Pain in the ligament behind the knee

[svlad]

A week ago I did a 100 mile ride, which was the longest ride I ever did. About 70 miles into the ride I started feeling pain on the outer ligament (back of knees) of both legs. I am not sure if I am clear enough here - please let me know if I am not. The pain went away, but a week later I did another 60 mile ride and the pain came back, but only to the left knee (just back outer ligament). Two days later I went for a 6 mile jog and by mile 3 the pain escalated to a level (still only left knee) that made run extremely uncomfortable.

Does anyone know what's the cause of this and what can be done?

thank you!

 

[mattyb]

Experienced this and have seen it in others.
Most likely tendonitis.
Course of action is to rest, then lightly get back into exercise, gradually building. If it hurts, stop immediately.

Biggest help is to do plenty of regular stretching. It can be often caused by over use while your hip flexors are overly tight. Massage helps too.

Internet advise so if the usual disclaimer applies.

 

[bulaboy]

mattyb has it right. It's not likely to be a ligament. More likely your hamstring or popliteus tendon. Sounds like a case of too much too soon. Just gonna hafta chill on the riding a bit 'til it clears up. Ice and stretching should help, but nothing heals like time. Check that your seat is not too high.

 

[Creatre]

I had a very similar injury a couple months back. It was originally irritated because I was trying a new seat height and I had set it a little too high. I found that it was actually the hamstring causing the problems for the knee. Stretches and R.I.C.E for a week and I was good to go.

 

[Yojimbo_]

I had the same thing - took me ages and ages to figure it out and even now it still happens after I take a long break. It was so bad at times that I had trouble walking up stairs the next day and I almost gave up riding.

For me, it was due to a combination of three things, these being:

1) Seat set too high;
2) Overuse; and
3) My cleats in the wrong position.

Re Item 3, my feet have a lot of natural out turn (especially my left leg which was the one that hurt the most) but my pedals were pretty much putting my feet in a direct fore and aft position (I did have cleats with float). I eventually ended up putting a couple of washers on my left pedal to move it out a bit, and then I moved my cleat position so my foot was at the biggest angle it could be without hitting the pedal (the washers allowed a bit more room so I could put my foot at a greater angle). I've since taken one of the washers off and it's still okay.

Good luck.

 

[jhuskey]

I agree on checking the fit of the bike. If something is slightly off it will only show up on the long rides.Small needed adjustments don't reveal thenselves in 10 mile rides.With me it is just age. I know why I hurt.

 

[doctorSpoc]

as others have said.. more than likely seat too high or moved up too fast..

either get a pro fit or can drop your seat height to a neutral sort of position then experiment with moving it up slowly (2mm ever two weeks or so).. put your heels on the pedals and you should be able to pedal backwards without your hips moving or heels leaving the pedals.. that will be a safe neutral position for your seat height..

 

[GT Fanatic]

Poor posture can lead to pain in ligaments. A few months ago there was a real good article on these types of things in Bicycle magazine. I will try to find a copy of the article and scan it for you. I'm not sure how the scan will turn out, but I'll give it my best.

 

[vspa]

i got once an injury like the one you describe. It healed alone because after 1/2-to-1 hour riding pain made me stop everytime, so i took time off (long time off) and then it was gradually gone. I resumed riding long distances carefully !

 

[64Paramount]

I've experienced that twice. The first time was about thirty years ago when I switched to fixed cleats. My feet rotate side to side a lot through my pedaling stroke, my left foot much more than my right. I developed pain in the back of both of my knees, the left so bad that I was eventually unable to ride. It took almost a year to recover from that once I figured out what the problem was.

Just this year I had some problems again in the back of my left knee and everything points to riding too far, too fast, and doing it too early in the year.

My first two rides were only around 25 miles each and I felt really strong. So, on my third ride of the year I decided to up the ante and rode 48 miles riding pretty hard through the first 40 miles at which time I started feeling a little pain behind my knees, and pain in front of my kness, muscle pain in my thighs....well, actually my hair was starting to hurt.

Most of that soreness went away within 2 to 3 days, however, the pain in the tendons behind my knees took about month to go away. I would think everything felt good, then I'd go for a ride and I'd start feeling some twinges if I rode too long or pushed too hard. I really had to take it easy for awhile.

At 14 weeks into the season for me I don't seem to be having anymore problems and I feel like I've dodged a bullet. My advice is not to let issues like that go on very long, or it could ruin your whole season..

 

[GT Fanatic]

One of the largest commonalities with pain behind the knee is that your saddle is too high. If it's pain in front of your knee, your saddle is too low. It also has a lot to do with your riding posture. You want to make sure your leg is facing straight; not bowed in or out.

Try this and see if it works. Also, if you have joint pain, look into glucose supplements.

 

[The_Gruber]

I had a very similar problem. As mentioned above start with bike fit. In my case I had a bike fit done before the problem. The primary cause was overuse.

It took be a very long time to recover - 3months - and this was as a result of doing too much too soon. In the end what really made a difference was resting for 2 weeks then completing a traditional base building phase on the bike at lower intensities. The gradual build up made all of the difference. Even takng it easy I would find that the area could 'twinge' - so be careful.

Another thing I did was to move my cleats back. This is meant to be helpful for upper calf / behind the knee problems.

I will say it again - it may take longer than you think to recover so take it easy.

 

[CalicoCat]

Definitely get your bike fit looked at. You don't want your equipment to be the cause of problems. However, like others have said, you probably did too much too soon, and just need to rest a little and you will be fine.

I have had various and sundry knee pains during the course of my cycling "career". They usually kick in early in the season when I do too much too soon. Often this is due to some muscle imbalances including weak and very tight hamstrings, as well as IT band problems. Rolling out my leg muscles with a foam roller or "stick" has been hugely beneficial. For pain behind your knee, focus on rolling out your hamstrings and calves. I also roll out my IT band and quads to alleviate lateral knee pain.

Good luck and feel better soon.

 

[Resistorlead]

A word of warning. I notice a common theme here of "seat too high". Be very careful about that. I had rock solid knees until one day in my 30s I was experimenting with seat height. I rode a very short distance, maybe a mile or so, with the seat maybe 1/2" higher than normal. It wasn't extreme but it wasn't right, and I quickly put it back. Though I can't be sure, I think whatever slight irritation or damage occurred that day was the start of arthritis in both knees. It caused the first real knee issues I had ever had. No doubt it would have happened anyway, but I'm convinced that "seat too high" was the trigger.

 

[Deafwolf]

This is a little late in the post, but I'll add my own experiences for FYI. When you have an inflammation problem, adding NSAIDS (Ibuprofen or Aleive) to your RICE routine can be helpful. As usual, confirm with your doctor, but 600-800 mg morning and again at night after eating (not on an empty stomach) should be fine.

I had a sharp pulling pain behind my knees when I was rowing in college. Pain flared up when I was trying to move the seat forward, not from the push. The pain actually stopped me and the 8-man boat. Fortunately, they have good trainers in college. The incident happended on a Friday morning. That day the trainer connected some electrodes to my painful muscle that stimulated contraction. They applied the electrodes, covered the muscle with ice, then turned the machine on and let me be for about 20-minutes. 1 session per day, 3 days to the weekend, and I was back in the boat pain free and at full power on Monday.

So depending the the resources avaialble to you, this is an option you can explore.