Torque and Knees

Well, you can view the torque readings for a ride directly within CyclingPeaks. Unfortunately, with a PowerTap the torque values are measured at the hub, and you'd need to multiply by the gear ratio at the time to determine the torque being produced at the cranks. That being said, the most obvious way to manage the forces which the knees are subjected to would be to make sure you're riding in a moderate gear and high-ish cadence. Are you typically a "gear cruncher" as opposed to a "spinner?"

Ah, yes - at the hub. That makes it tricky. Two bad my Shimano Flight Deck and PTPro don't speak the same language - I'd have it all.

I do try to warm up gently, keep cadence 90+ on flats and 70+ up the big ones. Sometimes those CT erg files from Hunter have some hard/slow pedaling, but this bout of medial kness pain didn't come after any of those workouts. I've had anterior knee pain before, and managed it well, but this medial pain is new.

Just this morning, the GP said it was likely outside the knee capsule (not MCL/ ACL, etc) and probably the "pes anserine" group - where the sartorius, gracilis and semitendonous muscles anchor to the tibia. I'm off to a sportsmed PT this afternoon to see what they say.

Any Pruitt's new book "Complete Medical Guide for Cyclists" says for pes anserine to lower the saddle 3mm, RICE, NSAIDs and to check for excessive cleat float. My Speedplay Zero pedals do allow a lot of toe-out, so maybe I'll dial that in a bit.

It's not clear whether abductor or adductor strengthening is the right thing to do, but hamstring strength and streching seems agreed on in various sources.

Any other thoughts appreciated.

cbjesseeNH said:

Assuming a proper fit and all, it would seem that there might be a "Training Torque Index" that might have something to do with the potential knee strain experienced in a particular ride or across a series of rides.

You might try using this approach to analyze some of your typical rides:

http://home.earthlink.net/~acoggan/quadrantanalysis

(or http://www.cyclingpeakssoftware.com/power411/quad.asp)

That might give you an idea of what sort of riding your knees can/can't handle at the present time.