Side imbalance
 

I've noticed I'm getting some knee pain, hip pain, only on my left side. I've adjusted my saddle position and I can get the pain either on the front or back of my left knee by tampering with the saddle height. Cannot quite find the sweet spot. And, of course, the alignment is wrong for the right side "statistically" but I don't seem to notice any right side pain within those limits. I think I must be dropping my hip to the right when I ride.

I'm going to start strengthening more on the left but I'm wondering if there's any interim solution. Would directing the saddle nose more to the left or right make a difference? Anything else in the short term?

thanks

Is your seat slightly too high so you are dropping one side to compensate? I had that issue. I found it because the dimples on my Brooks were noticeably skewed to one side. I dropped the saddle and all sorts of issues went away. Of course remember that it dos take a while for your body to adjust to a change.

I mostly have more of a dimple on one side of my brooks which is what made me think it was some kind of body alignment thing and not just an over used knee. I'm just having a hard time getting the seat low enough for my left side without making it too low for my right side. I've ordered a different saddle (ahh, just after getting my brooks broken in nicely) to see if that makes a difference in how I sit and align. Supposedly this saddle flexes the two sides separately so it might help with keeping my hips the same height? I can return it if it doesn't help. Don't know what else to try, it is a recent problem, been riding with no issues for a long time. Might see a chiro for an alignment check.

Well, I had the same issue, and it was fixed by dropping the saddle. I see a lot of people setting up their saddle too high. You could check a doctor to see if one leg is longer than the other. For me, it didn't take much of a drop to make things right. That solved a lot of issues I was having with saddle comfort, hip pain, lower back tightness and occasional knee pain. Now I have no issues. The dimples on my seat are now where they should be, they are symmetrical.

If the saddle is too high, you will drop to one side to compensate. You may want to check out Steve Hogg's site. https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com...ard-can-it-be/

Good luck.

Thanks. I had a pro fit about a year and a half ago, but maybe something has changed. Might be time to do it again.

I see a lot of "pro" fits, end up with the seat too high.

Maybe, but this actually was quite good. I rode my bike for well over a year with zero discomfort. I have some degenerative disc issues and I'm thinking it might have gotten worse and changed things. If the new seat doesn't solve it, I'll visit the physio and then maybe redo my fitting.

Probably you have one leg shorter than the other, as have I. I put a shim under the cleat on the short side, which helps.

platforms here... ?

I would bet that many, if not most, of those who claim leg length discrepancy

actually have hips twisted or other postural misalignment.

In that case, shimming the cleat or shoe would not be the best solution.

+1 on lowering the saddle.

Carbonfiberboy- didn't you have a series of stretches to recommend?

You can fix that quite easily.

This is probably what you're referring to: https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycl...l#post15372967

Hanging from my hands in front of a mirror, pelvis is level, one femur obviously shorter than the other. Have you ever noticed that many people have one eye higher than the other? There are many similar asymmetries in humans.

The downside of shimming one cleat is that then that knee goes up higher than the other. The real fix is to have unequal crank arms.

I'm less inclined to suspect leg length discrepancy because (1) my knee angles were identical during my fit and (2) my pants hang evenly. However, I think there is very likely some twisting of my hips or other postural alignment, as mentioned above, because I don't wear the soles of my shoes the same way and my left side reach has never been as comfortable as my right. I suppose this could be a complete muscle imbalance - much weaker left side, top to bottom - so I'm going to focus on that at the gym. I need to get someone to folow me on my bike and see if I lean to one side.

You already said the dimples on your seat are skewed to one side, so you are leaning to one side. The most common reason for that is...too high of a seat.

I am one who has unequal leg lengths, 1/2". (And didn't know it for my first 60 years, Just thought I was generally asymmetrical.) I now use a 1/2" shim in my right shoes and a 1/4" shim for those cleats. I also pivot my seat nose a little to the left. And I set my cleats up differently; nearly straight for my left foot and forcing real toe-in for the right foot. (I use no-float cleats. For SPDs I have to set the right shoe up with all the toe-in physically possible. Next go-round, I might even file the cleats to get more.)

Not saying that the OP should do any of this. Just keep an open mind. If I insisted on doing what most do, I would have had the knee-replacement surgery 30 years age. Instead, both knees are doing well.

Edit: I probably have normal arch in my right foot and a very flat left foot as a compensating factor for my unequal leg lengths, hiding that unequal length to some extent and meaning that my shoes wear in quite differently.

Ben

Interesting...my leg length as measured ankle to knee joint is the same but - my left arch is much flatter than my right! I wear super feet in my shoes for walking because my knees bend inward; maybe time to put them in my cycling shoes.

Good idea. Arch support can/should be higher than for walking shoes

since the foot doesn't flex much while riding.

Customize by taping pieces of bar tape of sheet cork to the insoles.