Knee hurts when cycling

[Hjl]

So my knee has started hurting when I'm cycling, it doesn't happen until I'm about 6 or so miles in, but then it starts to hurt more and more.

It hurts directly above my knee cap and takes a few days to stop.

Any advice? One of you fat bastards must have some medical knowledge.

[ALF]

Tried wearing a knee support? I've only had knee problems from football, that just randomly happened too. Knee support and deep heat dulled the pain at the time to an extent. Best thing was just rest up for a while but it still flares up every now and then.

[Hjl]

How long should I rest it for? A few days?

[ALF]

When I did mine it was a couple of weeks rest I needed. It was in a pretty awful way before though. It'd got to a point where I struggled to walk for the rest of the day after playing football in the morning.

[biggeordiedave]

Go see a physio

[bodacious benny]

Old age. Suck it up.

[biggeordiedave]

Old age. Suck it up.

Also this. My knee hurts every time I stand up and I'm 27.

[asbo]

So my knee has started hurting when I'm cycling, it doesn't happen until I'm about 6 or so miles in, but then it starts to hurt more and more.

It hurts directly above my knee cap and takes a few days to stop.

Any advice? One of you fat bastards must have some medical knowledge.

Five mile bike rides.

What Alf said though. You want something like this:

http://www.physioroom.com/product/Physi ... 38722.html

You need something that covers the whole knee and is adjustable so you can tighten is where you need it. The sleeve type supports are a waste of time in my opinion. And I'd buy it from a store so you can try it on first, it's going to be moving a lot when you're cycling and if it pinches or chafes anywhere it will be unusable.

[overseasTOON]

I'm not a qualified doctor but I'd say amputation.

Being a qualified chef, you can then use your limb to make a tasty pasty filling.

[ScottW1886]

I get a sore knee when using an indoor bike, outside bike is fine....

If I could find out where the damn creaking noise is coming from on the bike I'd be happy though!!

[asbo]

I'm not a qualified doctor but I'd say amputation.

Being a qualified chef, you can then use your limb to make a tasty pasty filling.

Why wasn't that option on the eBar poll.

I get a sore knee when using an indoor bike, outside bike is fine....

If I could find out where the damn creaking noise is coming from on the bike I'd be happy though!!

Sure it's not coming from your knee?

[PTAO?]

Get a new knee.

[TommyToon]

Have you looked at your saddle height? I had that when I started training for the summer and it was because the saddle was too low effectively meaning that the tension was never released from that part of my knee at the bottom of the pedal stroke. Probably the first thing I'd look at if I were you.

[Micky Quim]

So my knee has started hurting when I'm cycling, it doesn't happen until I'm about 6 or so miles in, but then it starts to hurt more and more.

It hurts directly above my knee cap and takes a few days to stop.

Any advice? One of you fat bastards must have some medical knowledge.

Any particular side of the knee cap or just in the middle?

[Hjl]

At the top, I'm pretty sure it's the quadricep tendon.

[Micky Quim]

Physio it is then

[seatonsluicetoon]

So my knee has started hurting when I'm cycling, it doesn't happen until I'm about 6 or so miles in, but then it starts to hurt more and more.

It hurts directly above my knee cap and takes a few days to stop.

Any advice? One of you fat bastards must have some medical knowledge.

I'm a fat bastard, a very keen cyclist and currently recovering slowly from a knee arthroscopy. I might be able to offer my two cents.

Couple of questions:

What kind of riding do you do and on what kind of bike?

How fit are you generally and do you do any other types of exercise? Does your knee/quad ever hurt when you do those?

Is there anything you can highlight that could have triggered pain in your knee off the bike?

On your rides, has the pain come out of nowhere or built up gradually?

I would add that supports tend to be more of a crutch than anything and can actually be detrimental to your recovery. If you are tricking your body into thinking it can do something because it feels comfortable with a support then that is putting too much stress on other parts of your body that are having to subsidise for the weakness in the afflicted joint or muscle. It can have a knock on effect to things like your hips, back and neck. Rest really is often the best remedy but after that it's rehab. If you can't, say, play badminton without your knee strapped up then you shouldn't play badminton until you can. It's such a bore and a proper chore to do tiny little isolated muscle building exercises but it is necessary.

Look forward to hearing more about your cycling.

I should say that the extent of my knowledge goes as far as my own experience and I'm not a doctor.

[Hjl]

So my knee has started hurting when I'm cycling, it doesn't happen until I'm about 6 or so miles in, but then it starts to hurt more and more.

It hurts directly above my knee cap and takes a few days to stop.

Any advice? One of you fat bastards must have some medical knowledge.

I'm a fat bastard, a very keen cyclist and currently recovering slowly from a knee arthroscopy. I might be able to offer my two cents.

Couple of questions:

What kind of riding do you do and on what kind of bike?

How fit are you generally and do you do any other types of exercise? Does your knee/quad ever hurt when you do those?

Is there anything you can highlight that could have triggered pain in your knee off the bike?

On your rides, has the pain come out of nowhere or built up gradually?

I would add that supports tend to be more of a crutch than anything and can actually be detrimental to your recovery. If you are tricking your body into thinking it can do something because it feels comfortable with a support then that is putting too much stress on other parts of your body that are having to subsidise for the weakness in the afflicted joint or muscle. It can have a knock on effect to things like your hips, back and neck. Rest really is often the best remedy but after that it's rehab. If you can't, say, play badminton without your knee strapped up then you shouldn't play badminton until you can. It's such a bore and a proper chore to do tiny little isolated muscle building exercises but it is necessary.

Look forward to hearing more about your cycling.

I should say that the extent of my knowledge goes as far as my own experience and I'm not a doctor.

It suddenly started hurting about 3 weeks ago. I was cycling into a strong headwind uphill and was pushing harder than i normally do and it suddenly hurt.

Im not very fit, its a 10 mile ride each way and relatively flat and it takes me about 40-45 mins to do it. My bike is a 49lb cheap as chips mountain bike. I dont care if its fast or good, i just want to use it to lose weight. Ive been cycling on it for about 6 months with no problem. Ive done about 500 miles on it. I dont do any other exercise.

I rested it for a week and then went out on it again, it felt fine to start with and then started aching in the last few miles.

[seatonsluicetoon]

I'm a fat bastard, a very keen cyclist and currently recovering slowly from a knee arthroscopy. I might be able to offer my two cents.

Couple of questions:

What kind of riding do you do and on what kind of bike?

How fit are you generally and do you do any other types of exercise? Does your knee/quad ever hurt when you do those?

Is there anything you can highlight that could have triggered pain in your knee off the bike?

On your rides, has the pain come out of nowhere or built up gradually?

I would add that supports tend to be more of a crutch than anything and can actually be detrimental to your recovery. If you are tricking your body into thinking it can do something because it feels comfortable with a support then that is putting too much stress on other parts of your body that are having to subsidise for the weakness in the afflicted joint or muscle. It can have a knock on effect to things like your hips, back and neck. Rest really is often the best remedy but after that it's rehab. If you can't, say, play badminton without your knee strapped up then you shouldn't play badminton until you can. It's such a bore and a proper chore to do tiny little isolated muscle building exercises but it is necessary.

Look forward to hearing more about your cycling.

I should say that the extent of my knowledge goes as far as my own experience and I'm not a doctor.

It suddenly started hurting about 3 weeks ago. I was cycling into a strong headwind uphill and was pushing harder than i normally do and it suddenly hurt.

Im not very fit, its a 10 mile ride each way and relatively flat and it takes me about 40-45 mins to do it. My bike is a 49lb cheap as chips mountain bike. I dont care if its fast or good, i just want to use it to lose weight. Ive been cycling on it for about 6 months with no problem. Ive done about 500 miles on it. I dont do any other exercise.

I rested it for a week and then went out on it again, it felt fine to start with and then started aching in the last few miles.

Sounds like the extra effort required that day might have exacerbated a problem that was already developing.

OK so my next question expands on what Tommy Toon asked. Have you had a bike fitting? The number one injury for beginner cyclists is knee pain and nine times out of ten this can be fixed by setting up the geometry of your bike to fit your body.

Would I be right in assuming you don't ride 'clipped in' with cycling shoes, cleats and corresponding pedals? The benefit of using these, once you get over the initial fear of being attached to the bike whether you're upright or lying on a ditch on your side (this can be alleviated by practicing unclipping when you stop), is that the alignment of the leg is controlled by the clip. Your foot position cannot change and you will be in firm based shoes so your foot cannot arch or flex as easily.

The alignment of the foot and leg is important because when you're not clipped in your foot can slip around and throughout your ride you can be using different parts of it it push the pedal, rather than always using the firm powerful section under the ball of the foot where power is naturally generated from.

If you imagine you're walking along and then you make the conscious decision that for a mile you will walk with your left foot slightly turned out at an angle. At the end of the mile your whole leg and potentially spine will be feeling it. This, if you're not clipped in, could quite easily be the cause of your problem because you are pushing a lot of power through a slightly turned out foot without realising it.

There are tests you can do yourself to check the geometry of your bike. Firstly I hope your frame size is correct. Standing straddling the bike with your feet flat on the floor the bike's horizontal top tube, at the saddle end, should sit roughly two inches below your crotch.

Next you need to check saddle height. Find a wall, doorframe or other sturdy object. Sit on your saddle and put your feet on the pedals. Move your feet so that your heels are on the pedals. Move one foot down to '6'o'clock'. At this point your leg should be locked out but without you having to arch your hip to either side to make it lock. If you are having to arch your hip towards the pedal then your saddle is too high, if arching away then your saddle is too low. Once you've got your saddle height adjusted get back on the bike and the ball of your foot should now sit nicely at '6'o'clock' without the leg being locked out or even completely straight. Looking down with the pedals at 3 and 9, so horizontally level, your knee and the tips of your toes should be vertically aligned so if your were to hang a string from your knee it would just brush the tips of your toes.

If you can't achieve this then try and have a look at moving your saddle forward or backwards along its rails until you can.

Your handle bar height and the 'reach' to your handlebars will depend on how aggressive you want your cycling style to be. The lower and further forward the more aerodynamic you will be. The higher and closer to you they are the more upright and comfortable you will be.

You can spend lots of money on a professional bike fit but it can be worth it if you cycle regularly. It really is a great sport for getting outside, seeing the countryside and getting some headspace so hope you can get this fixed so you can keep riding.

[bodacious benny]

I used to cycle to work but had a few near misses so stopped. The only routes I can cycle to work are all busy roads. But the final straw was when another cyclist cycled right across my path and I ploughed straight into the dopey f***er.

On that note, if anyone wants to buy a Cannondale Quick SL3 hybrid bike let me know!