Is there a doctor in the group?

"Mike K Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I had some pain in my right knee yesterday towards the end of a 75 mile
ride. I think this was due to some of the small muscles getting
tired/slightly torn while I was cold and wet, allowing the others to
slightly pull the joint out of line. I applied Ibu gel when I had finished
riding. This morning I had no pain, but some slight stiffness of the knee.
I have kept off the bike today.

I did a 75 miler with our club which included 3 x 17% hills yesterday, heavy
rain and winds. Today I just went out for 15 miles and my right knee is sore
as well. In June when I did 235 miles in 16 hrs my right knee was locked up
solid and painful for several days, so I put these incidents down to simple
over use. My knee is no trouble at all on sub 50 mile rides and commutes,
so it may be due to the knee having a natural limit and overusing it past
that point causes pain. Resting it for a few days should be OK in my limited
experience.

--
Simon Mason
http://www.simonmason.karoo.net

Mike K Smith <[email hidden]>typed

Quoted message said:

I know Dr Vecht is a regular here, but don't know if we have any others.

Quoted message said:

If my knee starts hurting while I am riding is it of any benefit to take
something like Ibuprofen while riding, or should I not take medication
until the ride is over and I have stopped adding to the injury?

Quoted message said:

I had some pain in my right knee yesterday towards the end of a 75 mile
ride. I think this was due to some of the small muscles getting
tired/slightly torn while I was cold and wet, allowing the others to
slightly pull the joint out of line. I applied Ibu gel when I had
finished riding. This morning I had no pain, but some slight stiffness
of the knee. I have kept off the bike today.

Quoted message said:

Mike

There is some evidence that ibuprofen etc can inhibit healing
mechanisms, so exess use is best avoided.

In practical reality most cyclists will finish a ride, rather than get
stranded in the middle of nowhere, so the choice is whether to do so in
more or in less pain.

Ibuprofen is not so powerful that it will allow you to walk on a broken
leg, so it's unlikely to let you hugely compound a problem.

You know that you should attack the cause of the problem and are wisely
resting today. Knee problems in cyclists should be diagnosed by those
who can put their hands on the problem and who have some experience of
cycling. I am not going to try from behind my keyboard!

I, personally, would take the ibu whilst on the ride (if I had some -the
chances are I would have forgotten it!) take some on my return and try
to identify and remedy the cause later.

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email hidden]
Edgware.

Helen Deborah Vecht said:

Mike K Smith <[email hidden]>typed

Quoted message said:

I know Dr Vecht is a regular here, but don't know if we have any others.

Quoted message said:

If my knee starts hurting while I am riding is it of any benefit to take
something like Ibuprofen while riding, or should I not take medication
until the ride is over and I have stopped adding to the injury?

Quoted message said:

I had some pain in my right knee yesterday towards the end of a 75 mile
ride. I think this was due to some of the small muscles getting
tired/slightly torn while I was cold and wet, allowing the others to
slightly pull the joint out of line. I applied Ibu gel when I had
finished riding. This morning I had no pain, but some slight stiffness
of the knee. I have kept off the bike today.

Quoted message said:

Mike

There is some evidence that ibuprofen etc can inhibit healing
mechanisms, so exess use is best avoided.

In practical reality most cyclists will finish a ride, rather than get
stranded in the middle of nowhere, so the choice is whether to do so in
more or in less pain.

Ibuprofen is not so powerful that it will allow you to walk on a broken
leg, so it's unlikely to let you hugely compound a problem.

You know that you should attack the cause of the problem and are wisely
resting today. Knee problems in cyclists should be diagnosed by those
who can put their hands on the problem and who have some experience of
cycling. I am not going to try from behind my keyboard!

I, personally, would take the ibu whilst on the ride (if I had some -the
chances are I would have forgotten it!) take some on my return and try
to identify and remedy the cause later.

I get knee pain on occasion, esp if I have been running a lot. I find cod
liver oil works well to prevent it. Take pure with half a glass of full
fat milk and steer clear of the capsule types.
Capsules tend to inhibit or in some cases stop take up of CLO depending on
the make up of the actual body of the capsule. For CLO to be taken up
properly it needs to be taken with a little fat, the proportion in milk is
about right. I put two teaspoons of CLO in a small bottle with half a
glass of milk and the shake it to mix, that way it hardly tastes at all and
is certainly more palatable than the orange flavored varieties.

Sniper8052

I agree and so would most doctors.
Take pain killers to reduce pain but bear in mind that you don't want
to do more damage to the joint by giving it extra stick , so many
people would wait until they got back before taking anything.
paracet, ibuprofen, rub-ons are effective at reducing pain.If anyone
believes these can cure the problem I cannot see why.
cod liver oil, glucosamine have their enthusiasts.Other stuff probably
not worth bothering with.
Adjust the height of saddle and other aspects of your position and
reduce wear on the painful bit to let it heal.
I say from my own case that pain below and behind the patella needs
saddle up, while pain behind the knee or above the patella needs saddle
down.No doubt things can be more subtle and complex but it's a start.
TerryJ

Hi Mike

Mike K Smith said:

I know Dr Vecht is a regular here, but don't know if we have any others.

I'm not a MD, but...

Quoted message said:

If my knee starts hurting while I am riding is it of any benefit to take
something like Ibuprofen while riding, or should I not take medication
until the ride is over and I have stopped adding to the injury?

I would only take it if there really is no alternative to cutting the
ride short and getting home by train, etc. Pain is our body's way of
saying "hold on a minute!" And knees are complicated bits.

Quoted message said:

I had some pain in my right knee yesterday towards the end of a 75 mile
ride. I think this was due to some of the small muscles getting
tired/slightly torn while I was cold and wet, allowing the others to
slightly pull the joint out of line. I applied Ibu gel when I had
finished riding. This morning I had no pain, but some slight stiffness
of the knee. I have kept off the bike today.

You are right to rest. Follow this basic initial treatment. RICE -- Rest,
Ice, Compression and Elevation. Rest is obvious. Apply an ice pack as soon
as possible (bag of frozen peas wrapped in a towel applied direct to the
injured area); get a compression bandage from a pharmacist; keep off your
feet and lie down with the injured area above chest level.

Once you have recovered you should should look at finding the cause of the
injury. In colder weather keep your knees covered (I think you know this).

Most knee injuries can be traced to weak quadriceps muscles (the
ones at the front of the thigh). These muscles keep the knee joint
aligned properly. You should gentle exercises to strengthen these muscles.
When I say weak, I mean relatively weak in comparison to the other leg
muscles.

Your knee is in between two connections to your bike. You need to check
both ends: check your saddle height (and is the saddle twisted left or
right?), cleat positioning, float, etc. (if you don't understand what I'm
saying ask)

Also you could check your foot flexibility. Calf stretches, etc. Good foot
flexibility is important for preventing knee injuries.

Generally speaking, at this time of year you need to be winding down on
the long rides. Get out and do some walking, join a gym, swim. And most
importantly get to the root cause of any injuries that have troubled you
recently. Get to see a physiotherapist. They will look at the injury and
prescribe some exercises. I asked my GP to refer me to a physiotherapist.
In fact I insisted I had to see one. You may have to be firm with your GP,
or go private. I had about six sessions with a very good physio on the NHS
and learnt a lot, too.

I used to have knee problems and Achilles tendon injuries but I've been
free of those for years now.

Cycling is good for endurance but you need to also focus on strength and
flexibility too. Get it all fixed between now and the end of the year and
you can ride strong and long next year.

HTH

Bin

After a few days rest my knee settled down.

I think I have a similar problem to Simon Mason in that I can ride up to
a certain distance without problems and suffer once I go above that.

I'm already taking care to use low gears (unlike my mad youthful days)
so I'll make sure I take care of the knees once I do have problems.

Thanks for all the replies, it's good to see how other people approach
these things.

Mike