INJURY...should it stop me?

[mickwood]

I did a big (for me) 60mile commute during which I did the BIGGEST hill EVER! I managed to hurt my left knee but limped the last 10 miles home. Luckily we were heading to Devon for a week so I rested it for that period. I got on my bike again today for the first time since that ride to do a quick 10 miler and the pain kicked in again!? It's a pain on the top of my knee on the outside so I'm thinking maybe strained tendon? The question is should I try to continue riding? If I don't I'm sure my fitness that's building up slowly will evaporate!!

 

[alecstilleyedye]

see a doctor, and keep off the bike while the pain persists. riding through an injury will only make it worse.

 

[montage]

cross train - swimming?

 

[mickwood]

Swimming? You've obviously not seen my physique...if you had you wouldn't suggest putting that into a pair of speedos!

I'll try and rest it then

 

[montage]

If you are scared of speedos, wear one of those Borat man thongs. Seriously, if you want to keep the fitness and are injured, do some kind of cross training! Does the knee hurt when you run?

Even if it is using the cross trainer or something in the gym.

 

[mickwood]

hmm...not sure. I think I'll just stick to the gym at work and tailor work outs around the pain - trying not to aggrevate it further.

 

[fossyant]

ICE - or bag of peas if swollen. Just take it easy...knees are the cyclist's 'crown jewels'

 

[Joe]

What kind of pain is it? Burning pain on the outside of the knee is probably ITBS. It can be caused, amonst other things, by making a big jump in mileage or mashing up hills you aren't used to. If it is, stay off the bike until it clears up and build your miles up again slowly. I ended up off the bike for a couple of months by trying to ride through it.
http://www.cptips.com/knee.htm is a useful site but always worth a trip to the docs, it's free!

 

[postman]

Do as the Doc tells you.I am off the bike till end of Feb.Ruptured Bakers Cysct.It's a nuisance and i am missing cycling.But i can now feel the knee is getting stronger.And the swelling is nearly gone.Praise be.

 

[Scoosh]

Cycling+ did a couple of articles on knees a while back.

Part 1 here ...... and Pt 2 here .

There is plenty of useful info there to help look after your knees.

HTH

 

[Steve Austin]

Sounds like ITBS, but you need a Dr

Long mileages can really show up bad positioning. saddle 5mm too high will give you terrible knee pain as an example. so it may be worth lowering your saddle when you get back on the bike

 

[mickwood]

What kind of pain is it? Burning pain on the outside of the knee is probably ITBS. It can be caused, amonst other things, by making a big jump in mileage or mashing up hills you aren't used to. If it is, stay off the bike until it clears up and build your miles up again slowly. I ended up off the bike for a couple of months by trying to ride through it.
http://www.cptips.com/knee.htm is a useful site but always worth a trip to the docs, it's free!

Thanks! That's a really useful link!!

Reading it, I'm getting more convinced that the bike is set up correctly. The pain started after a particularly arduous steep hill AND longer ride combination! So I'm thinking it's the iliotibial band (IT band) syndrome affecting my knee. I've obviously overdone it....I guess resting it and then some shorter, flat rides

 

[Joe]

Thanks! That's a really useful link!!

Reading it, I'm getting more convinced that the bike is set up correctly. The pain started after a particularly arduous steep hill AND longer ride combination! So I'm thinking it's the iliotibial band (IT band) syndrome affecting my knee. I've obviously overdone it....I guess resting it and then some shorter, flat rides

If it's definitely ITBS, then do rest it for a while. It's a quite distinctive pain (burning) imo, but maybe worth checking with the doctor just for piece of mind. My doctor guessed instantly and confirmed with some prodding.

It is a particularly annoying condition as you can think it's gone and it all of a sudden comes back! It's definitely sortable though; after my episode cleared up I've had no problems since *touch wood*

My advice would be to first find out some IT band stretches. Leave it for a week or so (maybe icing it/taking anti inflamatories in that time). Then start to gently do the stretches. If they cause any pain whatsoever then stop and leave it for another week. It's frustrating but better in the long run.
Once you can do the stretches pain free then get back on the bike and gradually build up your miles again. Try to keep a high cadence too.

Also double check your position on the bike. Feet rotated inwards, saddle too high or too far back can cause ITBS.

It's a common condition for runners so theres plenty of info out there.

I also felt I benefited from massaging with a foam roller (google it) but maybe not neccesary if it's not too severe (and they're bloody painful!)

Good luck with it, it's a true pain in the arse (knee)

 

[RedBike]

Definately rest.

It's also probably worth getting yourself a cadence sensor for the bike.
I've no idea what they're like but there's some cheap ones on ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PROFEX-14-FUN...286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66:2|65:15|39:1|240:1318

The ideal cadence is a bit of grey area. (There's several topics about it on this site.) As a very rough guide to 'spin' you're looking for about 85-95rpm on the flat and if you want to avoid mashing keeping over about 75-80 on the hills.
Typically begineers will pedal a bigger gear slower.

 

[asterix]

Joints need muscular support. If you do something more strenuous than usual it stresses the joint unduly (a cause of back pain too). By building up the muscles gradually you can tackle increasingly tough hills without danger of damaging yourself.