Knee pain, repetitive stress injury?

[indysteel]

Lattae, I tend to think that a lot of fitters don't take q factor into consideration. You might ask one of your riding partners if you look toed/kneed in while riding. In my experience, if the crank is the issue and you don't change it, no amount of stretching will really take care of the problem.

[lattae]

Thanks Indysteel.. do you mean that while riding your toes and knees have a tendency to be turned in greatly towards the TT with regards to the Q factor?

I do have the triple crank and eventually would like to purchase a new bike (maybe in a year) I'm going to keep the Q factor in mind. Maybe I should go back to my fitter and have him look this over now. I do still have some pain in the knee but has been reduced since stretching, but not totally gone. I also use the foam roller.

[indysteel]

Thanks Indysteel.. do you mean that while riding your toes and knees have a tendency to be turned in greatly towards the TT with regards to the Q factor?

You got it. Mine was really exaggerated, even with my cleats moved as far in as possible.

My fitter did a lot of research for me when I began the custom bike process. SRAM, Shimano and Campy's current triples essentially all have the same q factor. If I recall correctly, the only good choice I had was a TA Carmina crank, which was out of my price range. So, I went with the Campy 50-34 compact (13-26 in the rear). With that combo, I lost my smallest gear and my two biggest gears. So far, I haven't missed them too much. Every once in a while, I'll spin out, but that's okay. My knee is much improved. It hurt after my last ride, but I think that's because I went for a long ride with a fair amount of climbing after two weeks off of the bike.

[Kathi]

You got it. Mine was really exaggerated, even with my cleats moved as far in as possible.

My fitter did a lot of research for me when I began the custom bike process. SRAM, Shimano and Campy's current triples essentially all have the same q factor. If I recall correctly, the only good choice I had was a TA Carmina crank, which was out of my price range. So, I went with the Campy 50-34 compact (13-26 in the rear). With that combo, I lost my smallest gear and my two biggest gears. So far, I haven't missed them too much. Every once in a while, I'll spin out, but that's okay. My knee is much improved. It hurt after my last ride, but I think that's because I went for a long ride with a fair amount of climbing after two weeks off of the bike.

I have the TA Carmina crankset on my bike. I love it but didn't improve my toe out issues.

[Kathi]

Gray also recommends "The Stick" for getting in areas you can't get with the foam roll. I got the "Tiger Tail" Perform Better.Com and the "Fitball Therapy Ball" http://www.performbetter.com/SearchResult.aspx?rnd=30
The ball works better than a tennis ball for spots that need lots of work, especially the glutes and back.

Both are small enough to pack for travel, including bike tours.

[Melalvai]

I stayed completely off the bike for a full week. I've been walking a lot, just about long enough to make it hurt and then I stop. Today I biked 3 miles to work and home. Each ride it did ok until the 3rd mile and then it started to hurt, not excruciating just uncomfortable.

No more 70+ mile rides for me, but I don't really want to, so that's all good.

I can't believe how light my bike felt after lugging all that stuff all over the midwest!

[Melalvai]

I continued to walk (and drive) after the one trip to work last Wednesday. Yesterday (Friday) I noticed that even long walks didn't trigger any knee pain. So just now I tried out a short trip. 4 miles, a couple big hills, and NO knee pain. I'm cured!!!

I'm so excited that I can quit being a motorist.

However I will not head out on any 70+ mile trips quite yet.

[Melalvai]

I'm confused.

The 4 mile bike ride yesterday did NOT trigger any knee pain. Walking hasn't either, for the last 3 or 4 days.

Sitting in my daughter's recital, and sitting through Star Trek, DID.

What do you think? Does it still sound like IT band? I suppose I could see a doctor. Eh.

[Kathi]

Yes, if it continues much longer it's worth getting checked out. It's not worth sitting around worrying about. Seeing a Doc will give you reassurance and it may be ok.

That's exactly how my knee pain started years ago. I could ride my bike but couldn't sit or climb stairs. My diagnosis was Chondromalacia, was told the muscles needed to be stronger and was given exercises for the muscles around the kneecap. Note that newer theories are indicating problems in the hip, not knee cap tracking.

Last summer I ignored my knee pain because I didn't want to hear the same old story. I ended up with hip, foot and back pain as well as knee pain.

In late Feb. I finished 4 mos of PT and still had issues. Still thinking my bike fit was the cause of all my issues I went to a PT who also does bike fit hoping he could spot the problem. Instead, he rechecked ME! and found my left SI joint was locked up while the right SI joint was very loose. After a little manipulation all the pain went out of my right hip. That was on Friday, today I did a 22 mile bike ride with some really good hills and no pain anywhere. Just tiredness because I'm deconditioned at this point.

I'm still in awe that such a simple little thing could cause so much pain even though I experienced no pain in that joint.

Good luck, and congratulations on doing your tour.