knees and tight leggings/long bibshorts

neeb
neeb Posts: 4,467
This may sound like a daft idea, but is it possible that moderately tight full length bibshorts could aggravate a pre-existing sensitive knee? Does anyone have direct experience of this?

Towards the end of last year I started to develop a pain/irritation to the left (inside) of my right kneecap that seemed to flare up consistently after about 25 miles of cycling. The strange thing is that I don't seem to get it when I do similar distances on the indoor trainer, which (apart from a short commute) has been my main form of training during the winter (I'm living in Finland).

Now I think about it, it started to occur at the time I began wearing new full length bib shorts and when temperatures started to fall below 10C. Indoors I wear normal shorts (i.e. above the knee) and the temperature is obviously higher. My first thought was that the low temperatures were a factor, but just today I noticed that the knee was flaring up a bit just after wearing the longs indoors without actually cycling... It would seem bizarre that the minimal pressure on the knee caused by the leggings could be the problem, but perhaps if it is forcing a tendon/ligament or the kneecap itself to track slightly differently...? Before buying the long bibs I used looser leggings over shorts when it was colder.

Comments

  • ut_och_cykla
    ut_och_cykla Posts: 1,594
    A possibility if you already ahave a inflammation tendency that gets more irritated by the tight fitting clothing. Tendons running over bones might not track as tehyshould for instance - long shot tho'?