"BCDrums" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:
[email protected]...
> Lately I have had some pain in one knee, located behind the knee cap. It
> doesn't hurt while I'm riding, but rather when I'm climbing stairs. I'm
> wondering if it might be that my saddle is too low or high (although I
> haven't made any adjustments lately).
>
> Has anyone had a similar problem?
>
> BC
See a good orthopedic doctor, preferably someone who's involved with
sports medicine and works with knee problems.
In 1978 I developed severe knee pain 25 miles into a century ride. I had
to abandon the ride at 50 miles. From then on I had recurrent knee
problems that affected my ability to go back packing and skiing as well as
cycling.
Some times just climbing stairs I'd feel a sharp pain on the inner edge of
my knee caps and one or both knees would start to buckle when I put weight
on them.
A physical therapist gave me some exercises that helped somewhat but it
wasn't until a friend noticed that I was riding with my toes pointed
slightly inward. He suggested that I adjust my cleats so that my heels
were in and my toes pointed out. That solved a lot of my problems.
Recurrent tendonitis and bursitis kept bothering me so several years ago I
had MRIs done on my knees and the doctors found bone spurs under my knee
caps that had worn grooves into the knee cartilage.
I'm now using pedal extenders which seem to help a lot. These allow my
knees to track within the grooves in the cartilage when I'm pedaling.
Having your seat too low can cause knee problems as well as too high which
can result in irritation from over extension. Also "mashing", riding in
high gears at a low cadence can result in knee problems especially when
doing a lot of heavy climbing.
I think that the most important thing is to find what works for your
personal physique and ignore most of what the Bike Fit Nazis suggest.
BTW, I take 3-4 aspirin before and after riding to control inflammation in
my knees. Also it takes me 5-10 miles to warm up so I start off easy.
Good luck.
Chas.