Knee Pain

thanks man, I have been using road shoes as opposed to mtb, with the cleats set up so that the pedal axle was roughly underneath the ball of my foot, as per various online sources. I'm pretty sure my feet would have been further forward with the pedals, so the axle would be closer so the middle of my foot, and never had them super tight, so there'd always be some movement back and forth and from side to side.

but I hadn't really considered that, I was thinking it's more likely to be the angle than the position relative to the axle so will have a look, thanks!

hadn't considered that either, cheers

Anyone know how NHS referrals work? Got one for my knee after an MRI, but I won't be in London for the available about appointments - going away for a few weeks then moving North. Can I just take a referral to a new doctor and get it changed to a doctor in York?

Anyone think that cages have and advantage for long distance?
I often vary my foot position on longer rides and really feel the benefit on the my knees but also my foot ( I often have arch pain plantar fasciitis.)
How much power is lost in reality?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNedIJBZpgM

tldw - negligible :-)

Result. Clips are the new clipless

Yeah that's exactly how it works. Through the NHS you can ask to be referred to any consultant operating with the NHS. In fact, if you have a particular surgeon in mind up in York, you could mention it now to your current doctor and ask to get referred straight there to get the ball rolling.

This is basically what I'm trying to do if I can find the right surgeon (yeah, still not sorted). I didn't see @Jaymo85 had replied - thanks for that!

Cool - thanks. Will hang onto the letter(s) then.

Any recommendations for a physio to deal with cycling induced knee injury either central (near Victoria ideally) or North London (Finsbury park/muswell hill area)?

Anybody had a medial meniscus repair carried out? How long did it take to heal?
I know injuries and repairs are all different but wondered what a ballpark recovery is?

3 times had this op

Generally a week on crutches then 2-3 weeks of Physio exercises.

Back on bike doing light cycling after that.

@dancing james
Nice one thanks for that, that's better than I was expecting.
I'm gonna try physio for a while but really I'm delaying the inevitable op.

Last operation was 20/12/2016 and I was back on a bike on 07/01/17

Has anyone had any luck with orthotics? (for general use & cycling)

Have had on/off knee pain for the best part of 12 months now and have seen physios/stretched/strengthened/bike fitted and the like. It's stopped me riding any significant distance for the past 6 months. Gym work has helped slightly but my last physio appt. my funny gait/feet stance was noted and was referred to a podiatrist.

Saw the podiatrist this morning who is convinced a custom orthotic should sort out my knee/ankle issue. I trust him as what he explained made perfect sense, but I'm reluctant to get my hopes up just yet.

Has anyone found them to help?

I had terrible knee pain and shin splint type of stuff from SPDs ... it all went away when I switched to Speedplay frogs, because of the float. They aren't great as a pedal, but the only thing I seem to get along with. I eevn ride them on the road bike.

The first couple of rides felt like ice skating, and I noticed that I kicked my heel out every pedal stroke. Of course without a self-centering mechanism, you correct that in the end because it feels weird afterwards.

I wear orthotic inserts due to Plantar Fasciitis (the tendon on the bottom of the foot). Got them fitted at the local hospital, after I'd gone through the physio route. Seem to work well, and I've less aches that I used to when out walking.

I haven't used them as a way to cure knee pain, however I love my custom orthotics. I had knee pain for years and managed to fix them via a good physio. Classic tight ITB, so loosened that off and then built up the opposite muscle. I only switched to custom orthotics after the knee got better, but after about a year using off the shelf orthotic inserts (specialized bg green), custom ones from a good fitter work very well. Mine are sidas soles fitted by Simon at cadence in Crystal Palace. Well worth the cash!

Thanks @606, @hazzelfrazzel. I'm hoping this will be final piece of the puzzle as I feel like I have exhausted all my other options so far.

What's "funny" about your gait/feet/stance?

I pronate massively (ankles roll in). This causes your tibia & femur to internal rotate with every step/pedalstroke

I had some Sidas insoles made and they weren't all that, would have needed some sort of heel wedges in there aswell.

TBH though, I have one normal arch and one that is a bit flatter. I've just done a load of stretching and rolling and I don't need to bother with insoles anymore. Not sure how "fixable" you'd be as it sounds like your issues are worse than mine were.

Ah ok - I'm having custom sidas insoles made too. Really hopeful they will make a difference as have stretched and strengthened religiously for months now to only slight improvement . The podiatrist reckons these are the final piece of the puzzle as everything else in the exam was unremarkable

Which muscles did you stretch and strengthen?

Quads/ham/calves/glutes

Tight groin/adductors are apparently a likely cause. Lacrosse ball and some stretching should help you loads.