Knee Pain - Any Advice?

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Octet

Veteran
Hello CC'ers,

On some occasions when cycling, I get knee pain that almost prevents me from going any further.
Some days I am happily capable of going on and on, with no problems at all. Going along the flat at 25 mph and up relatively steep hills at 15 mph.
But on other days, I can't even get five miles in on a flat without having knee pain. At some points it gets so bad that I have to stop cycling every three or four minutes to rest them.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what could be the problem, and/or any remedies to solve knee pain.

Thanks
 

PK99

Legendary Member
Location
SW19
can you describe (sharp? Throbbing???) and locate (knee cap top/bottom? side of knee???)
 
OP
OP
Octet

Octet

Veteran
Mainly at the top and the front of the knee. It is a stiff, sharp at points sort of pain and it feels like I have a massive increase of resistance when bending it.
 

albion

Guru
Location
South Tyneside
Only speaking for myself I find that riding can mask the pain with it only becoming noticeable after the ride.
This might be happening to you so that a cold start highlights it.

I get by by spinning most of the way and being more restrained when the boy racer need arises.
 
OP
OP
Octet

Octet

Veteran
Only speaking for myself I find that riding can mask the pain with it only becoming noticeable after the ride.
This might be happening to you so that a cold start highlights it.

I get by by spinning most of the way and being more restrained when the boy racer need arises.

Thanks, I shall try and push through the pain on my next ride.
I think I have short listed it to either three problems:

- The way I pedal
- A low level of Potassium
- My anatomy (I see a physiotherapist anyway due to my knees and back, and they claimed that I had very stiff knees in general and that cycling would help)
 
OP
OP
Octet

Octet

Veteran
Check your saddle height. A saddle that is too low, will cause knee pain.

Thanks for the tip although as it is a road bike, it is higher then the handlebars anyway. Sitting on the saddle I can tip-toe the ground which should suggest the correct height?
 
Thanks, I shall try and push through the pain on my next ride.

Don't do that - the pain is your body's way of telling you that something ain't right and riding through it will almost certainly make it worse. It might be related to your position on the bike, it might be an over-use issue, or it might be something unrelated. Either way, as a cyclist, knees are something you don't want to be ignoring when they play up...
 

Hacienda71

Mancunian in self imposed exile in leafy Cheshire
Thanks for the tip although as it is a road bike, it is higher then the handlebars anyway. Sitting on the saddle I can tip-toe the ground which should suggest the correct height?

You need to see how much your leg is extended on the pedal at the bottom of the pedal stroke. Too low and too high can have an adverse effect on the knees. There are a lot of factors as well as saddle height though that may be causing discomfort. This might help. As Black and Yellow says don't ride through the pain try to identify the cause and eliminate it.
 
OP
OP
Octet

Octet

Veteran
Thanks for the help,

I shall read the article and try and re-fit the bike. I shall also mention it to the physio when I next go.
 

BrumJim

Forum Stalwart (won't take the hint and leave...)
Not a solution, but have you looked at your cadence (speed your legs are spinning round)? I used to get knee problem, possibly just due to late teenage body, but I used to grind my gears rather than change down and spin. Knees got better, but I also spin much more now and never had a repeat problem.
 
OP
OP
Octet

Octet

Veteran
Not a solution, but have you looked at your cadence (speed your legs are spinning round)? I used to get knee problem, possibly just due to late teenage body, but I used to grind my gears rather than change down and spin. Knees got better, but I also spin much more now and never had a repeat problem.

The pain does become reduced when I gear down, although I don't think this is the problem because on some days I can go in high gears and be fine yet on the same stretch of road I have the problems on another day.
 
gearing/cadence is not really relevant - the bike will not move forward without you pushing the pedals, regardless of how fast you spin them... :smile:
 

BrumJim

Forum Stalwart (won't take the hint and leave...)
The pain does become reduced when I gear down, although I don't think this is the problem because on some days I can go in high gears and be fine yet on the same stretch of road I have the problems on another day.

Body is not very good at cause and effect. So sometimes you will break the rules and get away with it, and on other days you will suffer. And therefore the only way to work it out is lots of data, which takes a lot of time and causes damage. Otherwise see extended data field and gather information that way - i.e. crowd sourcing, or more simply, don't take my advice, look to see what other information you can get.
 
OP
OP
Octet

Octet

Veteran
I shall speak to the physio and see what she thinks of the problem.

Thanks for the help regardless :thumbsup:
 
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