Runners' knee for SS-ers?

rootsrocker
rootsrocker Posts: 55
edited December 2007 in Road general
Has anyone here had this?

My knee has been very grumpy on and off for a few months now - mostly when descending stairs or twisting my leg to one side - a sharp pain behind the kneecap - also on full extension of the leg.

It seemed to flare up when riding anything other than my fixie (now SS) road bike. A ride or two on that soon cleared the problem up . I don't think it's down to saddle height etc on the other bikes - I've tried all that.

However,my leg strength has increased a lot over the past 6 months (due to the fixed) & I'm wondering if weak hamstrings/underdeveloped inner thigh muscles could be causing the kneecap to be out of alignment? I'ts' really frustrating - I've never been so fit and strong but my knee is bugging me. :(

Trouble is - it's more persistant now & I'm worried that grinding away on the SS (74") will aggravate it - although it doesn't hurt when riding and it still seems to help.....

Can anybody shed light on this at all?

Comments

  • edeverett
    edeverett Posts: 224
    Sounds like you might have Chondromalacia Patellae: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chondromalacia_patellae

    I think it's caused by changes in your quads pulling you knee cap slightly out of alignment. Go and see a competant physio therapist and they should be able to give you exercises to help. From memory, I think excersises where the leg is constrained (ie on a bike) is good for it, but don't take my word for it.

    You're symptons sound just like when I had it - about ten years ago caused by rowing. Stairs can be a real problem if you have it bad :-(

    Hope it clears up.
  • jbindman
    jbindman Posts: 1,328
    i strongly advise against making diagnoses on the web- it could be any number of conditions, not necessarily the patella. I agree a visit to a physio can be useful, but they tend to prescribe exercises so dont go unless you are prepared to take the advice & do the work!
    fgg 1666
  • rootsrocker
    rootsrocker Posts: 55
    Saw the physio - yes, it's Chondromalacia Patellae. :-( although it's not a kneecap tracking problem

    .I wish it was in a way as excercises to strenghthen the offending thigh would be fine.

    It's an overuse thing - so I'm off the bike,popping diclofenac and garnering as much information as I can to prevent it in the future.

    The only thing I'm allowed to do is swim - god,but swimming is boring!
  • ermintrude
    ermintrude Posts: 514
    Don't swim breast stroke if you have bad knees
  • MrGrumpy
    MrGrumpy Posts: 288
    lol funny you say that but ever since I had the cartlidge removed from my knee breastroke has been well hard.
    http://veloviewer.com/athlete/352771/
  • OS 65
    OS 65 Posts: 415
    I've had a grumbling left knee. It seems to get noticeable when I start training at a new level. I've had a fixie for a few months and noticed the pain started up again.

    First it was the tendon on the outside of the knee. Reducing the seat height and stretching solved that.

    The other pain was at the front of the knee. I took a closer look at my cleat position, made sure they were on the ball of my foot and angled correctly. I also adjusted my saddle position, making it closer to the handlebars, so that a plumb line intersected the pedal spindle when it was dropped down from my knee (pedals are horizontal)

    I should have done this properly when I first got the bike, but I was too lazy and wanted to get going.

    The bike is a much better fit for me now, and I feels really comfy. It also feels like I'm able to get more power down too..

    It seems like bike fit is important on a fixie because there is less scope for on bike position adjustment and the extremes of pedaling are much greater.

    OS 65

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