Tendon niggle in one of my legs.... Rest or go easy?

imafatman

On Sunday I noticed a little pain behind my left knee, feels like one of my tendons and it's noticeable on the upstroke as I lift my leg. I don't feel any pain on the downstroke.

I had a 4 day break and went out yesterday. Was feeling fine until about 50km and then it started hurting again, this time a bit more than before.

I am pretty sure in both cases it happened following me doing a couple of full gas sprints. I have had a decent bike fit and have done many long (100-130km) rides before without feeling this pain so I'm confident it's not a fit issue.

So question is: Should I take more rest days? Or just take it easy and do some recovery rides?

sloppyschleckonds

imafatman wrote:

I am pretty sure in both cases it happened following me doing a couple of full gas sprints.

Are we talking Strava KOM chasing sprints, or SCR?

VamP

If, and it is a big IF, it is a tendon issue they don't tend to heal by resting. Instead progressive rehab with a course of eccentric exercises (not goat herding , but the opposite of concentric) is likely to be be your best way forward.

However, you need a solid diagnosis. I'd recommend seeking out a good physio.

imafatman

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

Are we talking Strava KOM chasing sprints, or SCR?

I'm a long way from getting a KOM, not unless I build my own private road and set a time on it.....

No this is just me sprinting for the sake of it. I'll be riding along and for whatever reason I'm feeling particularly energetic so I just put the hammer down and go.

VamP wrote:

If, and it is a big IF, it is a tendon issue they don't tend to heal by resting. Instead progressive rehab with a course of eccentric exercises (not goat herding , but the opposite of concentric) is likely to be be your best way forward.

However, you need a solid diagnosis. I'd recommend seeking out a good physio.

Thanks for the reply. I've booked in with my physio for next week and will see what they think.

buckles

What happens when you lie on your back and lift your leg up with your leg straight? Any sensation in the tendon that's visible on the rear outer side of your knee?

I had a bike fit too, started having knee niggles and then after a few months experienced sharp pain during an uphill sprint at the end of a race. Turned out to be biceps femoris tendinopathy.

Believe me, you don't want to end up with it. Reduce your volume and intensity now and strengthen the tendon. If it is your biceps femoris (hamstring) then Nordic hamstring curls may help. They've allowed me to get back on my bike with no pain after four years of constant pain. Also if you have tight hip flexors, that may be contributing to hamstring strain. Get the hip flexors stretched regularly, but it might be a good idea to avoid stretching the hamstrings - that made mine worse.

Obviously see what the physio has to say rather than taking my advice - your knee issue could be for a completely different reason than mine was.

buckles

https://youtu.be/TO47AQuYphE

I do 24 of these every few days. 3 sets of 8 or 2 of 12. Work really well for me.

imafatman

Thanks for the reply feller is much appreciated. I do have tight hamstrings and hip flexors so this is all making sense.

I don't feel pain in the tendon when I do that stretch as you describe, but only when my hamstring is working. So if I tense my leg and lift.

I went out on Sunday.... kept it medium intensity and didn't feel any pain. I stupidly carried onto 100km and on the final 5km it started hurting again. From my reading it seems the pain sets in once you've gone too far ie. too late.

When I got home the pain was down over the front of my knee when walking up the stairs. Took some ibuprofen and rested.
Yesterday I had a PT gym session and did some eccentric calf and glute exercises like the one you posted. No pain felt and felt much better after.

Went on a 60k morning ride today and no pain felt in the tendon but i can feel it's not 100%. Feels a bit tight.

But I did get a sharp twinge in the right hip and I had to really back off the intensity. Seemed once my cadence went too high it started paining so I dropped it down and went home.

Can't wait to see the physio now. Need to get all of this sorted out. I think my flexibility is really starting to affect my cycling as I'm upping the miles.

buckles

Try to avoid ibuprofen if you can. I kept putting ibuprofen gel on my tendon thinking it was inflamed and that an anti inflammatory like ibuprofen would help reduce the inflammation and thus reduce the pain. Well I was right, it eliminated the pain and allowed me to continue cycling, but in the long run this led to further damage. Don't forget, pain exists for a reason - to warn you that you're damaged and to make you stop damaging yourself further!

Obviously using a painkiller to make the pain stop makes it likely for you to continue causing further damage to the already damaged area without realising it. Not only that, I read that its anti-inflammatory effect impedes muscle/tendon repair, as inflammation is a necessary part of the repair process apparently.

imafatman

Had a great first appointment with the physio on Saturday. Good to know I don't have any significant issues. It mostly boils down to having very tight hamstrings and quads which he thinks is putting excessive strain through the knee.

Following 20 minutes of him stretching and prodding me I left feeling really good. Went out on Sunday and had a strong ride with no niggles.

I've setup an hour of treatment a week alongside a training and stretching plan which I can work with my personal trainer on.

Something very interesting which he spotted during some balance tests was that my right foot seems quite a bit weaker and he noticed that I was putting too much pressure on the outside of my foot. He suggested I try and be more aware and relax my foot and be more even in the pressure when in the gym etc...

So during my ride on sunday my right foot started to go a bit numb as it always does... remembering his advice I realised that it was the outside of my foot getting numb and that I was not evenly distributing the pressure on my foot. I adjusted my foot very slightly to press down evenly and low and behold... the numbness went. I did another 60kms and didn't have a numb foot.

Bloody brilliant!

imafatman

Had a great first appointment with the physio on Saturday. Good to know I don't have any significant issues. It mostly boils down to having very tight hamstrings and quads which he thinks is putting excessive strain through the knee.

Following 20 minutes of him stretching and prodding me I left feeling really good. Went out on Sunday and had a strong ride with no niggles.

I've setup an hour of treatment a week alongside a training and stretching plan which I can work with my personal trainer on.

Something very interesting which he spotted during some balance tests was that my right foot seems quite a bit weaker and he noticed that I was putting too much pressure on the outside of my foot. He suggested I try and be more aware and relax my foot and be more even in the pressure when in the gym etc...

So during my ride on sunday my right foot started to go a bit numb as it always does... remembering his advice I realised that it was the outside of my foot getting numb and that I was not evenly distributing the pressure on my foot. I adjusted my foot very slightly to press down evenly and low and behold... the numbness went. I did another 60kms and didn't have a numb foot.

Bloody brilliant!

buckles

Good to hear that you're on the road to recovery

kingrollo

Jesus youre not my doppleganger are you - the exact same thing happened to me on sunday as well.

I haven't cycled this week until today - but done rehab excises in the gym - all around that VMO tendon area - cycled to work this morning it seems to have settled down - will do a steady 30 tonight should be ok,

thebikerdude93

Iv been reading up on this kind of stuff (currently have plantar fasciitis). What I learnt is that rest is by far the best treatment then slowly restrengthen the ligaments and supporting muscles via stretches.. next get som kind of support (I found these insoles best for this https://nuovahealth.co.uk/shop/flat-feet-insoles/ ) and only when full recovered get back into things.