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luke98765 · 04-24-10, 08:20 AM

I am 56 & have recently purchased a mountain bike. I have a knee condition known as chrondromalacia & as a result I have had one surgery about five years ago. The knee seems fine or as well as can be expected. Does anyone have any imput on this type of knee condition. Should a 56 year old guy with this type of knee problem even consider biking as an exercise ?

Wanderer · 04-24-10, 10:14 AM

Absolutely - I wish that was all that is wrong with my knee (chondromalacia being one of them) - bicycling is basically "no load" exercise on a bad knee.

I crushed my knee in 1989, and 6 surgeries later, it's as good as it's gonna get, with about 100 degrees ROM. Considerable stiffness, and chronic pain.

Next step is complete replacement.

Bicycling is one of the few things I can still do well, at 64. I ride about 38 miles per day.

RonH · 04-24-10, 11:43 AM

I'm 65. I had knee surgery about 3 years ago. My doc (a sports medicine doc

) removed about 1/3 of the cartilage because I had 2 bad tears (work related). He said my hiking and backpacking days were over. He knew I was a cyclist (he too is a cyclist) and said I could ride till I was 100. In fact, The physical therapy he prescribed was to ride my bicycle on the trainer for 2 weeks. The first ride (doctors orders) was 6 hours after the surgery. That was the longest 5 minutes of my life.

I worked up to 45 minutes by the end of the 2 weeks. At that point he said I could ride on the road again.
I've been riding ever since with no problems, other than I can't ride as far or as fast as I could 10 years ago. I guess its an age thing.

luke98765 · 04-26-10, 02:32 PM

Thanks for the information guys. Looks like it's happy biking for me.

davidad · 04-26-10, 04:12 PM

Saddle height is important. It should be high enough so that there is still a slight bend in your knee and your butt is not rocking on the saddle. Try to keep your cadence up to at least 80 rpm.
My doctor x-rayed my right knee and said the cartilage behind the kneecap is gone. Told me to take glucosamine condroitin for at least 3 months to see if it helps.
Raising the saddle did the most good so far.