Hi all - for those who are interested, here is the thread introducing the tendinitis issues I was having with my right knee and some questions I had asked this forum.
http://www.cyclingforums.com/t337910.html
Well, several weeks later here's what's happened.
- Several weeks of therapy helped the knee get better and stronger...
- Switched to shorter cranks, BUT I had two bike fitters LOWER my seat...they said it was too high to begin with...Both lowered it about 1/2 - 3/4 inch to get my knee bend to the "proper" 30 degrees. As you can imagine, this was quite a drastic change in my leg extension.
- Progressed in my physical therapy to doing squats and leg presses with free weights.
- 2.5 weeks ago I did a hard leg workout, then rode easy the next day with my bike position described above...Result? Significant pain and swelling in the knee...however, this was a different pain...not centralized on the tendon but more over the entire knee.
So in the past 2.5 weeks I have halted riding, any leg work, got back on the anti-inflammatories, and asked my physician to do an MRI. I got one, and lo and behold, it's not patellar tendinitis - its Chondromalacia - the cartilage behind my knee is quite rough, causing lots of irritation. Doc says this won't really change my therapy routine that much. He encouraged continuing on inflammatories, start riding again slowly, and that over time the cartilage would get smoother. Most positively, he said not to worry too much about tearing or doing damage to the tendon itself. He said the pain won't go away for quite some time, so the key was managing pain while not stressing it too much.
I'll contact my therapist to see if there are any additional therapy exercises I can do.
that's it...will keep you guys updated if I ever find the magic cure. I really miss training and racing.
Mark
http://www.cyclingforums.com/t337910.html
Well, several weeks later here's what's happened.
- Several weeks of therapy helped the knee get better and stronger...
- Switched to shorter cranks, BUT I had two bike fitters LOWER my seat...they said it was too high to begin with...Both lowered it about 1/2 - 3/4 inch to get my knee bend to the "proper" 30 degrees. As you can imagine, this was quite a drastic change in my leg extension.
- Progressed in my physical therapy to doing squats and leg presses with free weights.
- 2.5 weeks ago I did a hard leg workout, then rode easy the next day with my bike position described above...Result? Significant pain and swelling in the knee...however, this was a different pain...not centralized on the tendon but more over the entire knee.
So in the past 2.5 weeks I have halted riding, any leg work, got back on the anti-inflammatories, and asked my physician to do an MRI. I got one, and lo and behold, it's not patellar tendinitis - its Chondromalacia - the cartilage behind my knee is quite rough, causing lots of irritation. Doc says this won't really change my therapy routine that much. He encouraged continuing on inflammatories, start riding again slowly, and that over time the cartilage would get smoother. Most positively, he said not to worry too much about tearing or doing damage to the tendon itself. He said the pain won't go away for quite some time, so the key was managing pain while not stressing it too much.
I'll contact my therapist to see if there are any additional therapy exercises I can do.
that's it...will keep you guys updated if I ever find the magic cure. I really miss training and racing.
Mark
