Help my knee has gone!

Spinfaster

I have been training for the wiggle cheshire cat that is on this Sunday, i have entered the 100 mile sportive, 8 days ago whilst out on a ride my left knee felt like it had become badly bruised. I rested it for most of last week and went out this Sunday to test the water and last night and all today i have not been able to even bend my leg or move about on it!
Any advice on what i can do? i have been using ibuforen gel and bought a knee strap, also keeping my leg straight and trying not to use it!
Really been looking forward to this weekend and now i think i may not be able to take part
Any advice or reccomendations would be great
Thanks all
Chris

bondurant

Where on your knee is the pain? One of the sides? Above or below the kneecap?

Bet it's ITB (pain on the outside of the knee) but you should really take it to a physio.

marcusjb

Well, it's most likely a positioning thing - and there's quite a number of variables (saddle height, saddle fore/aft position, saddle tilt, cleat position) - so you need to describe where in the knee the pain is (and is it only in one?).

If you can't bend your knee - sadly you should consider seeing a doctor or a physio.

Finally - and you won't want to hear this - unless you get a miracle cure before the weekend, you'll have to consider not starting. You could easily make things a lot worse (especially if you haven't been able to pinpoint what is wrong with your position) and rule yourself out for many more weeks. There's always other sportives to ride (and hopefully in better weather!).

I wish you luck in your recovery!

ShutUpLegs

^^whs
*This assumes you've not changed your set up

wishitwasallflat

Go to your Doctor or a HPC registered Physio - they will examine your knee and either treat you or refer you for specialist treatment or assessment if needed. This is a great forum but its no substitute for consultation with medical profesionals.

Spinfaster

The pain is in my left knee, on the outside of the knee cap, feels like it is just under the skin, on the ball of my knee (hard to describe this sorry). It feels like it is bruised and hurts if i even try and rub it, i cannot even kneel on it on my bed.
I went to the doctors today but there where 50+ people already in there waiting. So i just came home.
The worst part is i had 10 weeks off the bike just before Christmas and went to see a doctor and had physio on my right knee as this was causing me huge pain to push down with my right knee! (this pain was on the inside of my knee cap though, totally different to the pain i have in my left one know!) What i had before was ITB, i think this is the right term as mentioned in a post above.
I have stripped my bike down a few weeks ago to clean it but i took measurements of everything and have put it all back as it was. (thinking on it, the only adjustment that could have been made were the seat height, the positioning of the seat and the angle, however these are all back as they where, the cleats have not been adjusted, i keep a close eye on these to make sure they dont come loose at any time.
After running through all the above factors i dont see how my knee can have just gone into this pain from nothing!
Cheers all

foxydan

Hi,

I feel for you. I am suffering from knee problems myself (ITB) and have done in the past. It really is a bumper and last week had to do the Wiltshire wildcat with my knee problem. Only way is to see a physio like others have said. I am now seeing one and getting treatment for mine.

Hope you get that miracle cure!

pride4ever

FFS dont ask anyone on here. Go to the Docs and he might put you on to a sports physio if he thinks its purely sports related. Knees are a barsteward and need serious monitoring to find the real reason behind the pain. Ive had a knee injury recently that I put down to slight changes in set up only to finally realise it was caused by climbing out of a low seated van and putting all my weight on my knee while twisting it slightly outwards.

wishitwasallflat

Knees are complex - the mechanical analogy of balancing two pencils with rubbers on the end on top of each other and then get the system to move and weight bear illustrates the demands nicely - this is a great forum but see an HPC registered Physio

PS - If you lived near me I'd gladly check it out for you for nowt but ...

Spinfaster

Thanks all i will get on the phone to the physio i saw at christmas first thing tomorow!
Cheers

Grill

Sounds like your IT band. Get a foam roller and hurt yourself on it for a while. If it persists go see a doctor or physio.

Oh and get your saddle height and cleat alignment sorted.

goonz

All good advice above, it doesn't sound like simple overuse so definitely go see a physio!

Brian B

Seriously if its your IT Band then RICE its the best option until you have no pain at all.

Is it worse when descending stairs?

The ITB is usually more common in runners( I can get it after 1mile, 2miles 1/2 without warning but luckily does not affect my cycling). With the IT Band you have to stop straight away or you may scar the tissue for good.

Miss out the GP and move straight to a sports clinic and get a decent opinion and more importantly some good advice/treatment.

Spinfaster

Brian B wrote:

Seriously if its your IT Band then RICE its the best option until you have no pain at all.

Is it worse when descending stairs?

The ITB is usually more common in runners( I can get it after 1mile, 2miles 1/2 without warning but luckily does not affect my cycling). With the IT Band you have to stop straight away or you may scar the tissue for good.

Miss out the GP and move straight to a sports clinic and get a decent opinion and more importantly some good advice/treatment.

RICE??
Seems to be no worse when descending compared to ascending, seems at its worst when i kneel right down for example to get food from the cupboard and them have to open my leg right out again, thats when it is at its worst all the way through till my leg is straight again!
I had ITB in my right leg last year, this made walking up and down stairs painfull as it seemed to be triggerd mostly by putting pressure on the ball of my foot.
This is a different pain to that totally, more higher up in the leg and my knee hurts to touch, i never had this problem last year!
Cheers
Chris

goonz

I have heard foam rolers are good for ITB is that correct?

I am contemplating getting one to massage my legs after a ride. Anyone have any experience of one?

Brian B

RICE = Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation.

Does not sound like ITB and therefore would seek advice but would go a to sports physio and also get your bike set up looked at. Skip the GP as they are great but for injury specific they may understand what the issue is but wont really offer any treatment that will help.

I have read in magazines over the years that an incorrect bike set up may take years to cause issues.

Hope you get back to normal soon.

keef66

RICE is now Rest Ice Comfortable support and Elevation.. Don't go constricting something that's trying to swell. Ooer missus!

I'm thinking it sounds more like some damaged meniscal cartilage interfering with the joint. Some X-rays and scans then a professional hands-on diagnosis required I'm afraid.

simonhead

Re the foam rollers, i use one after a ride as well as both before and after rugby and it certainly helps. The Mrs bought a DVD with a load of instructions on how to do it properly and i followed that the first few times and now just do my own short routine. Find the hamstring and lower back roles particularly useful.

Dezza

I'm in the same boat.

I've spent the last two months hitting the hills to train for Southern Spring sportive this Sunday. However, after last sunday both knees gave up and my right blew up after I got home. The swelling is just to the inside of the knee cap (to the left looking down at my right knee). It feels like my knee caps are being pulled outwards.

I've spent the week icing and taking ibuprofen to reduce the swelling and have booked in for physio + bikefit tomorrow (horse bolted and all that).

I think my chance for the sportive this weekend is pretty much nil

Has anyone else experienced an injury in the same location?

chaycurtin

Dezza wrote:

I'm in the same boat.

I've spent the last two months hitting the hills to train for Southern Spring sportive this Sunday. However, after last sunday both knees gave up and my right blew up after I got home. The swelling is just to the inside of the knee cap (to the left looking down at my right knee). It feels like my knee caps are being pulled outwards.

I've spent the week icing and taking ibuprofen to reduce the swelling and have booked in for physio + bikefit tomorrow (horse bolted and all that).

I think my chance for the sportive this weekend is pretty much nil

Has anyone else experienced an injury in the same location?

I had the same condition you are describing. Massive pain in my right knee. I did this by overtraining around Christmas time.
I have spent a lot of time stretching my leg muscles/physio and a few other exercises to strengthen my VMO muscle. I think this was the route of my issues, but to be fair im really not sure.
I had more or less 6 - 8 weeks off the bike which felt like a year. Fortunately now, it has fixed its self and im able to keep the training up.
One thing I will say is don't rush back into it. I thought 1 - 2 weeks would be enough for it to fix its self but oh how I was wrong.

Dezza

chaycurtin wrote:

I had the same condition you are describing. Massive pain in my right knee. I did this by overtraining around Christmas time.
I have spent a lot of time stretching my leg muscles/physio and a few other exercises to strengthen my VMO muscle. I think this was the route of my issues, but to be fair im really not sure.
I had more or less 6 - 8 weeks off the bike which felt like a year. Fortunately now, it has fixed its self and im able to keep the training up.
One thing I will say is don't rush back into it. I thought 1 - 2 weeks would be enough for it to fix its self but oh how I was wrong.

Thanks for the heads up... makes you wonder why we do this to ourselves :?

Sorry for the threadjack BTW.

Spinfaster

Dezza wrote:

chaycurtin wrote:

I had the same condition you are describing. Massive pain in my right knee. I did this by overtraining around Christmas time.
I have spent a lot of time stretching my leg muscles/physio and a few other exercises to strengthen my VMO muscle. I think this was the route of my issues, but to be fair im really not sure.
I had more or less 6 - 8 weeks off the bike which felt like a year. Fortunately now, it has fixed its self and im able to keep the training up.
One thing I will say is don't rush back into it. I thought 1 - 2 weeks would be enough for it to fix its self but oh how I was wrong.

Thanks for the heads up... makes you wonder why we do this to ourselves :?

Sorry for the threadjack BTW.

No worry about the jumping in the thread, thats what they are here for. BTW I had exactly the same issue you have described in your right knee. I had this in November last year and it took about ten weeks before i could get back on the bike again, i went to see a physio who gave me a plan on stretches to do, I still have the print out some where. If you are still having trouble then i can scan the page and email it to you if you would like. just let me know.

goonz

May I just comment on the use of foam rollers, mine arrived today and was a bit apprehensive using it first but once I checked youtube began using it and at first IT HURT!!!! but although a few spots are still sore from where I gave extra pressure my legs feel much looser already. I recommend all cyclists to get one, as its really useful for ITbands, calfves, thighs etc. All areas of high tension for us.

All those areas hurt a lot but for me it was mainly the calves and hence needed extra concentration there. Feeling better already but will be doing it daily this week and seeing how it feels.

For £15 cant go wrong really.

Spinfaster

goonz wrote:

May I just comment on the use of foam rollers, mine arrived today and was a bit apprehensive using it first but once I checked youtube began using it and at first IT HURT!!!! but although a few spots are still sore from where I gave extra pressure my legs feel much looser already. I recommend all cyclists to get one, as its really useful for ITbands, calfves, thighs etc. All areas of high tension for us.

All those areas hurt a lot but for me it was mainly the calves and hence needed extra concentration there. Feeling better already but will be doing it daily this week and seeing how it feels.

For £15 cant go wrong really.

Any chance that you could send me a link to where you have got this from?
Thanks

goonz

Amazon, just type in foam roller, loads will pop up. Mine is the 66fit 15X90cm from Physioworld. Very sturdy foam. I ordered it yesterday arrived today free delivery, pretty neat.

Spinfaster

goonz wrote:

Amazon, just type in foam roller, loads will pop up. Mine is the 66fit 15X90cm from Physioworld. Very sturdy foam. I ordered it yesterday arrived today free delivery, pretty neat.

Thanks for that

goonz

No problems, let me know how you find it when you get it. Be prepared for some pain though!

cheaterkiller

I side kicked someone in the head in a fight sometime last year. A few hours after the fight my knee started hurtin a bit under use. Cleared up in a few days so I figured I just strained a muscle or something. OP should be fine.

ooermissus

cheaterkiller wrote:

I side kicked someone in the head in a fight sometime last year. A few hours after the fight my knee started hurtin a bit under use. Cleared up in a few days so I figured I just strained a muscle or something. OP should be fine.

A warrior and a doctor.