Knee problem after 110 mile ride

chris1001

Hi,

I did a fairly long ride a couple of weeks ago (110 miles & 8000ft of climbing), right knee didnt feel too good after the event but wasnt actually hurting (its never been 100% since a cycling accident as a kid). I then did a weeks worth of commute - about 90 miles, followed by 4 days rest from cycling. However after getting on the bike a couple of days ago I've now developed a 'crunching' feeling from the knee joint, its generally the right knee and only felt if pushing down on the tissue directly above the knee cap whilst moving the joint through its full range. Is this something that is likely to clear with just anti-inflammatory gels, or do I need to rest it completely? Its generally been ok in the morning until the early afternoon. Maybe its fairly common after covering these distances & hills.

I'm hoping that its just down to some over exertion and will recover fairly quickly, got a 60 mile charity ride in 5 days time that I dont want to miss if possible, but then again I dont want to do any further damage. Got an appointment with the doc on Friday, but have little faith in getting either an effective diagnosis or treatment from my GP.

Cheers.

Runner2Cycling

I had something similar after the Dragon ride (121 miles, 10,000+ ft of climbing) - my left knee would give way when bending it to sit down or stand up - although that only lasted a day or so - then it was quite sore on subsequent rides until I tried a treatment suggested by a friend - and that is rubbing in Aloe Vera gel several times a day.
I did the Great Western sportive last Sunday and the knee was fine during and after and seems to be back to full working order - but I'm still using the gel to make sure .....

Xommul

Hi There,

I used to have problems with my knees when i was younger, they kept giving way during sport.

The solution which worked for me was to complete exercises for my knees to build up the muscle and eat food with natural oils to naturally lubricate the joints in my body.

This had the result to strengthen my legs and joints and keep them supple.

Another very important thing not to forget is stretching, ensure after long rides you trat your body to the things it needs. Rest, nutrition and stretching. You cant expect it not to have a few aches and pains but anything very bad should be treated by a Dr.

Xom

vorsprung

If you have 5 days there is a chance it will clear up

Do RICE

rest..do not ride

Ice...use an ice pack on it. When I did in my achilles I was using an ice pack on it morning and evening for about 10 minutes at a time

Compression... get a tubigrip bandage from boots and wear it all the time

Elevation... try to sleep with the knee raised above the rest of the body

Hot baths are also good.

When are are back on the bike, do not use big gears. Do stretch after riding

chris1001

Cheers, I'll give that lot a try as of this evening, as I commuted on my bike today - just to see what would happen. Took it very steady with high cadence, low resistance. The crunching feeling seemed to have gone by the time I got to work, maybe the excercise softened or warmed the cartlidge or something, however now its had time to rest its aching again and certainly not right. Will let it rest, the weather is looking bloody awful anyway for the next few days.

Cheers.