Left Knee pain; what's the deal?

[itself]

Hi there,

First time in my life I have had knee problems. When I ride my bikes, the outside of my left knee is in pain. I am fine when I get off of the bike ( sore), so it only happens on the bike. I use speedplay pedals.

Anyone know of a good orthopedic doc in arizona? So many on every corner!

Thanks for your help!

Lisa

[Cataboo]

It sounds to me that you probably need to take your bike and get it fitted to you- probably either the seat is too low, seat too high, or something is wrong in your position or the cleats. Maybe Knotted Yet will chime in with what it's most likely to be given the location of your pain.

If you're lucky enough to have a physical therapist around you that does bike fitting like KNotted Yet...

[chicagogal]

Could be your IT band. I have some IT band problems and I attribute it to pronating a bit with my right foot. However, when I change my cleat position to stop pronating, I get even worse pain on the inside of my knee. (I am going to go back to my fitter soon and see what he thinks . . .)

[moderncyclista]

Could be as simple as seat height. A good rule of thumb is...Knee pain in the front of the knee - lower your seat. Knee pain in the back of knee area - raise your seat. It couldn't hurt to try adjusting your seat first and testing this out. I used to have terrible pain on the outside of my left knee too - then I lowered my seat just a little bit - and it went away. :D Best of luck to you.

[OakLeaf]

A good rule ... is...Knee pain in the front of the knee - lower your seat. Knee pain in the back of knee area - raise your seat.

it's actually the opposite...

[moderncyclista]

Ha. Well, scratch that and reverse it. I guess I just run in reverse most times.
(improper foot position on the pedal or cleat alignment - can cause inside or outside knee pain too. Or, pedaling in too high a gear, and so on.)

[XMcShiftersonX]

I also use Speedplay pedals, the light action ones, and I've been having some pain on the outside, back part of my left knee. It almost feels just like a little soreness after a difficult ride. My husband used to use these pedals until he also developed knee pain, and I guess it was because there was too much float on the pedals, so his foot would be sliding all over the place while pedaling, so the alignment just wasn't very good. He got pedals with a float that he could adjust (since you can't adjust it on these particular pedals) and since then hasn't had a problem. Good luck. I still haven't decided what I'm going to do. Getting a fitting isn't financially in the cards for me right now.

[vness]

Sit in chair. Move forward so that you are sitting at edge of chair. Extend legs, heels to floor. Keep knees straight (or as straight as possible if you have arthritis.) Tighten thigh muscles. Hold for count of 10. Relax for count of 3. Do 10 repetitions. You can do this several times throughout the day. You can build up to 2 or 3 sets of 10 repetitions at a time.
Hope this will help you.

Hi... can you tell me what the result of doing this exercise is? Besides obviously tightening my quads... I know there's got to be more to it.... and I feel like such a dummy for asking... but if I don't ask, I don't learn :)
thanks
namaste,
v

[OakLeaf]

I think the point of that exercise is for "alexjoan" to sell humic acid... :rolleyes:

[vness]

I think the point of that exercise is for "alexjoan" to sell humic acid... :rolleyes:

LOL Thank You for that!!!!!
namaste,
v

[Kathi]

The pain is not necessarily from the bike or your pedals. I'm also a Speedplay user and I started experiencing knee pain. Because I had been diagnosed with chondromalicia and everytime I see an ortho the cause is attributed to the chondromalicia I put up with it and faithfully kept my quads strong. By the end of the summer my pain had progressed into the back, piriformis, and foot. The ortho treated each area as separate issues. I tried shims in my shoes and had professional orthotics.

My bike fitter recommended seeing a PT who did bike fits so I did. It turns out I had a locked SI joint. Apparently it had been like that for years and caused my right side to weaken.

Now that I know the real cause I work on keeping my glutes strong rather than the muscles around my knee.

I've also quit using orthotics for skiing and walking. Haven't ridden yet this season so we'll see what happens without them.

BTW, one of my symptoms is I always sat a little sideways on my bike.

[itself]

Thanks for all of the tips. I think it is IBS...the pain in the left side of my left knee is so bad that I can't ride my recumbent or my mtn bike. Hiking is no problem, and I don't have the pain off the bike.

Off to PT on Monday, crap I don't know how long I will be sidelined off the bikes. This sucks.

Lisa :(

[ummbnb]

Just a note on cleat position. I've been roadbiking for over 20 years (with a seven year break in there) and never had any problems. Last year, as I was getting ready to do my first metric century of the summer my cleat came loose. I put it back and headed off. The ride was 100% rolling hills and by about 25 miles I felt the pressure in my knee. I kept thinking it was fine but by 50 miles I could barely pedal. I finally pulled over and made an adjustment - barely moving the cleat - and when I got back on my bike, the pain was gone completely. Amazing. I did have some pain for a few days after but eventually it went away. The cleat was only like a 16th of an inch off and it stopped me in my tracks!

[itself]

Great suggestion on the cleat position, but with speedplays position doesn't matter as there is a ton of float. With SPDs, cleat position absolutely matters. I've made minor adjustments like you did, and found a world of difference!

Lisa

[redrhodie]

I agree with Catriona. I recently changed my saddle position, and that's totally relieved my IT bad problem. I think my body changed in the 3 years since I got my bike, or my riding position changed. Anyway, while my bike was set up on the trainer, I dropped a plumb line, and sure enough my knee was a little far back. 3 mms forward made the pain go away.

[itself]

Ok, great tip on the seat position...forward or backward? (on my mtn bike)

Now, on my recumbent, what the heck? Not sure here...I can sit the angle up higher and I can move the seat closer/further from the pedals.


??


Lisa

[OakLeaf]

Even with a lot of float, cleat position DOES matter, because when the cleat is off-center, you're still putting a little torque on your knee.

Some people's knees are actually happier without float. My DH and I both fall into that category. He actually ditched his Speedplays and went to Look because the float was irritating his knees. I can ride the grey (4.5°) Look cleats, but I prefer the black ones (0°), and either way they have to be positioned just right or my knees aren't happy.

[itself]

geez, this is going to be interesting to figure out....I will have the guy at PT take a look at my shoes and cleats tomorrow...

Lisa

[Karmabike]

geez, this is going to be interesting to figure out....I will have the guy at PT take a look at my shoes and cleats tomorrow...

Lisa

Answer from Professional bike fitter

While it is hard to say exactly what the issue is without more info.
Here are some ideas

Do you have a supportive footbed in your shoe?
Likely the natural"tilt" of your foot is different from the way your shoe/pedals are holding your foot. This may be causing you to "float" outward against the edge of the pedals range of float causing tension on your body.

The best approach would be to go to a pro bike fitter after your visit with the PT. The PT will have good insight into muscle imbalances and such but will likely not understand cleat, and bike set up.

Feel free to ask specific questions. I will do my best to answer.


Victor
http://Bicyclelab.com
http://twitter.com/bicyclelab
youtube channel: bicyclelab
Shoe fitting video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8X1sfbQSGA

[azfiddle]

I just started having pain in my left knee, so this discussion has been timely- it appeared quite suddenly- after finishing a short, but hard climb for the second day in a row. It was hurting just on the bike, especially on climbs- this morning there is just the faintest sensation there...I've had the bike since August, gradually increased my mileage and effort and have ridden about 2800 miles with absolutely no discomfort up until now. (Should say, I'm 53....)

The description of IT band symptoms sound very close to what's happening (recognizing the perils and pitfalls of self-diagnosis here...I don't want to just assume that's the problem)

My question- what is the best direction to go next? Possible options:

1. Just take a break from the bike, rest, ibuprofen
2. Bike fit- to check seat position, cleats etc.
3. Go to my regular doctor for opinion or referral
4. Go straight to an orthopedic doctor or sports med. specialist who knows about cycling?
5. Go to a chiropractor with cycling specific knowledge
6. Other?

I was already scheduled with my favorite LMT for a deep tissue massage- and she will certainly have feedback on what she notices.

Thanks in advance
Sharon