Bursitis and cycling

blu3cat

Hi,

Seems I have recently started to suffer from suprapatellar bursitis. Basically house-maids knee.

First flared up around 3-4 months ago, and I put it down to a failed BB, and alot of pedal slop on a commute home. Cue crutches and 6 weeks off the bike.

Re-occurred this morning, Off to see the doc again in a few days. Anyone else had experience of Bursitis and management?

veronese68

Sorry, can't help at all. I read the thread title as "Biscuits and cycling", I'm off to get some food now as it's made me realise how hungry I am.

wolfsbane2k

blu3cat wrote:

Hi,

Seems I have recently started to suffer from suprapatellar bursitis. Basically house-maids knee.

First flared up around 3-4 months ago, and I put it down to a failed BB, and alot of pedal slop on a commute home. Cue crutches and 6 weeks off the bike.

Re-occurred this morning, Off to see the doc again in a few days. Anyone else had experience of Bursitis and management?

Yeah, I tend to suffer quite badly with this, driven by a partially torn ACL, and torn cartilage, but it 's at a manageable "dull ache" level on a daily basis, rather than cronic which sounds like your is, unless something happens ( like getting taken out by a car last year)
I've been told by my doctor to NEVER use SPD's with the torn ACL, as the pedal should be on the arch of the foot to minimize pressure around the knee - whether I believe that or not, I don't know, but despite having spd shoes & pedals I actually rarely clip in.

Management? Nothing really works for me.

blu3cat

Wolfsbane2k wrote:

blu3cat wrote:

Hi,

Seems I have recently started to suffer from suprapatellar bursitis. Basically house-maids knee.

First flared up around 3-4 months ago, and I put it down to a failed BB, and alot of pedal slop on a commute home. Cue crutches and 6 weeks off the bike.

Re-occurred this morning, Off to see the doc again in a few days. Anyone else had experience of Bursitis and management?

Yeah, I tend to suffer quite badly with this, driven by a partially torn ACL, and torn cartilage, but it 's at a manageable "dull ache" level on a daily basis, rather than cronic which sounds like your is, unless something happens ( like getting taken out by a car last year)
I've been told by my doctor to NEVER use SPD's with the torn ACL, as the pedal should be on the arch of the foot to minimize pressure around the knee - whether I believe that or not, I don't know, but despite having spd shoes & pedals I actually rarely clip in.

Management? Nothing really works for me.

Hmm, regarding the management - oh b*lls. mri is the next step I think. Thanks for the info.

jimbohorizontal

Ice and heat your knee as much as you can, 5-10minutes each. Calf and hamstring stretches.

Ibuprofen or Voltarol on the particularly painful days.

Ease off use of the knee on sore days and be careful on not so sore days.

If you're doing / do any work where you're on your knees (quiet at the back), wear knee pads.

I've just had my second bout of this in 18 months.

davis

The other half has a bursitis on her greater trochanter right now. At one point she was in literal tears because of the pain, and she's definitely not a wimp. Tramadol apparently didn't touch it.

Now it's calmed down a bit, management appears to be alternating heat and ice, and ibuprofen/voltarol. She's been advised to take it very easy on the bike - no standing up on the pedals and only spinning in lower gears, and that's for 6 (yes, six) months. It's not a quick process, because if you irritate it, it becomes inflamed, and you're back to square one.

As yours is on your knee, and it /might/ have been caused by pedal slop, I'm wondering whether your knees are actually tracking up and down "cleanly". So many knee injuries seem to be treated best by increasing the stabilising muscles which protect the knee and keep it straight. I'm still trying to build up my right VMO, which is still noticeably smaller than my left 18 months after an ACL tear, and my knee still occasionally gives way when I rise from seated.

Honestly, physio (listen to them, and actually *do* the exercises), and a long wait might be the best course. It seems too easy to risk making it worse.

wolfsbane2k

davis wrote:

Honestly, physio (listen to them, and actually *do* the exercises), and a long wait might be the best course. It seems too easy to risk making it worse.

This. Most definitely this.

awavey

davis wrote:

As yours is on your knee, and it /might/ have been caused by pedal slop, I'm wondering whether your knees are actually tracking up and down "cleanly". So many knee injuries seem to be treated best by increasing the stabilising muscles which protect the knee and keep it straight. I'm still trying to build up my right VMO, which is still noticeably smaller than my left 18 months after an ACL tear, and my knee still occasionally gives way when I rise from seated.
.

yeah my knees have always been problematic and used to swell up horribly after a ride, and still have a nasty tendency to give way sometimes, which inevitably leads to you banging them into something again and causing more grief.

but one of my friends who does alot of half marathons & running, suggested the problem was probably the knee wasnt stable enough and I needed to build those stabilising muscles to protect it more.

and tbf they were right,I still have to be careful when its cold and know when to take time off the bike, but its alot better than it was a decade ago.

blu3cat

thank you all very much for the advice.

As soon as I can walk without crutches, I am going to do some strengthening exercises.

I went to the docs today, and I am lucky enough to get private medical through work, so I have a consultation with a orthopedic consultant to book.

itboffin

I had one on my knee for about 18 months and went frequently to get it drained which was lovely for a few days until it refilled anyway I had an op booked to have the sack removed for good and would you believe a fecking ninja MTB knocked me off right onto that knee, it burst with zero pain, gone and never came back, mind you I have a small dip in the knee which no matches the other knee where I crashed and took out the opposite one.

blu3cat

appointment booked for tomorrow, let's see what happens. I am encouraged that other people have overcome it.

blu3cat

So a quick trip to the consultant revealed suspected earlier mis-diagnosis, looks like it may be the quadracep tendinopathy. Cycling likely to be out of the question for a while

kimmingh

I found your site by searching for advise on cycling with bursitis. I am also one who rarely finds relief from volataren and company but was surprised after trying naproxen. It actually works. It is sold under the Bayer product Aleve. Though always check with a physician about long term medication.