# Knee pain



## Welshman (1 Sep 2019)

Will cycling with arthritis in your knee help, or make it worse in the long run. I find cycling two days in a row makes it flare up. 
Giving it 2/3 days rest helps, but is frustrating.


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## vickster (1 Sep 2019)

Welshman said:


> Will cycling with arthritis in your knee help, or make it worse in the long run. I find cycling two days in a row makes it flare up.
> Giving it 2/3 days rest helps, but is frustrating.


It might do or it may not. What compartment(s) of the knee are affected, inside, outside, middle bit around the knee cap?. How severe is the arthritis? How’s the range of motion? Do you use clipless pedals? Do you have a good stretching and physio type regimen. What else do you use to manage the pain and swelling? Medication, ice, heat?

If the rest helps, then that’s what you’ll need to do. Assume your bike set up and gearing are properly sorted? Do you use any orthotics to make sure your gait/feet are right?

It’s probably not helped mine in the past few years but Cycling helps me in other ways so I try to manage the pain as best I can


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## Welshman (1 Sep 2019)

Thanks for the advice, yeah I think recovery time between rides will do it,and of course, in the long run the more weight I shift, the less my knees have to suffer. ️‍


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## raleighnut (1 Sep 2019)

Have you got the saddle set high enough ?


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## Tigerbiten (1 Sep 2019)

I also have slightly bad knees.
I find it starts to hurt a lot quicker if I grind along at a slow cadence and high pressure on the pedals, I've learnt the painful way I've a maximum pressure on the pedals I can get away with.
But it also start to hurt if I spin at a high cadence for to long, I've now a maximum number of revs I can get away with.
Putting those two together, it's best if I ride at a slowish cadence, 60-70 rpm down from my more normal 75-85 rpm, but also keep a light pressure on the pedals at all times, so I now say "I've learnt to spin slowly" ...... 

You need to experiment a little on altering you cadence/pedal pressure a little each ride and see if it lessens the amount of pain your in.
It's little things like .....
Take it easy for the first couple of miles as they are your warm up, this is when I try and set my cadence/pedal pressure for the rest of the ride.
Don't attack hills, it has become a case of how little stress/strain you put on your knees while climbing. That's an easy to remember as more stress/strain equals more pain.
Try and stick within your limit, your better doing a very easy 5 miles per day rather that a fast 10 miles and then suffering for 2-3 days. That's the annoying one as I still want to do +50 mile days but end up hurting to much if I try.
An electric bike will probably lower the stress/strain on your knees and let you out more often/further.

Luck .........


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## vickster (1 Sep 2019)

Welshman said:


> Thanks for the advice, yeah I think recovery time between rides will do it,and of course, in the long run the more weight I shift, the less my knees have to suffer. ️‍


Most definitely if overweight. It’s also vital to have balanced muscles so your knee tracks correctly and the muscles are supporting the joint (and aren’t tight/shortened). Physio can advise and help. It’ll also depend very much where the arthritis is. Cycling can be troublesome if it’s around the kneecap and joint. But beneficial if on the thigh or shin bone surfaces as it’s a non weight bearing activity


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## Welshman (1 Sep 2019)

raleighnut said:


> Have you got the saddle set high enough ?


Yeah seems right to me.


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## vickster (1 Sep 2019)

Welshman said:


> Yeah seems right to me.


No knee or thigh pain when pedalling?


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## Welshman (1 Sep 2019)

vickster said:


> Most definitely if overweight. It’s also vital to have balanced muscles so your knee tracks correctly and the muscles are supporting the joint (and aren’t tight/shortened). Physio can advise and help. It’ll also depend very much where the arthritis is. Cycling can be troublesome if it’s around the kneecap and joint. But beneficial if on the thigh or shin bone surfaces as it’s a non weight bearing activity


When I stretch the knees I hear crunching noise, the left knee gives me the most discomfort, I drive for a living, done so for years,which has all added to the problem


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## vickster (1 Sep 2019)

Welshman said:


> When I stretch the knees I hear crunching noise, the left knee gives me the most discomfort, I drive for a living, done so for years,which has all added to the problem


Have you seen a specialist? How old are you?


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## Shadow121 (2 Sep 2019)

Better see a specialist and take their advise, crunching is not normal
and you could end up not even able to walk.
If you get the ok to cycle, then there are things that help
such as a shorter crank, and of course the seat height matters
too.


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## HLaB (2 Sep 2019)

If you have everything set up right geometry wise I'd think gentle cycling will be good for the knee, keeping it moving, if there's no other damage done to it however, but see a true medical expert rather than listening to me and other non medical 'experts' on a forum.


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## Rusty Nails (2 Sep 2019)

Knees can be a pain..literally.

I have had knee pain, for a few months in my right knee, the one I had an op on to re-attach myquadricep tendon a few years back. I've today had a talk with my doctor about the result of the X-ray done a few weeks ago. She says there is no significant damage, and "just a few bits of debris floating about in there". From what i remember there is no particular benefit in doing anything about that, and I am being referred to a physiotherapist, possibly for exercises to strengthen the muscles around the knee.

In the meantime I am continuing the cycling with lower gearing and doing a lot more spinning on my rides than I normally do. I still get some pain around the top of my knee, especially if I climb too much in too high a gear. I suspect that at my age, 72, it is something I am going to have to manage rather than cure completely. I am going to have to learn that cycling is not the only good exercise for the knees and do more walking than I have in recent months.


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## Globalti (8 Sep 2019)

Welshman said:


> When I stretch the knees I hear crunching noise, the left knee gives me the most discomfort, I drive for a living, done so for years,which has all added to the problem



Your left knee is wearing out from pushing the clutch thousands and thousands of times. The recent popularity of diesels doesn't help as they have heavier clutch springs to cope with the torque. I had a dodgy left knee so four years ago I went over to DSG. Not only is it a pleasure to use, especially in traffic, but my knee pain has vanished completely.


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## cyberknight (8 Sep 2019)

HLaB said:


> If you have everything set up right geometry wise I'd think gentle cycling will be good for the knee, keeping it moving, if there's no other damage done to it however, but see a true medical expert rather than listening to me and other non medical 'experts' on a forum.


+1
my saddle had slipped back on the rails on the commuter and i didn't notice, i got knee pain till i sorted it .


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## gbb (11 Sep 2019)

To answer the ops question...I find modest exercise is kinda working for me but even then, its hard.
Arthritis of the hips, now spreading into my knees, after years of fitness where 50 mile hard rides were nothing, i now struggle to do 15. Ive brought an ebike to prevent excess pressure on the knees while pushing uphill (which i really struggle with now) and regular but easier exercise seems the only way. Push it and it hurts, no question in my case.

Glucosamine Sulphate and Cod Liver oil are helping as a long term supplement. I was in a bad way about a year ago, constant deep deep pain.... so i started the supplements, i get sore now after a days work and my legs constantly ache but i only occasionally suffer like i did a year ago.


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## MrGrumpy (20 Oct 2019)

Just thought I’d mention in this thread as well that I’ve got some knee trouble again. Long story short had cartilage removed from right knee many moons ago and cycling was my recovery !! However if late I’m having all sorts of bother. It’s swollen above the knee cap and across, when I bend the knee it’s tight down the side of the knee. This started off a few weeks ago and I had pain in my calf as well , leg very tight. Starting to think though that it’s a bike setup issue ? Bought new shoes you see and now think I need to alter the saddle or spd position on the right shoe. 

Btw it’s fine when cycling it’s when instop


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## vickster (20 Oct 2019)

Check your cleat and seat position. Don't forget your post ride stretches, calves, gluteus, quads, hip flexors 

Of course, meniscus removal is often followed by arthritis so could be some of that too if stiff and swollen

If it doesn't get better, see a sports physio


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## HLaB (20 Oct 2019)

My last two fits have lowered my saddle and the first of those two identified a leg length discrepancy (left is longer than the right) and touch wood Ive never had a recurrence of the ITB knee problem I had 12 years ago so a fit I think did solve it for me. Im not rigorous about it but I also stretch a little in the shower after a ride and that probably helps too but I found over rigorous stretching problematic, nothing major but sometimes a thigh/ calf didn't feel right for a bit. I find a short 1-2 miles complete ease off at the end of the ride helps more, that's maybe just me though.


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## vickster (21 Oct 2019)

HLaB said:


> My last two fits have lowered my saddle and the first of those two identified a leg length discrepancy (left is longer than the right) and touch wood Ive never had a recurrence of the ITB knee problem I had 12 years ago so a fit I think did solve it for me. Im not rigorous about it but I also stretch a little in the shower after a ride and that probably helps too but I found over rigorous stretching problematic, nothing major but sometimes a thigh/ calf didn't feel right for a bit. I find a short 1-2 miles complete ease off at the end of the ride helps more, that's maybe just me though.


What's over rigorous stretching?!


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## furball (21 Oct 2019)

The degradation in the joint is already there and the arthritis will progress whatever you do. Changes within the joint cause different pains in different parts of the affected leg or legs and also in other parts of the body because the body's readjustment to cope with the malfunctioning joint affects the whole body posture.
I've had a knee replacement. It's taken longer to readjust to the straightening up of the affected leg than to get over the surgery.
If fiddling with the bike provides some kind of relief then fair enough but just bear in mind how much your whole body is being thrown out by the arthritis.


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## vickster (21 Oct 2019)

furball said:


> The degradation in the joint is already there and the arthritis will progress whatever you do. Changes within the joint cause different pains in different parts of the affected leg or legs and also in other parts of the body because the body's readjustment to cope with the malfunctioning joint affects the whole body posture.
> I've had a knee replacement. It's taken longer to readjust to the straightening up of the affected leg than to get over the surgery.
> If fiddling with the bike provides some kind of relief then fair enough but just bear in mind how much your whole body is being thrown out by the arthritis.


How old were you when you had the TKR?


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## HLaB (21 Oct 2019)

vickster said:


> What's over rigorous stretching?!


Being too regimented about it (I must do x, a times), what works for me is just a gentle stretch of two in the shower and\or a complete eased off cool down ride but every body is different and one size won't fit all


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