Knee Pain

Bloody knee still giving me jipp. It's been 18 months since the initial pain I believe (cycling to Paris) I'm stretching most days now have visited 2 physios (1 private, 1 nhs) have had a bike fit.

I've recently re introduced single leg squats to the stretching as recommended by one of the physios.

Now today the pain is back again - seriously throbbing.

Just fucking fed up really. I have no idea what else I can do.

^ Know the feeling!

I cut down on cycling a lot, took up running and swimming, and now my knees been fine for ages. Though I can start to feel it after 10k, and haven't done more than 25 since it started to trouble me, and that's peanuts to what I used to do.

I have some kind of long term plan in the back of my head that I should start to increase milage, but riding before work doesn't allow it unless I get up even earlier... And running and swimming turned out to be seriously fun so has taken over a bit.

Bloody knee still giving me jipp. It's been 18 months since the initial pain I believe (cycling to Paris) I'm stretching most days now have visited 2 physios (1 private, 1 nhs) have had a bike fit.

I've recently re introduced single leg squats to the stretching as recommended by one of the physios.

Now today the pain is back again - seriously throbbing.

Just fucking fed up really. I have no idea what else I can do.

If you've put in the time and your physio / advice has been appropriate but symptoms are still ongoing then it may be time to obtain further investigations to exclude patellofemoral chondral defects or other pathology.

A little bit of progress on the knee front.

My mother in law recommended a sports massage to me - from a women she's been to a few times,various sporting injuries.

We had a chat about my sports history, cycling, running, rugby and then she looked in to the pain spots on my knee/ leg and commented how I had one leg slightly shorter than the other (this had never been mentioned to me previously).

She's told me I've damaged a ligament in my knee (again the first time this had been mentioned) and that when she done it there was an audible pop. Eureka! I thought this was exactly what happened to me cycling up a hill in France. I carried on cycling after that which didn't help but had little choice.

I then had a massage around the knee area which was really painful to begin with but soon numbed down followed by a hamstring massage, we spoke about insoles to accommodate the leg length discrepancy and she's going to speak to a friend who works in that field.

This morning as expected I felt a little groggy and have a knee brace on but this sounds like progress.

I'm going to carry on stretching in the evenings but take it easy on the cycling - cycling the 2 miles to work will be fine.

waiting for an MRI scan appointment from the NHS to check for detritus on my knee

Spencey, I have the same problem (almost a 2 cm leg difference), and a podiatrist can help with these issues. There's often more things that can be connected to this, such as how you stand on your feet, the form of your feet (the arch specifically), and back pains caused by your lower back having a slight twist to compensate for the turning of your hips. Insoles can work to help with all these things (not necissarily improve, but compensate).

i've been suffering for a while with hamstring pain - many (seemingly reliable) sources say this can be caused by naturally compensating for excessive movement in clipless pedals.
i happily road speedplays with max float for years with no pain so was dubious as to this being the cause but i've recently noticed that the knee with the problem is above a pedal that is, in common parlance, fucked.
seems to be a common feature of old speedplays. see gif for illustration.
just wondering if anyone thinks this could cause lateral hamstring pain on fibula head.

I would think so, similar to the injuries runners get when they over-pronate, putting more stress on the knee joint. Have you tried ITB stretches (might be what you are thinking of as lateral hamstring pain).

Edit: I'm not a physio though, so not an expert obv.

thanks - i'm no physio either but pain is below the ITB and is bang on the fibula head. also my hamstrings on the bad knee are really tight.

I do this stretch a lot, I get really tight glutes and hip-flexors, this manifests in the tendons running over my kneecaps getting pulled out of position and rubbing like hell, causing some pain! The stretch helps a lot to loosen up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIYOXP3vQAU

and of you have a foam roller, this will make you scream like a child!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9aJtO0VCqw

MRI results back - torn meniscus and tendonitis

Need to go and see my doctor, am assuming I will need an operation - i'd rather have one than for the knee to give out on me. I had a similar problem with the other knee years ago and it then tore really badly when I was dancing (the cartilage got jammed in my knee cap and I could not even straighten my leg).

Oh shit son! Sorry to hear, the non-lethal killer fear.

Bad news DJ all the best.

How'd you tear it?

Yes, ouch, James--what happened?

it has been fucked for ages (about a year or so) i have just been ignoring it. so will wait another 10 days to see the Dr to discuss the next stages as this is the first available appointment. will probably push to get an operation, stressing that as i work in cycling i need this sooner rather than later

MRI results back - torn meniscus and tendonitis

Need to go and see my doctor, am assuming I will need an operation - i'd rather have one than for the knee to give out on me. I had a similar problem with the other knee years ago and it then tore really badly when I was dancing (the cartilage got jammed in my knee cap and I could not even straighten my leg).

I did this, it was very annoying. I tore the medial ligament at the same time.

They performed an arthroscopy, snipped out the FUBAR bit of cartilage and decided to leave the ligament to heal on it's own.

I tore my meniscus back in november and on the doctors advice I just stopped doing any running/jogging or anything like that, geared down, and did some swimming and it seems to be getting better. It still hurts a bit on cold days.

Weird one, I damaged a ligament in my back the other month and have been having osteopath treatment to sort that. Almost immediately after the first treatment, I started getting very sharp ligament pain in the back of my right knee. Osteopath said this can happen as your body overcompensates for back corrections but oddly, the pain is only while cycling. No amount of seatpost raising/lowering has got rid of it, but does feel like my foot angle has something to do with it. However, as I've already set my cleats for what felt comfortable before, resetting them to this new position leaves me with one very pigeon-toed foot. Can't decide if this is better (as it's more comfortable) or to leave it as it really looks like it'll cause further problems in future.

Dilemma.

^ 2 week rest?

Rather worryingly cycling home and knee clicked now its rather sore. Was hoping it was getting better too ffs.

I also get knee pain . left knee , behind knee cap and above . quickly scanned the other posts. I am left footed so i maybe using my left leg more. mind you after fifty odd miles both hurt. any more mileage they hurt for a few days .

*Don't compensate, ride less.

Saddle back (saddle down), gear down. That - and the below stretches - helped me at least.

(*seek professional help).

I also get knee pain . left knee , behind knee cap and above . quickly scanned the other posts. I am left footed so i maybe using my left leg more. mind you after fifty odd miles both hurt. any more mileage they hurt for a few days .

anterior knee pain?

i have just the solution for *you! stand up leaning every so slightly forward, so the majority of your weight in on the balls of your feet. tense your quads, which should force your knees backwards. once balanced, repeat in short sharp pulses.
once used to the feeling it's probably easier to do whilst sat up in bed or across a sofa.

(*it worked for me, no idea if it will help you)
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sit up on your bed, legs straight, toes casually pointing forward. now try point your heels forward. that's the sort of thing you want to be doing. (i don't know if this is the right term...it's like gently hyperextending your knee backwards.)

am now being referred to Chelsea and Westminster. one of the guys i have been riding with of late is an orthopaedic surgeon and he suggested i go there as they have two of the top consultants in the country

Some cyclist specific stretches FWIW https://dl.dropbox.com/u/20504246/Jo%20McRae%20-%20Stretching%20for%20Cyclists%20%282012%29%20Doc-19_02_13%2022.00.pdf

i've been suffering for a while with hamstring pain - many (seemingly reliable) sources say this can be caused by naturally compensating for excessive movement in clipless pedals.
i happily road speedplays with max float for years with no pain so was dubious as to this being the cause but i've recently noticed that the knee with the problem is above a pedal that is, in common parlance, fucked.
seems to be a common feature of old speedplays. see gif for illustration.
just wondering if anyone thinks this could cause lateral hamstring pain on fibula head.

sorry late to the thread but yes that is too much rocking- if those are X series pedals you can replace the steel bowties, that'll fix the problem (possibly do the cleats as well), or if they are zeros them a body kit is available.