Why am I nervous?

[Easytigers]

Had to take a couple of weeks off the bike as the knee mysteriously ballooned up after first full week of commuting after the school holidays. Have hated the last two weeks! First of all couldn't put any weight on it and found it hard to even press the clutch when having to drive...last weekend thought I was ready...it was a bit tender but couldn't wait so I tried a short cycle. Unfortunately didn't even get out of the village before I began to feel it.
Tomorrow I'm going for it! I'm gonna ride to work no matter what! I feel a bit stupid but I'm still really nervous that it's gonna break down and I won't be able to cycle for a long time (sorry being melodramatic!)
Am hoping for a few 'I had the same and it was perfectly fine' stories if poss...(wishful thinking?)
Russ

 

[MacB]

Have you checked all the usual stuff Russ? positioning on the bike, had you made any changes prior to the knee issue, done any big rides, upped your mileage significantly, etc, etc?

I had some positioning issues early on that didn't really come out until the mileage racked up and I went over certain distance markers, 50 miles being the first.

It's one of those irksome things that's really fiddly to get right and will vary according to the individual and personal fitness/flexibility levels, hence why no easy formula that works for everyone. Your body will naturally accomodate a less than ideal position but the ability to accomodate will diminish as the distance/strain increases. Once you've crossed a certain threshold then the accomodation can turn to injury, unfortunately this can also drastically reduce the threshold for future triggering events. A good read of Sheldon on the subject is a start:-

http://sheldonbrown.com/pain.html

A couple of the key things I took from reading his site were:-

pain can occur even with perfect setup if you allow your posture to slump

your ideal position can vary as your personal fitness, and flexibility, vary through the year

 

[Easytigers]

Thanks MacB..just off to check that link now. Have had the same setup for about 6 months with no problems...apart from putting insoles into my cycling shoes...that shouldn't make a difference should it?
Russ

 

[Little yellow Brompton]

Thanks MacB..just off to check that link now. Have had the same setup for about 6 months with no problems...apart from putting insoles into my cycling shoes...that shouldn't make a difference should it?
Russ

You have effectively ( as far as your knees are concerned) dropped your saddle height albeit not by much

 

[MacB]

Thanks MacB..just off to check that link now. Have had the same setup for about 6 months with no problems...apart from putting insoles into my cycling shoes...that shouldn't make a difference should it?
Russ

hmm, one of those impossible to say bits, some people claim a sensitivity to 5mm changes, or less, and others say it doesn't matter to them. But a tiny change may just be a tipping point, you could have been at one extreme of an acceptable range and the insoles just pushed it over into a problem area.

For your own peace of mind it's probably worth checking over your setup, start with saddle position to pedals, then work forward to bars. Lots of advice and threads all over the web, but for knee happiness then saddle to pedals is the biggie. If you use foot retention then that is very important as well. These fancy bike fit sessions spend a lot of time on cleat positioning etc.

 

[Easytigers]

Thanks guys...think I'll take the insoles out...there wasn't really a problem before I put them in...just felt like I could feel the cleats so wanted a bit of extra padding.
Russ

 

[ttcycle]

if you can feel your cleats you may have screwed them in a tad too far?

If it's not cycling specific insoles worth taking them out as the softness of the material may be counter productive

 

[Arsen Gere]

If your knee balloned up it could be bursitis. If you can take anti-inflamatories like ibuprofen they will help.

On your worst fears I had a knee issue that put me out for nearly 3 years, I took up swimming and now I do triathlons so sometimes bad things can pay off.

I'd see a physio if I was you. It's money well spent.
Even if its only time that is needed to heal your knee, you can rest in with the confidence an expert has told you and it does not nag on your mind.

I'm an arse for training when injured, but if someone else tells me to stop or do something else, I'll do it.

 

[Easytigers]

Thanks Arsen. Rode to work today. My knee clunked and clicked for the first few minutes but seemed to be ok after that...might be stiff later but for now feels good! Hurray!
Russ

 

[nich]

I sometimes get a bit of knee pain when cycling (doesn't swell up or anything), but it goes most the time.

Now it's my back that's starting to go a bit, also just been told that I've got a possible bone issue with my hip, thankfully cycling is recommended as I need to get the blood flowing a lot

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I sometimes get a bit of knee pain when cycling (doesn't swell up or anything), but it goes most the time.

Now it's my back that's starting to go a bit, also just been told that I've got a possible bone issue with my hip, thankfully cycling is recommended as I need to get the blood flowing a lot

I'd want to make 100% sure that that's not a referred pain issue or due to some kind of compensation. Cue music: The knee bone is connected to the thigh bone, the thigh bone is connected to the hip bone....

 

[leemo]

Tomorrow I'm going for it! I'm gonna ride to work no matter what!

bad idea!

Listen to what your body is telling you. If it's still injured and you force it you will just prolong the injury.

 

[Tasker]

Am hoping for a few 'I had the same and it was perfectly fine' stories if poss...(wishful thinking?)
Russ

Wish I could give you a happy story but I can't. But I would earnestly advise that you give things a chance to recover/mend.

Whatever. I stand behind what I say. Please don't push things. Give it time and you'll be back up gasping away up a hill in no time!

Good luck.

 

[mikeoc]

It does sound like it might have been bursitis, or possibly even gout? I'm a sports massage therapist by the way. If bursitis, not necessarily due to your cycling position/technique, sometimes the bursa just get infected, or inflamed from a bang to the knee - I am new to cycling, so not at all familiar with cycling body mechanics and bike position etc. - I have lots to learn! Did you go to the doctor when the knee ballooned up? And how is it doing now?

 

[Easytigers]

Thanks for taking the time to reply mikeoc. No didn't go. Although it was very sore for the first couple of days it seemed to get better pretty quickly. I resisted the urge to cycle for two weeks until it felt pretty much back to normal.I know I shouldn't have but cycled 4 out of 5 days on first week back

Knee feels fine and I feel really silly that I was so worried. Took the insoles out so not sure if that's had a positive effect but just feel so glad to be back on the bike!!! Any preventative measures that can be taken if it was bursitis etc?
Russ