Back of knee pain

Kieran_Burns

As above - my left knee is really painful at the moment, but only at the back. If I walk every time I move my left leg forward I get a really sharp pain across the whole of the back of the knee.

I've made no adjustments to the bike and changed nothing in my routine - any ideas? Also what can I do to alleviate the pain?

Pufftmw

Hi m8

Is your leg stiff or tight when straight? Is there a small lump behind the knee?

Gussio

Might be something, might be nothing. If it is something, better to treat it sooner rather than later. Dude, go see the doc (for peace of mind if nothing else).

Kieran_Burns

the knee hurts when the leg is straightened - no lumps that I can feel.

andrewjoseph

The only bike related thing i can think of is saddle too high, but you've made no adjustments.

have you done a long ride lately where maybe your form deteriorated slightly and caused the left heel to drop?

none bike related: have you been lying on the sofa with one leg out straight for long periods?

paddlemyowncanoe

You have irritated your hamstring as you are over-reaching slightly. Drop the saddle 0.5cm.

Tell us if you get any improvement.

ride_whenever

You've made no adjustments so there is no obvious trigger, the best thing to do is go see a sports physio (a good one) and get an assessment. In all likelihood as you're getting more conditioned to the bike you're developing muscle imbalances.

Obviously stretching hip flexors, doing glute activation exercises and stretching your hamstrings wont hurt. But ideally you want a sports physio.

GP's are generally useless for sports injuries as their sole advice, in my experience, is rest. This might solve the symptoms but wont deal with the cause so as soon as you start riding again it'll flair up.

Kieran_Burns

I'm going to take a short run out on the bike this evening and see if I am rolling on the saddle at all.

For the life of me I can't see how I would now have the saddle too high (unless it's all the extra padding from the extra winter layers ) but frankly it's the only explanation that makes any sense.

Pufftmw

Reason I ask is that I suffered for a while last year from a Baker's Cyst ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker's_cyst ). It was OK to ride but it sometimes caused it to flare up. Walking was painful and for ages after the swelling went down, there was pain when I straightened my leg. It felt a bit like the back of my leg was under tension all the time.

mateotu

Yeah, the cause could equally be a functional shortening of the right leg, e.g. a tight right hamstring, if you are right sided. Subconsciously changing position to protect the 'most important' leg is common. Hip drop and roll is very hard to detect, can you get someone to watch while you ride on the turbo?

If there is some ankle flex in your pedalling style, then it could also be calf tightness, a loose cleat, or even a worn-out pedal bearing. Measure your current setup before you try any changes, and if you can't fix it easily then +1 for the sports physio. IME these things don't just go away.

KnightOfTheLongTights

I get this soreness in the ligaments behind the knee, but only really feel it when running the day after a ride. As I don't ride a lot compared to real cyclists, I just put it down to my legs not being used to the unusual demands of the cycling action.

Kieran_Burns

Saw the Doctor today and have a level 3 torn hamstring :?

(on a scale of 1-5)

Mixed feelings really as I'm now on some seriously strong pain killers / anti-inflammatorys which come with all sorts of dire warnings about indigestion and MUST be taken with food :shock:

However - as a middle-aged and somewhat over-weight bloke, to get a full-on proper sports injury makes me all (sniff) proud.... 8)

So off the bike (completely) for at least 2 weeks while the damn thing heals properly - you are all hereby allowed to shout at me lots and remove my bikes if I am caught out on them before the two weeks are up.

I'll be the one limping along at the back....

andrewjoseph

glad it's being sorted, now lower the seat.

Kieran_Burns

andrewjoseph wrote:

glad it's being sorted, now lower the seat.

I did, I did - legs were properly off full extension on Monday. Unfortunately the damage had been done by then.

These painkillers REALLY work though. The leg just feels tight this morning. I'm going to take all my kit home with me this evening, just to stop me being tempted to pootle in one morning.

Jay dubbleU

Kieran_Burns wrote:

andrewjoseph wrote:

glad it's being sorted, now lower the seat.

I did, I did - legs were properly off full extension on Monday. Unfortunately the damage had been done by then.

These painkillers REALLY work though. The leg just feels tight this morning. I'm going to take all my kit home with me this evening, just to stop me being tempted to pootle in one morning.

Sympathy - but at least you'll be fit by the time the weather gets better