Oh my knees!

[fatbottomedgurl]

I built up my cardio and legs for 8 weeks before hitting the trails. Now after a month of riding mtb I am having patello-femoral pain, mostly my left leg. I think I have always had an issue with my pf joint because I can never stand up after sitting at the theater for two hours.

I know seat height/ position/ cleat position and all that are important, but all those variables which are easier to adjust for road riding go out the window on a mountain bike. As I ride I move forward and back, adjust the seat for downhills, standing through technical areas, etc.

I've read that I should work on strengthening my vastus medialis obliquus muscle and stretching my iliotibial band. Right now I am in the ice and rest phase.

Any one have this problem-- and how to deal with it? Will a full suspension bike help? I don't want to give up dirt!

Thanks!

[rocknrollgirl]

I had that early on when I needed to rest my quads. My doc explained to me that when the quads get over worked, they get...well, rigor, for lack of a better term, and clamp down on those tendons and bands. rest, stretching, icing, all helped.

How mcuh are you riding a week????

Ruth

[fatbottomedgurl]

I've been riding four days at least a week. I think I have been riding too hard- makes sense my quads would be tight. All the trails in my immediate area are climb, climb, climb. When I first noticed soreness I had ridden 20 miles (8 on the trail) one late afternoon and then the next morning did a killer 13 mile all fireroad/ single track with lots of elevation gain (1800 ft). And I am one of those lazy people who never made it a habit to stretch before or after exercise. So- rest, ice, slow down, strengthen, and stretch.

[rocknrollgirl]

That is a lot, at least to me. I have to drive at leat 45 min to ride, so I usually ride twice a week, 2 hours a session, usually pretty hard because we have to plan to get there.

Then I cross train by trail running two days a week, and I lift twice a week to strengthen upper and lower body.

I am no expert, but that seems like a lot. Mt biking is tough on the old quaddies if you are doing lots of climbing.

[velogirl]

I never have knee pain when road riding (I ride anywhere from 15-20 hours a week). I've been doing a lot of mtb riding this week (3 hours racing on Sunday, 2 hour very technical ride on Wednesday, and a 1.5 hour not-too-technical ride yesterday). I've noticed just a bit of knee pain lately and it has nothing to do with strength or flexibility or bike fit. It has to do with how we use our joints (hips & knees) when we mtn bike. For more technical riding, we put a lot of stress on our joints as we steer the bike around switchbacks and on climbs & descents. The sport is much more demanding on our joints than road riding where you track in a straight plane.

[bouncybouncy]

personal experience:
on a mountain bike we must get back-off the saddle more often therefore the saddle is usually a little lower...on LOOOOOONG climbs i will raise my saddle to ease knee issues.
since doing this my knees have stopped yelling at me...just remember to put it back down BEFORE you hit the techy downhill section!

i noticed you said you do alot of climbing...i know this method is a pain in the katoosh but your knees will thank you!!!

try this if you don't have one already:

http://www.cambriabike.com/shopexd.asp?id=26050

my $0.02

[Nanci]

I had that early on when I needed to rest my quads. My doc explained to me that when the quads get over worked, they get...well, rigor, for lack of a better term, and clamp down on those tendons and bands. rest, stretching, icing, all helped.

How mcuh are you riding a week????

Ruth

Wow, that's interesting! I've been having this off-and-on knee pain, in that ?tendon? directly above the patella. It first appeared a couple days after Three State Three Mountain, which was definitely a quad-buster. So now I always worry about the pain, and if it's from overuse, and if I'm making it worse. I especially worried during my 200k, because there were some hills at the beginning, but then they never hurt and haven't hurt since...Weird.

Nanci