Knee ligaments

Unless you have some medical issues, there is no reason cycling 40 miles should be painful to your knees.

Have you had your position on the bike looked at? Tried to adjust your saddle height and/or fore-to-aft position?

Sometimes a poorly positioned foot or improperly positioned cleats will translate into knee joint pain. Are you riding with cleats? Do the cleats float?

Foot orthopedic issues may require inserts or shims to correct. There are some variables and more details are needed. Age...terrain...gearing used...etc.

One more thing to consider is how you're riding. If you have bad knees (and that's why I took up cycling) it will help to reduce your pain if you practice good cycling technique, especially in terms of pedaling speed.

If you're pedaling along at less than 60 rpms, you may be putting a great deal of strain on your knees before the muscles that support them have a chance to gain appropriate strength. Work to maintain a cadence of >75 rpms, shifting to an easier gear in order to do that. This will shift the work to your cardio system and ease the strain on your knees. (Think of lifting 100 pounds 1 at a time instead of a single lift.)

I suffered this when I first got reacquainted with cycling 2 years ago. Changing to a faster cadence took care of it.

If you're a reader, there is an excellent book available on Amazon called Hold Your Line that is about cycling fitting and pedaling technique. I recommend it and it's fairly inexpensive.

Good riding!

Brian in VA

tutster said:

Hello, I'm new to this forum and to road cycling. I've recently bought a giant defy 4 to start road cycling. I've been out a few times and done a couple of 40+ miles but around the 25-30 mike mark, the lateral ligaments on my knees start to give me increasing discomfort and pain! Does anyone know why this is? Is it something I'll have to get used to? Many thanks.

30 miles is a respectable distance for a beginner, do some shorter rides and as suggested increase cadence instead of pedaling with too much load, increase then the distance gradually, check your fit and use the clipless pedals and shoes correctly,

Completely agree with the above posts regarding cadence, but it may be worth looking to strengthen the muscles around the knee joint as well. I'm both a runner and a cyclist, and have had knackered knees for years from Rugby League. I keep on top of these through strength training. I have a strong readership of runners and cyclists on my blog so I wrote this for them to aid performance, worth a quick read, it's all bodyweight so can be done at home.

http://grexfitness.wordpress.com/2013/02/22/my-top-tips-for-healthier-knees/

Could be any number of things. First processed foods cause pain in the body. Eat really clean for quite a while and see how that feels. More than likely this is it. You could have strained yourself or pulled something working the knee too hard for a long length of time. You can just stretch it out before and after. Stop riding if it bothers you and walk or stretch it. Some kind of heat or water therapy regularly can help work it out. You just really want to drink lots of water every day to keep your body and the joints hydrated.

If it's your laterally knee it's probably Iliotibial band syndrome. It's highly unlikely to be a ligament injury. It could be related to improper bike fit or technique, or just increasing your intensity too quickly. Stretching and massage is probably the best thing, foam rollers are great for the IT band, and maybe lighten on the intensity and progress a little more gradually.