're using?

Good to hear you are getting some relief Rich, your mileage has jumped upward pretty quickly. Don't over do things and get set back and off of the bicycle, again. Best wishes on the riding and staying pain free.

Bill

Rich: Glad to hear you found something. Pain at any age is no fun and the enemy of an active lifestyle.

Down the road, you may want to check out a product called Acuknee. It's basically electronic stimulation of acupressure/acupuncture points, specifically designed to alleviate knee pain from a variety of conditions. Although I can't say if it's right for your tendonitis, I suspect it might be. It's available over the counter, but often prescribed. The Amazon reviews are pretty good.

Full disclosure: the inventor, a Utah doctor, is a long time friend and I've known about the product since its beta phase. When I broke my femur last year, I used one of the units without the knee cuff to keep my quads firing, and I give it some of the credit for a quick and complete recovery.

For this syndrome, training is a solution rather than having only the palliative effect of drugs.

See:
https://www.bikeforums.net/training-n...l#post16081392
and other posts in that thread.

Many people, among them me, have fixed their PT with training.

When I was young I would occasionally have issues with patellar tendinitis. What worked for me was a short lay-off with a bit of aspirin and lots of stretching, particularly the quads. When I get back on the bike I follow a religious adherence to keeping my cadence above 95 and do lots and lots of leg extensions in the weight room (with a few curls to balance things out). I do the extensions one leg at a time with very low weights. Fifteen reps with each leg, ten of these with each leg is a set followed by rolling over for curls. No breaks and I'll go for one to two hours adding five pounds per set until I reach fatigue and then subtracting five pounds per set.

Isn't that like riding on a trainer with relatively high cadence? I use arnica gel topically, not internally. Ibuprofen is much more toxic to the body as long as there are no cuts in the application area. I'll take a look at stretching and that device. Thanks

Rich

+1 on the high cadence/spinning. Learned this one the hard way back in the late 70's, an old guy, back then, took me aside and coached me on avoiding the big gear mashing I was doing constantly. Made a big difference in stopping the knee pain I was having.

Bill

Here are more threads for the OP to read about dealing with PT:
https://www.bikeforums.net/training-n...lly-sucks.html
https://www.bikeforums.net/training-n...es-myself.html
https://www.bikeforums.net/training-n...-cyclists.html

I appreciate your participation. I read your first reference and found the thread helpful. I hadn't mentioned it earlier but sitting on a recliner my right foot (leg?) rotates outward perhaps 15-20 degrees compared to the left. My right knee has been the problem. I adjusted my right SPD clip to match that when I began riding and have ridden that way for over a year. My fitter (in September) noticed my right knee rotating in a circle when I pedaled and inserted two 1 degree wedges; now the knee racks up and down, although the knee is further out from the frame than my right. Tensing my legs the right VMO is clearly larger than my left. The light bulb goes on! Imbalance from riding so long with my right toes pointed out? Is it possible that moving the clip to straighten right foot (smaller Q) might address this knee issue? In the past months I've also experienced cramping of the VMO when sitting in a recliner watching television....never the left.

Lots to absorb here..and thanks again. p.s. I'm going to try those two stretching exercises shown in the video.

Rich

As the studies linked to in that thread pointed out, in most folks the VMO is too weak and a way to strengthen it is to pedal toes out. You have the opposite and more easily remediable problem - your VMO is too strong. Definitely straighten the foot. You would probably also benefit by doing squats. Even unweighted squats. Bring your thighs down to horizontal, keep your knees behind your toes, weight on your heels, toes in line with your thighs, back straight, don't lean forward much. 50 or so of those a couple times a week should help.

I have riding buddies who have knee or hip issues which cause them to pedal with one knee further from the frame than the other. Doesn't hurt them any - they do fine on extremely long rides.

My medical background is arthroscopic surgeries on each knee between 2000-2001. My orthopedic surgeon whom I saw earlier this summer told me no strenuous knee exercises; no quad extensions, no squats, no lunges, etc. I made the comment about the knee position while riding to underscore how setting the clip on the right shoe positions the knee further out from the bike. I anticipate toeing it in will change it.

Rich

Two 1 degree shims and one further degree insert in the front of the right shoe along with a week stretch of
Aleve did the trick. The tendonitis has toned down significantly after almost 1 month with them in.

Rich

wonderful !!!!!

ICE.................. the miracle drug!

I'm glad to know that the knees are doing better, Rich, your progress in cycling has been super. I'd hate to see it had been derailed by an injury.

Bill