Knee pain. Seat up, down, forward, or back?
 

I can't remember.

I've been having patellar (kneecap and below the kneecap) pain for years. I'm trying to isolate the problem. On one hand, both knees are reconstructed '94 and '98. I also play lots of soccer. And, I road bike. My knees are always sore. So, I took the last month off from everything to see what is the main trigger. Got on the bike for a 15 mile, easy pace, ride on Wednesday, knee pain since. BTW, I don't mash. I know that can be a primary cause. Since the bike ride was the only physical activity I've recently partaken in, I'm going to assume it's pedal/seat position.

I had a professional fit done about a year ago and that didn't seem to help. Matter of fact, I kind of felt more awkward afterwords as far as comfort.

sounds like patello femoral pain syndrome... go see a doctor in sports medicine and he'll likely recommend 4-6 weeks of P.T. of soft tissue work. Also strengthening to get rid of any muscle imbalances you have.

If you can't afford P.T. atleast get a screening and he/she(the therapist) will be able to tell you what needs to be done.

also you won't see results over night. it could take a few months to fully recovery. You'll likely start seeing results after the 6 week mark.

Good luck.

first lets start with proper seat height and adjust from there. measure your inseam while standing in socks and straddling a book spine to represent the bike seat. the distance from the floor to the top of the book will be your actual inseam. take this measurement and multiply it by .883. this will be the measurement from the top of the seat to the center of the bottom bracket, as measured in a line down the seat tube. your proper baseline height. start with this and report back. in general however, knee pain in front and below the patella indicates the seat is too low or too far forward, maybe both.

I don't think asking a forum such as this will be able to correct the problem. As stated above, you may need some physical therapy, it may be a fit issue. Given the info you have provided, I would certainly start with your doctor to check for any issues before putting miles on the bike. Understand what issues may be there & find someone who understands these issues & how to properly fit you to your bike. A good bike fit takes a good amount of time & the person doing the work will not want you uncomfortable. They will also want you to return to correct any issues that persist.

NOT AN EXPERT

For me, front of knee pain is helped by seat up, seat back, knees in (towards the top tube), and heels in (towards cranks).

If you measure your leg angle clipped in at bottom of the pedal stroke, it's s'posed to be 20 degrees (ish). Your fitter probably nailed seat height, but especially if you've changed cleats, it's worth checking.

You have banged-up knees though... doesn't help. At age 48 and have been a downhill skier for 30 years... played lots of hoops as a young man.... many many miles of rough-terrain packing and hiking.... my knees pain(s) are also somewhat cumulative in nature. So I would agree that the "normal" fixes might not address your issues.

Start with 'up', and fine tune from there.

And as others have said, maybe see a sports medicine specialist.

For me, and it may be different for you, when I have pain as you describe, it generally means my seat has slipped lower. Raising it has always solved the problem for me.

J.

What surgery did you have done to your knees? What was the problem? Did the surgery fix that problem? What problems did the surgery cause?

For patello-femoral syndrome (PFS) see this post:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...1#post16081392

for stretching to relieve various sorts of knee pain, see this post:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...1#post15372967

It's likely you need to strengthen your VMOs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patello..._pain_syndrome
http://beta.active.com/cycling/Artic...dzip@yahoo.com
http://www.theinjuredknee.com/knee-i...alis-obliquus/