Knee Pain

the trigger point rollers allow me access to my mansion of torture, its a graduation from the pain cave and features the dungeon of discomfort

I said you'd be in good hands with Dave. The roller will be sore and I expect Dave will do some follow up work on your ITB which isn't the most comfortable thing but is very effective.

Increase your cadence, reduce your torque, let the knees settle and improve your flexibility.

Good Luck.

the trigger point rollers allow me access to my mansion of torture, its a graduation from the pain cave and features the dungeon of discomfort

I'll stick with my bungalow of mild unease, thank you very much.
And my shed of pleasure.

I just bought some foam rollers today and tried the ITB stretch ... jesus, that hurts!

incidentally, I always feel like my right foot is over-pronoating when I pedal—*I've tried to move the cleat out to stop my foot from rolling over, but it doesn't seem to work.
I've begun to think that I should switch to proper clipless road pedals on my geared bike as they spread the pressure out over a larger pedal (as opposed to mtb spd's)? Any thoughts?

wedges.

incidentally, I always feel like my right foot is over-pronoating when I pedal—*I've tried to move the cleat out to stop my foot from rolling over, but it doesn't seem to work.
I've begun to think that I should switch to proper clipless road pedals on my geared bike as they spread the pressure out over a larger pedal (as opposed to mtb spd's)? Any thoughts?

stiffer shoes often helped, that is if you want to be able to use MTB spd's.

wedges.

how you mean?

Ed - I've got Sidi dominators which are much stiffer than my Mavics, but that doesn't seem to help much- unless I get involved in carbon soles. Sounds pretty spendy!

wedges.

how you mean?

These;

They are superb, as they sort out over (or under) pronation. Cyclefit sell them in London or you can get them on ebay, but I'd try and get someone who knows what they are doing to set them up for you if you've not used them before.

These;

They are superb, as they sort out over (or under) pronation. Cyclefit sell them in London or you can get them on ebay, but I'd try and get someone who knows what they are doing to set them up for you if you've not used them before.

Ah, nice. Thanks mate.

I had it too. Got me out of cross country running at school though - every cloud... etc

+1

Also, glad you got advice straight away. Took me about 6 months to get to see a physio. Stupid really!

Just got a long list of exercises emailed to me from Dave, looks like i'll be spending an hour tonight stretching things. Quite a long list i have to say, but anything to make it better

Top service too that I have to say. He could well charge me for a 45 minute visit to show me this, but instead sends me a tailored list of exercises / stretches, all with video

Ah, nice. Thanks mate.

I overpronate on my right foot when walking, and found that I was getting pain on the outside of this foot when cycling.

I now have 3 under the cleat wedges on my road shoes which sorted the problem - started with 2 but after seeing Scheritt @ The Bike Whisperer he added another.

For my MTB shoes I went for In The Shoe wedges, which go underneath the insole. I could probably do with more wedging in these but not sure I'll be able to fit another ITS wedge in there and still have room for my foot.

I'm gonna get some under the cleat wedges for SPD and try one of these in addition to the ITS wedge.

let us know what the diagnosis is.
after having knee mistracking diagnosed i can't ride behind anyone without looking at how straight their legs are. i see lots of people who's knees brush the top tube who would probably benefit from footbeds and the correct alignment, they obviously don't have any problems like i did but they would be a stronger cyclist if they had it corrected. it causes a muscle imbalance so that one quad gets overdeveloped and the rest get underused. weak glutes were part of the problem too, often the area of pain/discomfort can be caused by something one joint further up the chain.

talk to me about footbeds

specialized BG footbeds. they come in red green and blue which are various degrees of arch support. a BG dealer should be able to check your feet to see which one you require (i got the greens because i knew i had high arches) they come with wedges that go under the footbed inside the shoe. specialized shoes come with some varus tilt built in. adding / taking away wedges will get your knees tracking straight but it's easier if you get somebody to look at you on a turbo a BG dealer is obviously the best place to do this.
the footbeds have a 'metatarsal bump' in the middle of the foot which feels odd at first but is very supportive. the sidi's i have now don't have room for the BG footbed so im using the sidi one with the wedges. getting a bit of discomfort as my foot is being pushed flatter without the bump but i guess i'll get used to it.
i may do the same as dommyracer and combine a bg footbed with a cleat wedge to give me more room in the shoe. my shimano shoes have enough room so i'll continue using the BG's in them.

the BG technician who sorted me out now works at sigma. (he's called Nick)

I was riding for a couple of weeks with the upper of my Sidi Dominators pulling away from the sole unit at the ball of my foot which I think was causing my foot/ankle to pronate off vertical = really nasty knee twinges. Even 30 minutes riding was ending up uncomfortable. Never had any problem with knee before so hope new shoes will sort it.

Conversely I seem to have lucked out with my first proper road pedal setup with Shimano shoes/pedals. Zero pain/hotspots/numbness anywhere even after a really long day on the bike.

allright, did a round of stretches. quite hard to figure out how to do some, but my legs sure feel better now. no roller action as of yet, still waiting for delivery

should i do these exercises every day or a few times every week?

I had similar problems and was advised every day. Just make it part of your routine, but warm up 1st.

cool will do. quite enjoyed it

incidentally a friend told me he started doing yoga and couldn't recommend it enough, might give that a go as well

^ stretches for ITB = little and often, so a few times a day every day. Once you've been shown (or researched) a few different stretches you can stretch your ITB whilst standing in a queue etc.

Foam Rollers etc are serious pain bringers, props to anyone who goes down that route and sticks with it.

cool will do. quite enjoyed it

incidentally a friend told me he started doing yoga and couldn't recommend it enough, might give that a go as well

Definitely, go for it. I have been going to this class:

http://www.lfgss.com/thread31438.html

ok, done 30 seconds of roller on the outside of my right thigh. FUCK ME IT HURTS

:-)
told you so.
now take your other foot off the floor and find a tight spot in the middle of your quads.
i dare you.

holy fuck. this is by far one of the most painful thing i've ever done.

just realized our windows are open, the neighbors must wonder if I get beaten to a pulp in here

right quad done. i'm not lifting the other leg up, no way man

does this get better by time or will it always be this painful? this is ridicilous

the first time i just sat down and rolled it up and down my thighs by hand it was that painful.
but it gets easier the more you do it and only needs a minute or 2 a day, soon you will be putting more weight on it and more pressure without visiting the pain cave.
I use it less and less now simply because my legs are no longer so tight.