Knee Pain?

CyclingBantam

Hi All,

I have been suffering a bit of pain on the outside of my lower left knee (I blelieve it is where my ligaments are) for a couple of days. I put this down to my saddle being slightly too low as my legs were just a bit too bent on the downstroke. I have raised my saddle now so my legs are just bent (i.e so they don't lock straight) on the down stroke.

Do you think that this will have been the cause of the problem? My cleats are not quite in the same place on my shoes (1 is about 1' further back than the other) so I didn't know if that could cause the problem. I have only experianced this after the last couple of rides.

Thanks in advance.

campagchris

Heres a little link you can use as a guide,but I'd make sure your cleats are in same posistion and straight,which cleats have you as some offer more float than others.
http://promechanics.com/resource-library/tutorials/fit/

gandhi

Sounds like you could have runners knee (ITB Friction Syndrome). I suffer from that, but it is easy to get rid of with simple stretches and strengthening exercises.

I found http://www.cptips.com/knee.htm useful for general knee pain stuff.

I'm not sure that your cleats need to be in the same position as a rule, but I think one of the main causes of ITBFS is uneven leg length, and differing cleats would simulate this.

I spent ages messing around with bike setup, then gave up and went to a physio. The stretches that I was given sorted me out in about a week (though it comes back if I stop).

Brian B

Yep definitely ITB. I have it and got it through running. By stretching I can rid of it for cycling(and thats what really matters to me) but no amount of exercise or strecthing works for me for running. I usually only suffer at this time of year and I think its because I generally up my amount of cycling as the weather gets better.

If you run benblyth - you may be agravating it. Usually for ITB lowering the saddle slightly is reccommended to avoid over stretching the leg(tendon) which reduces friction.

Good luck.

jpembroke

Yep, definitely IT Band Syndrome. Usually easily solved with a bit of saddle height adjustment.

CyclingBantam

Thanks a lot all. I have adjusted my saddle and will see how it goes next week. Roll on summer!