Knee pain

Gazza 2905

On Saturday June 16th I cycled round the Isle of Wight covering a total distance of about 73 miles. Unfortunately, for about the last half dozen miles or so I had a pain on the outside edge of my left knee. I wasn't unduly concerned at the time, however, as it was the furthest distance I had ever covered on a bike, & I had expected some aches & pains at the end of the day anyway. The pain increased during the evening, but after a good nights sleep it felt fine in the morning [:)]

I rested for the next 7 days (no cycling whatsoever) before my next ride on Saturday 23rd, the 66 mile Solent Challenge. Unfortunately, the same pain on the outside edge of the left knee started to reoccur after only 4 or 5 miles [:(]. I soldiered on bravely (foolishly?), but throughout the day the pain became gradually worse. I was fortunate that the ride involves 6 ferry crossings in total, which gave me some time to rest the knee.

Specifically, the pain is not in the area of the kneecap itself, but on the outside edge of the leg, inline with the knee. It starts at the top of the pedal stroke (12 o'clock), & continues as I straighten the knee out & the pedal turns anti-clockwise downwards to about the 7 o'clock position.

A quick search on the internet has lead me to an armchair diagnosis of a strained lateral collateral ligament. See picture:

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/gazza2905/knee_web_MD.jpg

I would welcome anybody's opinions & advice of course, as I am no expert! Assuming I am right, I would like to know: how long will it take to repair? & is there anything I can do to accelerate the healing process?

As a matter of interest also; the first ride was on my racing bike & the second was on my mountain bike, so I don't think it's a question of bike set-up, just the action of pedalling!

Thanks,

Gary.

jpembrokecp

Sounds like like classic IT Band Syndrome. I used to get the same really badly until I a) dropped the saddle height by a few mm, and b) ensured that my toes pointed outwards by adjusting the cleat angle. Never had the problem since. I'll try to find a good link for you.

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well, yes <i>and</i> no......but mainly no.

jpembrokecp

Try this:

http://www.cptips.com/knee.htm

Helped me.

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well, yes <i>and</i> no......but mainly no.

Gazza 2905

Thanks very much, I had a quick skim read & it looks very useful. I've printed it off & I shall study it in detail tonight.

I definitely need to check my cleat alignment.

Cheers.

Gazza 2905

Well, having digested plenty of information from the internet, it looks like I do indeed have IT Band Syndrome.

I was just wondering if anyone else out there has any first hand experience of this condition & could offer me any guidance.

I intend to rest completely for 2 weeks, undertake a regime of stretching exercises, and check the cleat alignment of my pedals.

At the moment my knee is pain free, but occasionally it aches & twinges when I am sat still for a long time. I fear that it will start hurting again as soon as I resume cycling, & that is exactly what I want to avoid! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Gary.

Uranus

I know that for me the Q factor is an issue. The nearer I can get my feet to the centreline, the further I can go before I get twinges. On my mountain bike, with a triple and splayed cranks it can be as little as 10 miles! My feet might only be an inch or so further apart, but I really notice the difference compared to my racing bike with a narrowish double crankset.

Some kind of canting wedges between shoe and pedal might help, I've not really investigated this yet though, just a thought I had.

Unknown

Lots of good advice posted here, but if you aren't getting anywhere with your self-help approach then it is worth forking out to see a physio. When you find one who knows about cycling they can be really helpful. I had persistent knee pain for months - with a physio's help it improved very quickly.

Hopefully you'll be able to successfully self-diagnose and treat. Good luck!

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Unknown

I had a lot of knee problems following an event called the Caledonian Challange, 54 miles over Scottish hills on foot in a oner. knees knackered until a course of physio and core muscle excercises.
Really helped.


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toontra

I had IT Band Syndrome on my left knee when I rapidly increased my cycling from regular (long) commuting to doing hill training and long rides. It was bloody painfull - the outside of my left knee swelled up into a huge bump and I could barely walk for a day or so. It was so bad I went to accident & emergency!

I was given muscle stretching and strengthening excercises and, together with gradualy increasing training over a period of months, I haven't had any IT Band problems for over 2 years. So with proper management it is an easily cured problem with no lasting effects IME.

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there's no such thing as steep hills - just the wrong gear

monty_dogcp

If it's safe to do so, you could take anti-inflammatories such as Ibruprofen and glucosamine can be helpful to 'lubricate' the soft tissues. If there's still swelling, application of ice packs can help too. I had knee problems a few years ago and regular treatment helped to accelerate recovery.

Gazza 2905

Thanks for all the contributions everybody, lots of very helpful, & above all, reassuring advice [:)].

I intend to start some very light cycling next week, gradually building the distance & intensity back up. I have no intentions of any more long rides this year, so hopefully everything will be ok.

If I do get any reoccurrence of the pain, I shall seek out the help of a proper physio as recommended.

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to post, it really is appreciated, & has helped me feel more positive about the problem [:)].

Gary.

bassounds

There's lots of great info on IT ban syndrome out there. Definitely look up IT Band stretches on google- there are many, and in my experience, the tightness of my IT band was the underlying problem causing the pain.

I have had a great experience with using cleats and pedals with "float". I used to get awful IT Band pain with SPD cleats, but after switching to speedplays, I have been pain free. (I am not a stakeholder in speedplay or anything). It does cost money to replace your cleats, but if you still have pain with stretching, this may be the way to go. Worked for me. Good luck.

Axel_Knutt

I had recurring knee problems for 20 odd years. About 5 years ago I solved it virtually overnight when I got round to comparing how many calories cycling uses with how many calories I was eating. Last Saturday I did 66 miles with only a packet of biscuits to eat after I forgot to take my sandwiches out of the fridge in the morning. Now I'm limping around with sore knees again.....