knee ?unusual pain

Sure, listen to your symptoms. If training irritates them, cut back and do some knee-strengthening exercises. You can always cycle in a way that won't trouble your knees if you gear down very low and stay on the flat for a while. Also do plenty of stretching.
The best option is to see a physio but, above all, don't just ignore the pain. You probably have a very mild injury that will eventually disappear. Sometimes the joint just gets unbalanced which is why physio exercises are the way to go.

pkonz said:

I've searched this and slowtwitch forums for help or info on pain I'm getting lateral and behind knee, tender head of fibula ?biceps femoris/ hamstring insertion but haven't come up with anything. Only occurs after 15-30 minutes cycling, not running (1hr plus) or swimming. Obviously I've cut back on the cycling. I've also been professionally refit on my bike, just a few minor adjustments including raising (not lowering as I would have thought) the saddle and inserting some fairly thin wedges under my cleats. thick to inside. Still gets sore. Any other suggestions.
Peter

As an afterthought, are knee-wraps really no good for cyclists? Wouldn't knee wraps take off some of the stress during climbs or do they cause more problems than they solve?

Carrera said:

As an afterthought, are knee-wraps really no good for cyclists? Wouldn't knee wraps take off some of the stress during climbs or do they cause more problems than they solve?

Thanks Carrera, haven't tried knee wraps but I did have some excellent results with a sports massage therapist and ART for some ITB problems last year and intend to pursue this if a short layoff doesn't remedy the situation.
Peter

Here is what I did for mine.

1. Raised the saddle.
2. Adjusted my winter riding style and clothing.

Any time the temp drops below 13C/55Deg I wear knickers or leggings and lower the intensity/time of my workouts.

pkonz said:

Thanks Carrera, haven't tried knee wraps but I did have some excellent results with a sports massage therapist and ART for some ITB problems last year and intend to pursue this if a short layoff doesn't remedy the situation.
Peter

At least the lateral pain sounds like it could be the ITB problems rearing their ugly head again. The posterior pain can becuased by the popleteous (sp?) muscle getting irritated and strained. The popleteous muscle is an accessory muscle that rotates the tiba near the end of extension at the knee to help align the tiba and femor to handle a load when the leg is in extension. Both of which can be irritated by you training position.

The knee may just need some reduced training to allow it to heal up again. PT, massage, and chiropractic will all help the healing process.

[quote="vault"]At least the lateral pain sounds like it could be the ITB problems rearing their ugly head again. The posterior pain can becuased by the popleteous (sp?) muscle getting irritated and strained. The popleteous muscle is an accessory muscle that rotates the tiba near the end of extension at the knee to help align the tiba and femor to handle a load when the leg is in extension. Both of which can be irritated by you training position.

I thought the same ?recurrence of my ITB but it really is quite different than my ITB pain which was anterolateral and only occured when running. Now I get tender on the back of my fibular head and doesn't bother me at all if I run, even immediately after a ride which has made it sore. The physio did indicate some popleteous trouble as well when I had the ITB.

The leg warmer idea is interesting because it's getting quite cold up here in Canada just now. Just biding my time until I can get the xc skis out so don't mind laying off the cycling for now.
Thanks for all your responses,
Peter

My own knees are still playing up as I read this post and I'm still only riding gently on the flat. It's a problem that crept on me gradually but here is something odd:
I find that if I kneel on the floor and then sit with my butt resting on my heels, I feel a real, deep ache in my knees. It's not a sharp pain but just a feeling of tightness and general ache. My knees are plain stiff.
However the case may be, no cyclist can afford to dismiss knee pain since the ability to cycle is very much linked to the weakest link - anatomically speaking the knee. Therefore, I think a thread on knee-care, knee injury preventment and exercises for knees would be very useful.
I'm also curious about 2 points:
(1) How many riders on this forum take knee pain for granted? How many of you folks ease yourselves out of bed in the morning and wince as your knees pain you? Is this a common occurrence or not? I mean, are there any veterans out there who have war wounds after years of grinding big cogs?
(2) You never hear of riders such as Indurain or Merckx admitting to knee pain. That stuns me given those guys would ride 90 miles in one day. Do the pros have a lot of knee trouble and do the lay off?
Any thoughts, shared experiences, confessions?

[quote="pkonz"]

vault said:

At least the lateral pain sounds like it could be the ITB problems rearing their ugly head again. The posterior pain can becuased by the popleteous (sp?) muscle getting irritated and strained. The popleteous muscle is an accessory muscle that rotates the tiba near the end of extension at the knee to help align the tiba and femor to handle a load when the leg is in extension. Both of which can be irritated by you training position.

I thought the same ?recurrence of my ITB but it really is quite different than my ITB pain which was anterolateral and only occured when running. Now I get tender on the back of my fibular head and doesn't bother me at all if I run, even immediately after a ride which has made it sore. The physio did indicate some popleteous trouble as well when I had the ITB.

The leg warmer idea is interesting because it's getting quite cold up here in Canada just now. Just biding my time until I can get the xc skis out so don't mind laying off the cycling for now.
Thanks for all your responses,
Peter