Is cycling bad for knees.?

gavin66

OK there may not be one simple answer to this question but as i enjoy mountain biking and have a bad knee i would like someone elses opinion as i have heard conflicting opinions in the past.My old fella has the same problem with his knobblies so i'm assuming it's heredatory and not because of pedalling.I suppose what i am hoping for is for some expert to tell me that cycling is the best thing for knees,especially now i've just shelled out a good part of my monthly wage on a new bike,,cheers.

KnightofCydonia

Getting your correct riding position is essential, ie. the height of your saddle and even depending on your height the length of your crank arms. I don't know enough to explain it all, but there's plenty here who should

stuartg

Years ago I had an operation on my knee that required a few months of physio. The physiotherapist said that both swimming and cycling were very good sports for knees and would build up the quads that support the knee joint. So go for it.

macmclaren

yea i had the same problem, i used to row from when i was 13 till about 20. For some reason one of the muscles supporting my kneecap wasweaker than the others which resulting in my kneecaps moving inwards.

My physio instructed me to tape my kneecaps into position and do plenty of cycling to build up all muscle groups.

I never looked back. 12years in the Marines and still going strong.

Mrs Toast

I had my third knee operation in ten years last year, and my consultant said that cycling could either be very good for the knees...or very bad. He said that main problem that can trigger/exacerbate knee injuries when cycling is having the saddle too low. He (and my previous surgeon) said that cycling was a great way of strengthening the knee...although I don't think mountain biking was exactly what they had in mind!

Anonymous

I would have thought cycling is fine for your knees as it's non impact. I started running a couple of months ago, people told me that would be no good for my knees and I understand why! Cycling seems fine.

Slow Downcp

Position is important, as already said if it's too high or too low it can cause problems. Also (allegedly) grinding in a high gear can cause damage. I had knee problems when I was at school (around 25 years ago) and was banned from PE, football etc due to the problems. Physio recommended cycling to help build strength - been hooked ever since.

MIchael Cummings

I've had many knee operations, given up football because of it. Tried to keep running etc, no good. Pain behind my kneecaps all the time.

Bought a bike in October last year and cycle to work every day, go off roading on a weekend and out twice during the week on an evening. Not one bit of pain in my knees.

I just wish I discovered it earlier...

The Northern Monkey

If anyone watched the DH world cup the other day, the ammount of times that Warner said "recovering from knee trouble" or "has been out due to knee problems" etc etc i'd say that the answer to the OP's question is yes. lol.

Anonymous

The whole "seat height" thing is largely irrelevant in MTBing, really, as you spend os much time standing out of the saddle anyway.

HarryJ

I tore cartilage in my knee (non biking related!), cycling is not bad for your knees at all. However particularly if you have bad knees you'll want to build up a good muscle balance around your knee, basically this means working the back of the thigh as well as the front. If you're clipped in then pedaling 'in circles' rather than squares (if that makes sense) will work your hamstring as you're pulling with your foot as well as pushing... otherwise for people like me you'll be best off doing some exercise at home or in the gym that works the hamstring.