hillcrawler

Today is the third day after i pushed my poor knee caps to their limit. I've ridden 20km the other night and 10 km last night. I'm trying to get rid of this annoying feeling by relaxed pedaling but they're still there. What is this folks? Am i gonna live with this? It feels like somone has injected a sticky resin in my knees. They don't move freely anymore. There is no pain but when i move them i feel a silence click. I'm giving them a rest tonight. I have a feeling that this thing will never leave me.

DropDeadFred

Did you check the blinker fluid?

a1penguin

Do you have insurance? Go see a doctor. If you have real problems, *prompt* medical attention is advisable. No one here can diagnose your knee problems. Knees are very complicated and doctors have enough difficulty fixing knees; I don't think anyone here is going to be able to diagnose your problems. Listen to the pain; see a doctor.

Bacciagalupe

Yep, I'd start by seeing a doctor. I wouldn't panic either, it may just be some inflammation. But the reality is that no one here is qualified to diagnose your knee over the Internets.

hillcrawler

I've ridden about 100 km in weekend. They're getting better now.

patentcad

I think Panic is the only real option that remains here.

hillcrawler

Update: I've had a bit of pain and unease today. It is happening when i don't move them much while i'm sitting on my chair at office. I applied ozonated olive oil to my knee caps. Didn't help any. Though my grandma was arguing it made her jammed joints move again. I rode a 5 km through pain with an easy gear combo. Applied some anti-inflammatory gel and going to bed now. Heal mofos!

p2templin

Sarcasm didn't work, so I'll try the direct method: GO SEE A DOCTOR ALREADY. None of us, even if we are doctors, can provide sound medical advice over a web forum.

patentcad

Oh the anti inflammatory GEL sounds promising. Did you go ride your pet unicorn too?

Chefben

My knee is in the same condition, one surgery (many years ago) and now a lot of over use, that it cracks and pops. I started using a product called KT tape this summer and my knee feels 20 years younger. You can Google them and visit their site, which shows application for just about every joint on the body. Stuff is a available at most sporting goods stores and will run about $12 for a basic roll and $20 for the "pro" version. You can leave it in place for up to five days and just act like it's not there-shower, swim, cycle it does not come off, but is easy to remove when you want to change the wrap. It really has stabilized my knee and lessened the pain considerably. The stuff really works.

Bacciagalupe

Is your grandmother an orthopedist?

MegaTom

Ditto. Totally.

ilovecycling

I bought a bottle of these exact Gluca Chondra MSM whatever pills from Walmart last year. I can never remember to take them for more than like 3 days in a row. Been having some right knee pain lately after I started doing more running and less cycling due to time constraints. I'm going to try to start taking them regularly and see what happens. Knee/leg/foot problems suck, especially when you love being active. Anything is worth a try, right?

Bacciagalupe

Not really.

Different injuries may require different treatments. If you really do have a serious issue, delaying treatment or trying the wrong fix could prolong or aggravate the injury.

Most of the so-called "cures" are a waste of money, and are no more effective than rubbing olive oil on your knee. Many supplements make all kinds of claims, and lack quality controls. Many can have mild or nasty side effects, such as nausea or headaches.

If you sprain your ankle, it's not the case that "anything is worth a try." You need to see a doctor and find out the proper treatment. I don't see why a mild or moderately serious knee injury should be considered any differently.

lechat

With an overuse injury like describe, don't think I'd rush to hospital demanding a MRI. Would try resting them a few days, then try some active rest in the form of moderately high cadence riding on level terrain.

hillcrawler

I'm resting for 3 days and the pain seems to be getting bigger and going up through my legs. Now the upper part of legs are in pain together with my knee caps. It makes me think there is an inflammation started on my knee caps and it's spreading through my thigh area. I can't find a doctor to see before next week. It's getting close to an emergency situation now.

cocar

You seem to be a little dense. You have injured you knee(s) Let me give you some simple tips until you get to the doc.
1) rest them.
2) elevate them when possible
3) ice them 2-3 times a day for ~15 minutes. A bag of frozen peas work well.Take ibuprofen, Aleve, motrin (one of those). Follow the dosing instructions on the label. Don't take more than is recommended. Don't wash them down with alcohol either!
4) If you want to try taking glucosamine, fine. It's not going to cure your knees.
5) Nothing you rub on your knees topically will fix the problem, either.

That should get you to the doc. Then do whatever (s)he says. Good luck and heal fast.

hillcrawler

I've been diagnosed to have patellofemoral syndrome. Doctor told me it's not because of cycling but it helped to realise that i have this problem. He told me to do some exercises for 3 weeks and it'll go away. We'll see.

I don't know if these exercises will do better than cycling. All i have to do is lifting my legs in two different positions for 5 minutes every morning. I just hope that he knows what he is doing.

hillcrawler

When i hold my kneecaps in the palm of my hand and move my palm gently i feel something gritty. Something creaking inside. What a nightmare!

generalkdi

Looks like my exact problem, some stretching, and foamroller should help. Also strengthing the muscles around your knees should help!

hillcrawler

Isn't cycling all about it? I got this injury after cycling and doctor said i had it before. I don't understand a damn **** here.

GiantDefyGuy

I can shed some light into this thread due to my own experiences.

You have arthritis. Period. It doesn't go away, but you can make it "better" (or easier to live with).

There are a few parts of your knee that are made of cartilage (meniscus, back of patella, etc.), and they were originally flat and smooth, and that's why your knees were pain free and noise free for most of your life. Sometime along the line, the cartilage was damaged. It's not smooth anymore. That clicking sound you hear? That's little "ripped" pieces of cartilage rubbing against each other. There is no fix for this. IT will never ever be smooth again. Whoever figures out how to fix this will be the absolute richest person in the world).
Your doctor's right. This didn't happen to you as soon as you started biking. But biking has helped you notice it. It's likely that your cycling has built the muscles that pull your knee caps to the inside, but neglected the muscles that pull your knee caps to the outside. This has resulted in in a small "imbalance" and with you now feeling and hearing the 2 damaged surfaces rubbing each other. What he is trying to make you do are some simple muscle-building movements that will help balance out the muscles around your knee so that everything is sort of "perfectly in the middle" where it was before.

And this problem is a double-edged sword. First you damage your cartilage, and then your knees get upset and start leaking blood and water into the nice fluid that was in there also keeping them smooth.

Even if he were to do a scope and go in there and try to smooth out the surfaces, he will never get them like they were before.

So do whatever the doctor says. He's seen this a lot.

HokuLoa

I'll skip the portion about possible surgical repair/cleanup and just address the "easy" potential fixes...

- Make sure your bike is setup right to minimize any further damage to your knee. For many people this means a medical bike fit to ensure a safer setup.
- If the arthritis includes a noticeable decline in synovial fluid you can actually get injections of artificial fluid into the joint to help smooth functioning and lessen pain.

hillcrawler

Thanks a lot. Arthritis is a common name for patellofemoral syndrome?

GiantDefyGuy

Not really. Arthritis is a very very general term dealing with the degradation of cartilage.
Patellofemoral syndrome is just a very specific type of arthritis. But regardless, it's still arthritis, and knowing that helps. I have a very similar issue, but I forgot what it's called (because the name doesn't really matter too much).

So arthritis isn't just something old ladies get in their fingers. It's a general term.