Knee Pain

sevenrider310 said:

Help! I have developed (out of the blue during a ride) a pain in the back portion of my left knee...you know where the knee bends. Its a sharp pain and the pain develops slow and progresses during a ride. After I get off the bike, it hurts to flex the knee (ie. pulling up on a pedal stroke) pulling up on a bend. It goes away after a couple of days but comes back I would say 2-3 hours into a ride. I have never had problems in the past. Has anyone experienced this? I dont want to goto the doctor quite yet....would love some feedback.

Is your seat too high (bad if you have pain in the back of the knee)? Do you have float in your pedals (good for knee pain)? Do you ice your knee at the end of the ride? Do you use a reasonably high cadence of around 90 or so (good for knee pain)? Do you stay away from pushing high gears and negotiating hills until pain is gone?

My front knee pain responded immediately to raising my seat which is the opposite tack for pain in the back of the knee.

skydive69 said:

Is your seat too high (bad if you have pain in the back of the knee)? Do you have float in your pedals (good for knee pain)? Do you ice your knee at the end of the ride? Do you use a reasonably high cadence of around 90 or so (good for knee pain)? Do you stay away from pushing high gears and negotiating hills until pain is gone?

My front knee pain responded immediately to raising my seat which is the opposite tack for pain in the back of the knee.

My seat doesnt not seem too high, and why would only my left knee be affected? Cadence wise..I mix it up..high cadence and low, maybe I should stay away from lower cadence. I will also try and stay away from hills, see if that helps. Thanx.

I had trouble with 'posterior' knee pain latter part of this season. Just a piece of advice re saddle height. Conventional logic suggests, anterior pain = seat too low, posterior too hight. Consequently I lowered my seat when I began having this pain and it not only didn't improve but I developed anterior pain. I then went for a professional fit and he raised my saddle right back up, even perhaps a 1/4cm higher. He also adjusted my cleat position and added a very minor shim to the inside of my cleat. Although the pain didn't immediately resolve... I cut back on cycling and rested, my pain is now gone. In short I think although saddle height is often responsible for anterior pain it is far less predictable for posterior pain.
Peter

sevenrider310 said:

My seat doesnt not seem too high, and why would only my left knee be affected? Cadence wise..I mix it up..high cadence and low, maybe I should stay away from lower cadence. I will also try and stay away from hills, see if that helps. Thanx.

Oftentimes only one knee is involved. Only my right knee used to hurt, and I once had a knee problem related to running, and it was only one knee. Oftentimes, lowering of the seat seems to help with pain to the back of the knee - conversely, front knee pain is often helped by slightly raising the seat. Subtle differences in seat height make quite a difference when you are stroking away for many hours each week. I would definitely stay with higher cadences, and no hills until your knee issue is resolved. Peter, in the previous message makes some great points, one of which is cleat position (which I meant to mention), which is often the culprit when it comes to knee pain.

A professional fitting of the bicycle, cleats, etc., often solves many problems. Sometimes, that requires taking it a bit farther than the typical bike shop fitting.

All the advice you've been given is good. However, you might also be able to find an inexpensive physio who can examine your knee. Maybe you will need to do some exercises to correct any imbalances.
Avoid any work that irritates your knee and lessen your cycling intensity. Take ibuprofen for any inflammation. These kind of injuries tend to go in time and will heal up.

sevenrider310 said:

Help! I have developed (out of the blue during a ride) a pain in the back portion of my left knee...you know where the knee bends. Its a sharp pain and the pain develops slow and progresses during a ride. After I get off the bike, it hurts to flex the knee (ie. pulling up on a pedal stroke) pulling up on a bend. It goes away after a couple of days but comes back I would say 2-3 hours into a ride. I have never had problems in the past. Has anyone experienced this? I dont want to goto the doctor quite yet....would love some feedback.