About 2 weeks ago, on a training run my right knee started to hurt on the outside, on the downstroke only and cycling at pace in the big ring. I took it easy for a few days and then it wasn't there whilst cycling easily but upon getting out the saddle it comes back! I then had 7 days off (partly due to a holiday and partly due to wanting to rest) and came back with very low mileage only doing 15 miles ish, at a high cadence and icing it after every ride followed by stretches. It has been 3 days now and it I can still feel it starting to come back whenever a ounce of hard power is applied!?
I am all out of ideas, I have a few events this month and am missing out on a lot of training?
If the pain is bad enough to keep you from riding, I think your best bet is to get professional help from either a physical therapist or sports medicine doctor. You may also want to check your bike fit.
If the riding is actually injuring your knee, then something is wrong and it should be addressed.
I have had a few knee surgeries over the course of several years. If anything, riding makes my knee feel better; though, the first few miles hurt since I lack a full range of motion. The riding keeps it limber.
For do it yourself therapy, you may want to try mixing in some heat in addition to the icing. I bought a heat lamp and made a stand that would focus it on my knee when I laid in bed. Ice makes the knee feel tight an numb while heat makes the knee feel "warmed up" and limber. There are some theories that suggest that heat speeds healing. Also do some low impact stretching and strengthening exercises off of the bike.
Bike fit should be ok as has been checked before and they didn't move anything. It doesn't keep from my riding so much, managed to do 25 miles today, but I can feel my left leg compensating by pulling on the upstroke a lot more plus with any real application of power on my right leg, it feels like it is starting to hurt again. I dont want try getting out of the saddle too soon in case I just go back to square one again!
I had a similiar problem after riding for years. I have speedplay pedals and the cleats on the bottom of my shoes had worn out. For $40 I replaced just that portion and it made a big differnce!
I had a similar problem several years ago. Cause was a bike fit issue--seat too low and too far back. However, some lasting damage was done, and to this day I sometimes have some residual pain toward the end of long rides when pushing larger gears. Lately I've given up riding one of my bikes, as the past 2 or 3 times I've taken it out on the roads, I've had pain so severe that I've had to struggle back to the start spinning my lowest gears as gently as possible. As I have continued since to ride my other bikes without such difficulty, I am quite certain that the problem rests with the bike's fit and not with my knees. Just my experience; YMMV. ~OG
I had knee issues last year and it took me a long time to get over them. It was mostly because I overworked them with squats and the problems were compounded by a poor bike fit.
What kind of bike fit did you get? Was it just by a salesman who wanted to move on to the next customer, or a professional bike fitter with experience working with pro teams?
Be careful with those events though. If they're races you will definitely be doing a lot of hard accelerations so skip them if you don't feel good. Like the others said, see a doctor if it's not getting better. Take it easy there big boy...training is a long and gradual process. If you need to take a break, take a break. Don't push it.
Thanks for the replies. I do have some new cleats that I could try putting on but my other ones do not seem to be that worn out-doesn't hurt to try I guess.
I used to do a lot of squats with heavy weights but have been doing squats rather intermitently at the moment. I have already decided that when I go back to them, I will do low weights and high reps.
On my old bike, I had a pro fit but he didn't move anything about the way I was sat. I haven't had one on my new bike but the guy that built it set me up to be the same position as the old one. I had the new problem a week before getting new bike so can't be related to that. I could shell out for another bike fit but I don't where any are located that work with proffesional teams.
I plan to skip this weekends event and am trying to get in to see a physio this afternoon.
