my surgeon told me that there may have been a particular incident that lead to enough discomfort to require surgery but that the knees take a beating especially on very active people and my required surgery was due ti a lifetime of hard use. so I cautioned my nieces; nephews and my own kids to protect their knees through all their activities thru life.

Ah, what fun! I also enjoy making teenagers roll their eyes and blow their bangs off their cocky little foreheads.

You'll get used to that in time. and also, buy some chamois butter. It'll be appreciated for longer rides. Did a Metric today, and apart from a little toe tingling at 55 miles (over-tightened shoes), everything was good.....until i got in the shower, and then i wished that I had used chamois butter....

Chamois butter...good advice. No idea what it is, but I'll look for it. My feet were asleep at mile 8. The lady at the LBS told me that shoes should be fairly tight...guess not. That hurts my butt even more thinking about gong 100 miles. When I rode a motorcycle, I'd have to pull over about every hour.

It's long, slow distance time. Minimal stress. A little discomfort is OK, pain is a signal to STOP what you're doing. Patience is the key to a successful recovery.

I have a knee that doesn't want to run at all, but I can cycle 50 miles without stopping. Built up to it slowly.

The stuff is golden. (And I ain't talking color-wise.) I've tried this and the Assos Creme, and like the Eurostyle Butt'r better. YMMV.

Better dang well be able to cycle after knee surgery, since I am current laying in a hospital bed after knee replacement surgery this morning and a I just bought a new defy 1 as incentive to get through my PT

Thats the stuff that I use, picked it up on daily special from westernbikeworks.com a month or so ago, $13.99 a jar (picked up 2-should have got more). You can normally pick it up for $20 for an 8 oz jar (assos is about the same price for a 5oz jar)

Three arthroscopies and a knee replacement in my right knee. Two arthroscopies in my left knee. Cycling allows me to get a decent amount of exercise. My only other option is swimming and I don't really care for it so cycling it is.

I've cycled over 4,300 miles since April of 2009. So far my knees haven't registered a complaint.

I'm still quite young at 21 years old and wrestled for about 8 years, middle school and high school and played football for 3 years in middle/high school as well. Needless to say, my knees have taken some abuse over the years, not to mention general weight lifting and cardio training. I used to run years ago but realized it sucked and I hated it, so I stopped. I also started a terrible habit of "popping" or cracking my knees like one does their knuckles, DAILY multiple times a day ever since high school. This is a habit I'm working on stopping and I'm doing much better with.

I started riding in September and after a 60 mile ride I had horrible pain in the backs of my knees in the tendons for about a week, as well as some pain behind the patella. After that pain went away, I figured I had done too much too quick because until that ride I was only doing 10 mile rides a few nights a week. A couple weeks ago I did a 30 mile ride with 2 other forum members and about mid way through my right knee started to feel "off" so to speak, I stopped and tried stretch it out or something to make it feel better and was on my way again. Later that night, I started to feel a popping or clicking behind my patella and this sensation is still going on today. It is not painful, doesn't' cause me any grief aside from frustration and paranoia (I'm a hypochondriac). Given what I've described can anyone suggest any kind of amateur diagnosis? I'm trying to see a doctor about it because it needs to be looked at, regardless of what I'm going through now, my knees simply need to be checked out if I'm to continue to be active for the rest of my life. Could it be fluid? Meniscus? Any help is GREATLY appreciated.

If you feel something catching behind your patella, you could have what is called a "bucket handle tear" of your meniscus. Imagine a flap of meniscus that has torn off of the edge of the structure and is just hanging on at one end. That flap can get caught between the end of the femur / tibia / patella. One minute it is impinging, the next it is not. The symptom comes and goes depending on where the tear is hanging at that moment.

Or that might not be it at all. If your knee hurts and is making strange sounds or sensations, I would suggest you see an ortho and get a real diagnosis. Take it from me and the rest of the old farts with bad knees on this forum, you really want to take care of those joints.

OP, I'll second the advice of everybody re:working hard at PTherapy. I broke a femur badly some years back and was scared witless that I'll never be able to enjoy my active lifestyle again. Luckily, I was advised prior to my surgery by my general practicioner brother that two factors were gonna be critical in my "comeback".

One was the quality of the surgeon who did my sugery, and the other was how hard I worked in physical therapy. Well, the surgeon - thank God - was really good. More importantly, I worked extremely hard at physical therapy, to the extent that I was begging my physical therapists for more everytime.

So, my advice? Find a real good physical therapist (and use your pain-relief medicine to help you work hard) and then bust your hump.

In my experience, not only did I come back from my bone breakage real good, I also healed quicker than anticipated.

Good luck.

No idea what's wrong, but tomorrow I'm making a call to see when I can get in to see a doctor. There are several sports medicine doctors here that are apparently worth going to. I live in college town with a college with several active sports teams (though not the best) who are treated by these doctors specifically.

Emotionally, I'm just worried I won't be able to keep up my active lifestyle because of some sort of (what seems like) a minor issue. But, your guys' stories give me some hope.

Had the meniscus surgery in May of 2009.

SAMe and glucosamine for the knees. Apple cider vinegar and /or glucosamine with MSM.
Injections of the rooster comb stuff was ok but the SAMe and glucosamine and vinegar are better for me.

The chamois butter goes on the parts that can get chafed by your shorts and the saddle.

Just a reminder, Dr. Giangara was a life saver for me. Give him a call and schedule an appointment. He is worth the wait.

I was going to go with him or dr Hendricks. Thanks for the reminder.