Another knee pain issue... Please help!

[tumbleweed77]

alright... well i've read here that alot of people have pain when running but not when cycling.... i've got the opposite issue... i can run fine, but when i'm riding, i've got a pain that sometimes can be excruitiating... it's partially medial of the knee cap just where the inner quad muscle would intercept the knee joint. before today, i've rested it for 3 weeks... rode today, it hurt. most of the time its pain only when accelerating and i think on the down stroke.... its been as bad as that just the movement alone hurt like heck....

i'll be adding a doctor's appointment to my list of things to do, she's done x-rays already a month ago... it'll be time i suppose for an MRI....

has anyone had this before? what was it and how did you fix it?

 

[DawnDrifter]

Hi there.. im a newbie to this forum but i had the same issue and got the problem resolved after reading some posts in this forum

I read here(and i cant seem to find it) that knee pains are related to your seat height. Pains in front of knee(which is what i had) meant your seat was too low.. Seat too high and you get pains in the back of your knee

I had pain in both knees but more painful on my weaker left leg/knee.. right at the top of the kneecap wher it joins my quad. I marked a line around my seatpost and lifted it 1cm and went out for 30km to test... didnt make too much of a diff so i raised it another 1cm and mate I couldnt believe the difference, honestly no problems after that..

Give it a crack, its the easiest thing to try... if you have already done that pls ignore all the above

 

[tumbleweed77]

dawndriftER.... I too, know the basics of seat height vs. knee pain... i also ride in a club where i get lots of advice... i have aleady had my seat raised maybe 1.5cm... originally, it made some difference, but my knee is back to its old ways.... maybe i'll try raising it up a bit more. was your pain centered over your knee cap? mine is off to one side, but not all the way over to one side.... how long did you go before you moved your seat up.?

 

[DawnDrifter]

dawndriftER.... I too, know the basics of seat height vs. knee pain... i also ride in a club where i get lots of advice... i have aleady had my seat raised maybe 1.5cm... originally, it made some difference, but my knee is back to its old ways.... maybe i'll try raising it up a bit more. was your pain centered over your knee cap? mine is off to one side, but not all the way over to one side.... how long did you go before you moved your seat up.?

my pain was right above the kneecap, right in the middle and only when riding. offbike even when running(although only on treadmill) had no problems. Do the knee pains follow you off bike? The answer to that question may provide you with the best way to attack the problem

I think I spend about 4 months putting up with it

Hope you find the answer to your problems soon!!!!!

 

[Cycleright]

dawndriftER.... I too, know the basics of seat height vs. knee pain... i also ride in a club where i get lots of advice... i have aleady had my seat raised maybe 1.5cm... originally, it made some difference, but my knee is back to its old ways.... maybe i'll try raising it up a bit more. was your pain centered over your knee cap? mine is off to one side, but not all the way over to one side.... how long did you go before you moved your seat up.?

Hey mate,

Seat height can have alot of influence on knee pain, but so can the position of the seat forward and back, and the crank length.

I'm a physio who does biomechanical cycling analysis for anyone from professionals to week-end warriors. The 2 hour consult which includes a musculoskeletal analysis, motion capture on the bike, a trial treatment, motor learning cycling technique programs and mucle retraining, and i see people with knee pain that originates from all these areas.

So you can't really give general advice about knee pain and seat height. A lower seat does increase the amount the knee moves side to side when pedalling, and can cause knee pain, but it also may be just a symptom of an underlying problem.

My suggestion, get a physio or doc who is familiar with cycling to look at your knee.

If you're in Sydney, Australia, maybe i can help you too. Drop me a line at [email protected]

 

[groskilly]

I had pain in the same area you descibe. My pain began on a long cycling ride around mile 60. I only had the pain when riding the bike, walking was no problem. I would rest for a few weeks and the pain would come right back after a few miles on the bike. An MRI revealed a torn medial menicus. I had the surgery yesterday and will begin physical therapy in a week
I would get an MRI done ASAP.

 

[cricketk]

i'll be adding a doctor's appointment to my list of things to do, she's done x-rays already a month ago... it'll be time i suppose for an MRI...

Have you been to a physio yet? I've mostly found that GPs are not really much use for diagnosing persistent pain, and a physio can usually find, explain and set me well on the road to recovery.

I don't even bother visiting a GP for injuries unless I've broken something.

 

[tumbleweed77]

Thanks to all of you who have helped... By the end of this last semester I was still having a lot of pain despite taking time off from riding up to 4 weeks off to no relief... i finally convinced my doc to order an MRI which turned up negative for all tears.. just some inflammation... my doc refused cortizone shots cause i'm young... I just switched insurances and can now go see an ortho... saw him on friday and one look at the MRI revealed an obvious intermeniscal meniscus tear... I'll be having surgery within a month as it has not healed in over 5 months. so now i'll be faced with a severe limitation on exercise which i'm not looking forward too... went through this already w/ a dislocated ankle... any suggestions on what to do? he said that one of the first things i'll be able to do is spin on a stationary bike... hurray!

 

[tumbleweed77]

Just an update for anyone who has this similar problem...

So I had the surgery just over 5 weeks ago. My doctor put me in a full leg hinge brace with 50% weight bearing for 3 full weeks. I started physical therapy 4 days after surgery. It took the full 4th week to wean off crutches as muscles were very week. Range of motion for PT was limited to 40 degrees for the first 2 weeks and 60 degrees for the next two weeks... As of this week (week 6) I am still walking with the brace on while out of the house, but have been slowly building up muscle at home without it. There is still a lot of internalized swelling where they made a 1.5 inch incision and there is a lot of pain associated with that swelling. I see the doctor tomorrow and I'm hoping to be allowed to walk w/o the brace and also start spinning to help increase range of motion and limit stiffness and scar tissue.

For anyone who gets diagnosed with this issue... it's better to take care of it sooner rather than later. I ran on the tear for a full 6 months before a doctor found the problem and because my knee was chronically swollen, the swelling pushed my patella out of alignment and he fixed that problem surgically as well... so now I'm rehabing 2 injuries instead of just one.

Meniscus repair is much more extensive than trimming. Activities are greatly reduced for the 1-2 months. This recovery program is generally the schedule.

 

[tumbleweed77]

well, it is now a full 4 months since surgery and I am finally enjoying pain free riding again. I ended up with a hitch in my recovery as a fat family member tripped over my bad leg when I was sittin' down and he tore my MCL, tore it from the meniscus and put another small tear in it (no surgery though). I am still healing from the MCL injury but I don't have any meniscus pain anymore. I am back to running, running up and down stairs, back to my EMT job and back to cycling and finally have enough endurance back to ride with my club. My knee occassionally pops/clicks due to the weak quad muscle... I'd say that in another month or so it'll be as good as new... good luck to those reading this if you have a similar problem

 

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