Cycling with Cartilidge Injury

worcester19

Hi All,

A bit of a strange question but do any of you guys cycle with little or no cartilidge in your knees.

I am not cycling at the moment because of a Cartilidge injury and I have been told that the only thing left to do now is to remove the cartilidge completely but I am not sure if you can cycle with no cartilidge and what further damage can be done.

Strange question but just desperate to ride at the moment!

Thanks

Stephen

lawrences

You're going to get the best answer off your doctor.

I used to have tears in my knee cartiledge but since Cycling is a relatively low impact sport I could still ride. During this time I couldn't row as that made my knee hurt.

At the end of the day whether or not you can cycle is specific to you and your injury. Your knees might grind a bit which could cause discomfort or it could hurt like fucking hell. I would say ask the doctor and don't be afraid just to give it a go and see if you can do it.

brucey72

Hi, I have suffered knee problems since my late teens due to a form of arthritis and i'm 40 now. I had about 6 or 7 keyhole surgery procedures to have cartilidge removed over the years and each time I was encouraged by my surgeon to get back on my bike as quickly as possible to avoid muscle wasting. He said that by building up the muscles around the knee there is less stress placed on the joint and as cycling is a low impact sport it was ideal for this. I had the last bit of catilidge removed from my right knee in 2008 after a tear caused my knee to lock but I went on to complete the marmotte sportive in the french alps in 2009 and 2010 so based on my experience I can't see there would be a problem with cycling although probably best to ask your doctor/surgeon first. I'm not saying I didn't have discomfort and sometimes my knees would hurt like hell in the evenings but I love cycling so just took a few painkillers and got on with it.

Unfortunately my arthritis continued to cause problems and I had to have a bi-laterla knee replacement in 2011 but I'm back on my bike and am signed up for the marmotte again this year.

Best of luck

Gabbo

lawrences wrote:

You're going to get the best answer off your doctor.

Agree and disagree. He could get an even better answer from a physiotherapist but I agree he needs to see someone in the medical field.

No point in asking us. You need to be assessed in person

Shaun67

I was a runner but had all the cartilidge removed from my left knee and most of it from my right knee along with some cleaning up of the back of my knee cap just over ten years ago now. I have no problem at all cycling both on and off road, I'm crap at running though.

worcester19

Many thanks for the replies - they have been particularly useful.

I have seen the medical practioners and the surgeon has advised that if the problem does not clear up soon then further surgery is required. He also advised about the need for a knee replacement if I continue cycling in 10 years or so- so what Bruce said I was particularly keen on.

I am 40 this year and really keen to continue cycling taking on more Sportives and have also promised myself a Cannondale Supersix when I get this sorted!

Many Thanks again for your replies

Stephen

keef66

I've had 3 ops on my knees. (twice on one knee rather than having 3 knees) Not much cartilage left in the right one. Cheery orthopod told me at the last op aged 50 that I'd need replacement knees by 60. I'm 55 now and cycle 2 or 3 times a week without any discomfort at all, so I think I'm going to prove the pessimistic bugger wrong. Cycling seems to be the best thing for my knees and my back.

Leeuw

I suffered a fairly serious impact injury on my left knee years ago - my sport was volleyball at the time which, as we were playing in the top division, meant lots of training and jumping up and down - not ideal for someone who's just split their kneecap and shredded the cartlidge inside!
Anyhoo, after a knee op to tidy up the damage, remove bits of cartlidge and generally do all they could, I had to stop jumping up and down and was told to keep working the legs and building up the quads etc to support my knee. I was quite strongly encouraged to cycle, as it's perfect for building the knee supporting muscles and is non-impact exercise.
And being the competitive type, this quickly became my new sport and I started racing again (after 12 months of leg/knee strength building). I'd raced as a kid, but never really been any good and given it up for volleyball, but I loved bike racing, got involved headlong and never looked back - and my knee is fine!!

Hope the OP has similar success!!