ligament damage on single speed?

sameasiteverwas

I think I need some advice. I ride a single speed road bike (46x18) and recently have been training up to do longer rides. After longer training rides, including pretty sharp hills, I've felt a dull tightness at the top of my right calf which normally lasted a few days. I've tried lowering the saddle but to no effect, and it doesn't happen to the left leg at all.

Yesterday however after a long ride I was climbing the stairs when I heard an audible pop and felt a snapping sensation just under the back of the right knee. It's now feeling quite painful (like a dull bruised pain) and it seems to really dislike when I go from sitting to standing with weight through the leg.

My GP is rubbish and never interested in muscle problems. Anyone know what this problem could be?
And should I be thinking of trading to a geared bike?
thanks

bearfraser

GET !!!!! to the Doctor ASAP could be potentially a ripped ligament (or not but better to be on the safe side and surley you can see one of the other practice doctors )

GiantMike

Hello, is that the Doctor? Good. I've got a terrible pain in my leg that I think may need some kind of expert to diagnose and treat first hand. I've tried posting my symptoms to a bunch of untrained opinionistas on the internet, but it still hurts. As I pay taxes for NHS Doctors to be trained, would you mind awfully if I brought my damaged leg to you so you could have a look at it?

sameasiteverwas

Hi GiantMike,
Thanks for that. I guess you're a great guy once people get to know you, but it probably takes a while. I posted cos I just don't think my doctor is going to give me much advice on how to adjust my gearing.

Thanks bearfraser, I'll get it checked out tonight at the walk-in. Hopefully it's just rest and ice for a few days. I'm more concerned about how to avoid it in future which is where the untrained opinionistas like Mike usually shine.

Skippy2309

sounds like you use one leg more than the other, are you riding single speed with free wheel or fixed gear?

i rode with a free wheel and found one leg was working harder try riding fixed. may need to increase the rear cog tho till your used to it but you will find your pedal stroke improves and your spinning skill will also improve.


But from what it sounds like you need to go to the doctor and annoy them. I hurt my knee in September last year, after 4 trips to the doctor I got referred, then an appointment a month till i received surgery on the 7th of June. It may be worth doing a little reading on muscles and ligaments, I had to pretty much make the doc get the book out to check what i was saying before he would refer me.

honestly its IMPOSSIBLE to say whats wrong. It could be anything from the gastroc-nemus to the hamstring muscle wise, could be tendon, miniscus or even ligament damage, generally your not looking at medial collatoral or lateral collatoral ligaments, but you could of done the ACL or PCL which run front to back - but as i said you need someone to get their hands on the knee and check it out.

GiantMike

sameasiteverwas wrote:

Hi GiantMike,
Thanks for that. I guess you're a great guy once people get to know you, but it probably takes a while. I posted cos I just don't think my doctor is going to give me much advice on how to adjust my gearing.

You're right. Guilty as charged, except the bit about being a great guy.

sameasiteverwas wrote:

My GP is rubbish and never interested in muscle problems. Anyone know what this problem could be?

Your Doctor probably knows nothing about gearing, or even cycling. However, NOBODY on here know anything about medicine. Your Doctor is a better place to start to resolve this issue.

So, if I had an audible pop at the back of my knee and felt a snapping sensation, I'd be thinking about the popping noise and the snapping sensation rather than whether to go to 46x19. I'd then be going to the Docs to get his expert opinion and see whether it is likely to be related to the cycling or something else. I'd probably ask him to have a feel around and refer to one of his books. Your injury could be serious or minor. It could be related to cycling or climbing stairs or just 'one of those things'. It could be a result of lifting children in and out of a car seat for example, being a latent injury aggravated by cycling, but not directly caused by it. It could require you to have a rest period rather than lowering your seat 3mm and slogging up the hills again. Just a thought.

chrishd883

I understand how you feel about your doctor.

Try to find a good physio in your local area to diagnose the problem.
If you can't affor the course of "private treatment" then just go for an assessment session.
Should cost around £30 - £40 and they should be able to write a referral letter for your doctor.

Once you know what is wrong - we may be able to work out the cause!

mz__jo

Speaking from experience, GPs can't expect to be experts on knee problems. Keep at it but try to see a specialist and be prepared mentally for a long period of treatment (with luck it won't be) and learn to recognise the difference between good pain (from training) and bad pain (from doing yourself harm) if you don't know already. If your doctor advises a treatment which obviously isn't working, go back and tell him so!
Don't try to find a solution in your position on the bike if the problem is medical, you might ease the pain but you won't cure the problem.

andysol

I would def get refered to a physio (NHS one even). They can asses wtf is going on. Mine even discussed what I was riding, cleats, saddle height etc.

But having said that my IT Band problem started when i went to SS and changed my road bike climbing style from seated to standing. It caused alot of stress on my knee.

Im now restricted to sitting down and spinning for a while.

SS will put mor stress on joints, particularly up hill. As i feel compelled to keep moving my legs at a high tempo.
Andy