Dodgy knee help.

[willhub]

Any idea when I do small movements do I feel when I put my hand on the knee cap a sort of creeking sensation, it's also the sort of sensation you'd feel when compressing snow. I went for a steady ride today, 15 or so miles and my knee felt fine, I've being doing random stretched that I think might help but not really sure, can't wait to go to the physio on Tuesday hopefully they will give me some exercises then.

Would the ice cubes be as effective as deep freeze aswell? I spray that stuff just it does not seem like a can would last for long.

 

[montage]

I dont think deep freeze works that well myself. Go with the ice

 

[willhub]

Ok will do.

I'm starting to think about the near future, on Sunday I am doing 165ish miles very hilly, now this is pretty silly, but if it where any other ride I'd skip it and do maybe 20ish miles on my own not thrashing it, but this is a special sort of ride, after this I've got the physio on tuesday. Now I'm thinking about my fitness and how it may be impacted, I think it may be likely I'm going to have to stop doing long rides and have to shorted them, probably stop doing club runs after this weekend.

Now will it be ok doing shorter rides, around 60miles and flat, and maybe sometimes some hillyish? And if I do this when my knee gets better and I return to doing longer rides would be endurance be impacted?

I'm hoping I won't be advised to stop cycling all together, I commute to college, it's only 3 miles there though, but I'd like to continue doing decent rides.

 

[Paul_iow]

Personally I think you're a bit of an idiot for wanting to do 165 miles, this is not a short ride by any means. You have been advised by a lot of people not to do long rides but you choose to ignore them all. At the end of the day though it is your knee!

 

[willhub]

Hmmm, did you just read what I posted?

Everything you just posted then I know, but you're wrong about that I apparently choose to ignore everyone.

If I ignore them, it means I don't pay attention, and basically, don't absorb the knowledge, not putting what I hear into practice is different to ignoring someone. I know I'm an idiot for doing it, but I've planned to do this ride and so hyped up about it I'm going to do it, one ride won't kill my knee beyond repair, if it was a normal 100+ club run I'd not be doing it, same goes for next week I won't be doing a club run.

What I want to know is, will it be ok doing shorter rides, around 60miles and flat, I don't know if that's considered long? To make that's a short ride, I'd like to be able to do abit hill if I'm ok to, I just don't want to end up loosing fitness and ending up back at square one and putting weight on which will result in me back to 2005 = not very healthy person who plays computer games all day long.

I DO hope I won't be advised by doctors or physios to stop cycling, that would be awfull for me. If a doctor or a physio told me I'd end up destroying my knee if I kept cycling then obviously I'd not continue, but as long as the doctors or physios say I can continue to cycle then I will do so. It baffles me as to why cycling has caused my knee problems as cycling is recommended for people who HAVE knee problems, my doctor even said so, I'd hate to find out it was related to my leg brake in 2000 because if it was I'd probably like to try and sue.

 

[Will1985]

You make no sense at all - who gives a toss how important the ride is....if you are willing to ignore the advice given by older people who have experienced problems, then go ahead but don't keep complaining on here about it and the sub-standard medical treatment you are expecting.

There is no justification for doing 165 miles if you wouldn't do a 100 mile club run.

Your fit sounds completely mad as well - I'd be seriously concerned that your heels can't touch the pedals (presuming sitting on the saddle with leg straight and crank in 6 o'clock position)....pointing your toes down like that to such an extent is bound to put added strain on the front of your knee.

 

[willhub]

I'm not complaining about it due to a 165 mile ride, please read my post instead of skimming it. The only reason I expect sub-standard medical treatment is from what people have said on the forums. Oh an as I've said and continue to say I'm not ignoring advice.

Well I went to a well recommended bike fitter. I don't know who to believe with bike fit tbh now.

 

[Will1985]

Believe me, I have read these posts very thoroughly trying to decipher the content.....

Every answer has already been given to those questions in the previous 50 posts.

This thread dates from November 2008....you've had problems for that long?!?

 

[willhub]

Yes, I had to go to the doctors about 4 times before I got referred for an MRI scan and about another 4 times untill I got referred to physio. I kept cycling because the doctors said it was fine. I keep asking and they still say it's fine. I don't really want to quit cycling.

 

[HeartAttack]

Well I think you really need to go and do the 165 mile ride, do it as hard and as fast as possible, big ring it all the way, no chickening out and dropping to the granny ring, thats for wimps and wosses!! that way you'll know what pain is like and then maybe just maybe you'll take enough time off the bike etc to rest the knee properly and allow the experts (medical that is!) to do their job without someone (namely you) going out and undoing all what they are trying to achieve.

As for the argument of well the doctors told me I could cycle, did you really tell them what you do, do they think you do the normal joe public ride of maybe a couple of miles a day taking 30 odd minutes, wearing trainers etc on open pedals, getting off and walking when the road rises above your head rather than your ego? I bet not, so again if you aren't telling them the full facts how can you expect the correct treatment?

 

[willhub]

I told them that I do around 100 miles. What's with the first paragraph? Who said I insist in staying in the big ring? Who said I'd do it as hard and fast as I can? The whole point of getting round a 165 mile loop is the pace myself and not push too hard.

So that question I asked that has still not being answered, is 60 miles too long? Do I need to quit cycling apart from toodling along to college?

 

[Bill Gates]

If you get your saddle height wrong then most people agree that it will have an impact on your body by putting a strain on joints/hamstrings/muscles/back etc. In a race or a long ride or over weeks and months this can cause injury.

There are various formulae published that profess to be an accurate guide for all riders. However we all different heights and have limbs in a diiferent proportion re overall length, bone length etc. Also where you position your cleat is important (the centre of the spindle should be just behind the ball of the foot).

The formula that I take most issue with is the one that takes measurement taken from the top of the saddle to the centre of the pedal spindle along the line of the seat tube and the crank in the same line to be 109% of your inseam length taken fron crutch to floor with no shoes on. IMO this is much too high.

The one which I believe to be closest to opitmum for comfort and power is to sit on the bike with your cycling shoes on and with the pedal in the same position as before, i.e. furthest distance away, then just have the heel scraping the pedal with a straight leg. With me that works out to be 104.4% of my inseam measured as above.

A difference of 4 cm. See avatar

 

[willhub]

Maybe if I take some pictures of me on the bike it might be easier to see? I paid 50 quid at paul hewitts for my bike fit done and lots of people say he's a good bike fitter.

This is what he did: I think the numbers with * are the values he set the bike up with. I don't actually get pain on the bike btw, any discomfort I get is off the bike. My heel can just about tough the pedal when my leg is fully straight, not bent. I specifically asked the bike fitter about this and he basically says it's a rough guide and leads me to believe it's not set in stone as in, if you can't tough the pedals with your heels then it does not mean it's deffenitly wrong. And everyone who has seen me think my position looks allot better and certainly feels better, I don't get back ache anymore.

 

[willhub]

Ok.

I have being to the physio today, he had a look at my knee, then the scan, he seems to think it's pain to do with the patella or something, there is a special name for it but I can't remember it, he thinks it's related to a muscle imbalance, so he gave me an exercise to do.

I stand up against a wall, I tense up the quads, then slowly bend my knees down, keeping the quads tensed, it seems quite tricky, I have to make sure my knee is in line with my foot at all times too.

He has also put some tape across my knee, he said it'll stay on for about 3 days, but I'm not holding much hope for it lasting long I'm sure it's going to stretch, I can go in the shower with it and all that, I should have asked him if I could put some more on by myself as it made an instant difference as far as I could tell, when I bend my leg normally I get clicking, on the bike I get a popping click and also small movements when sat down cause allot of cracking sort of like crushing a snowball sensation, all of the clicking and nearly all of the creaking appears to have being prevented with this bit of tape, I cycled home, I'm sat here now, no pain at the moment!

He said I can still cycle, he said yes, I told him, when I mean cycled, I mean 100+ and going up hills pushing hard, he said it's fine. I'm only going to do a short ride at the weekend though with a long break in-between when I'm watching a road race.

My left knee appears to be getting the same problems as the right knee, but hopefully the exercises will prevent it from getting worse, I have another appointment next week where he will give me some sort of exercise program, I might ask him if there is anything like the tape but lasts for much longer.

In the meantime the exercise he gave me I have to do 10reps 3 times a day.

 

[montage]

Ok.

I have being to the physio today, he had a look at my knee, then the scan, he seems to think it's pain to do with the patella or something, there is a special name for it but I can't remember it, he thinks it's related to a muscle imbalance, so he gave me an exercise to do.

I stand up against a wall, I tense up the quads, then slowly bend my knees down, keeping the quads tensed, it seems quite tricky, I have to make sure my knee is in line with my foot at all times too.

He has also put some tape across my knee, he said it'll stay on for about 3 days, but I'm not holding much hope for it lasting long I'm sure it's going to stretch, I can go in the shower with it and all that, I should have asked him if I could put some more on by myself as it made an instant difference as far as I could tell, when I bend my leg normally I get clicking, on the bike I get a popping click and also small movements when sat down cause allot of cracking sort of like crushing a snowball sensation, all of the clicking and nearly all of the creaking appears to have being prevented with this bit of tape, I cycled home, I'm sat here now, no pain at the moment!

He said I can still cycle, he said yes, I told him, when I mean cycled, I mean 100+ and going up hills pushing hard, he said it's fine. I'm only going to do a short ride at the weekend though with a long break in-between when I'm watching a road race.

My left knee appears to be getting the same problems as the right knee, but hopefully the exercises will prevent it from getting worse, I have another appointment next week where he will give me some sort of exercise program, I might ask him if there is anything like the tape but lasts for much longer.

In the meantime the exercise he gave me I have to do 10reps 3 times a day.

ITBS. =IT Band syndrome. cant remember what the IT means.

So basically you need to strengthen the inside of your thigh and stretch the muscle on the outside....right?

Hundreds of people get this, infact I was completely off the bike for 3 months, and only been back on for a month due to this.