Knee Pain (again) - please help



Ssushi

New Member
Mar 21, 2003
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Hi

I've just read J-Mat's 'knees' response on the cycling boards and really need experienced advice...

I caused problems with my knees when I was about 18-20, weight lifting. I was squatting down to the ground, way past the point you should do (as I later found out). Since then I've found all sports I do cause knee pain.

I started cycling in Feb of this year and am totally hooked. I want and need to race but cannot train properly due to the knee pain.

I read a response from you about this a while back and since have committed myself to base training only (approx. 70%max HR), 2-3 times a week and 50km a ride. The problem still occurs, though I think it's a little better.

The pain is like this:

1) Sever pain occurs predominantly when applying hard presure (uphill or trying to raise my HR above 80% for example).
2) I cannot nail down exactly where the pain is, last night it was at the top of my knee, sometimes its more central or at the sides.
3) The pain is rarely excrusiating but it has been and would be if I chose to ignore it.
4) I will get some form of mild>medium pain on every ride.
5) I am not affected when walking but am when running.
6) The pain is helped by the use of knee straps, I presume as they keep the swelling down and keep everything nice and warm.
7) I didn't have any pain for the first two months of training, then it started. I was doing mainly hill climbs.
8) My bike is fitted/constructed by a good shop, all my measurements taken and an online fitting service. I have Look peddles with float.

That's as much as I can think of. If you could offer any advice about how I can improve this situation I would really appreciate it. I don't want to give in the cycling but really like competitive sport and want to take this as seriously as I can.

Thanks for any help in advance.

Ssushi

PS I'm 31 if this has any bearing on this.
 
Try mooving your saddle, you should be able to put one foot on the peddle when it is at the lowest position and just be able to stand up without touching the seat
 
Don't **** around. Get a referral to an orthopaedic surgeon and ask for an MRI scan.
 
May not be your problem but sounds familiar. I was diagnosed with patellar femoral syndrome (PFS) after years of rugby and hockey (at about your age). I couldn't run, go up stairs, and sometimes walking was difficult. Turns out I was overdeveloping my quads while neglecting other muscle groups and this was actually pulling my patella (knee cap) out of whack. After some physiotherapy concentrating on redeveloping other muscle groups and realigning my patella the knee problems disappeared. I also stopped running (since I found that this sometimes reaggrevated the pain) and started riding...best decision I've ever made. I ride about 140 miles/wk and have had no problems.
Take a look at this website for some great info:

Patellofemoral problems

Then take it one step further and do what ant evans suggests. I hope this helps you out. Let me know how it goes.