theamazingmolio wrote:
> *I'm only 15 so you probably don't even want me viewing your thread.
> but anyway:
> knees: I get a bit of an ache in my right knee when I do my (almost)
> daily 4mile round trip into town on my 20". *
Since you are 15 you might have Osgood-Schlaters disease. This is an
overuse injury that results in inflamation/irritation of the shin bone
just below your knee. I'd see a doctor.
To explain what might be going on I have to describe how bones grow.
When babies are born their bones are mostly cartilage. They aren't
really bones as we know them because there is very little calcium in
them. The long bones quickly begin to deposit calcium in the middle and
end caps, but the two regions of cartilage between the middle and the
end caps stay soft. It's these zones that grow as the kid gets older.
In a 10 year old the cartilage zones are just thin plates that separate
the bony shaft from the hard end caps. When you go through adolescence
the surge in sex hormones (either testosterone or estrogen) causes the
cartilage to grow rapidly, but the calcification process increases even
more rapidly. This is the famous "growth spurt."
It's over when the calcification process consumes the cartilage growth
plate and your long bones become one piece of calcium.
So what is Osgood-Schlater's disease? There is a major growth plate in
your shin bone about an inch below your knee joint. This is also where
the patelar tendon attaches. The patelar tendon holds your kneecap over
your knee when the quads pull on it. When you bend the knee under load
(pedaling, for instance) the growth plate is under tremendous stress.
With all the growing and calcification that goes on in adolescence this
stress may be too much and it can start growing funny. You don't want
that because then it might misalign your knee joint for life. Like I
said, I'd see a doctor and get a professional opinion. I think they
need to take an x-ray or something to do a proper diagnosis. My little
brother had this when he was 15 and had to spend 6 months in a cast to
let his bones rest. (I think the Doc just wanted to make sure he didn't
cheat and play soccer again.)
The other possiblity is that you've got the same muscular imbalance that
I had when I was racing. The teardrop muscle above your knee on the
inside front of your thigh isn't as strong as the muscles on outer front
of your thigh so the patella is pulled to the outside and tracks poorly.
This one is simple to fix if you've got the discipline: sit in a
chair, put a sandbag or other weight on your foot, and straighten your
leg. Hold it out as long as you can, then let it down. Rest a little
bit and repeat 5 times every morning and evening. Again, don't just
take my word for it. Go see a Doc first. Don't neglect your knees!
They're really useful.
Good luck,
Tim
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