be nice to your knees

[mary9761]

I'm glad you had the knee checked out. We depend on them for so much more than even cycling so it's not something to mess with. I had a problem with my knee in early '88 that indirectly led to my accident that put me on disability and a downward spiral until I recently started riding the bike again. We never found out what was the problem with mine, other than I'm prearthritic and have since had some slight meniscus tears (likely due to all my weight wear and tear) I know I have to listen to my knees if I want to keep on the road (literally) to better health and hopefully complete recovery from all my physical problems.
Follow what the doc says and good luck, thanks for keeping us updated.
Mary

[CorsairMac]

Thnx for going to the doc and having that looked at, and updating us on the outcome. With an injury like you had, the doc was the first place to go. Also, did they tell you to keep on eye on it from now on? I had an ortho tell me way back when - once you take a hard blow on the knee it can lead to potential problems in the future!

Any idea when you can get back on the bike?

[crazycanuck]

LBTC...you mentioned "One thing that was suggested to me as that pain right at the top of the knee actually indicates that the inner thigh muscle lacks strength." you're just about on the mark!...

I went to my pilates session today (worked on mid section only) & we were discussing where i keep feeling certain muscles above my knee on the right side & directly below the knee on the left/a bit abvove either being really sore or feeling like someone's squeezing them...She came to the conclusion that my VMO(vastus medialus Oblique) at the side of the knee (you probably knew that right..) needed strenghtening & the ITB on the outside of the leg needed stretching...(the pains above don't include the knee itself as that's being iced etc)

Corsairmac-not sure when i can get back on the bike-will wait until my appt on monday. Just have to ice it & take nurofen.

BTW...is tendonitis the same thing as having a bruised tendon? I'm still wandering on the net looking at sites on knees & sports injuries...any ideas?

thanks c

[pkq]

My bad knee screams with pain up on the upstroke towards the end of long, grueling rides. But it has a lot of problems so it is expected.

Keep those knees safe and healthy. A friend is a PT who recommended ice water soaks for an ankle sprain. Worked wonders!

An excellent point has been raised about keeping opposing muscle groups "equally" strong. Life is all about balance, isn't it?

I am no doctor but would think bruising and tendonitis are not the same.

Good luck with your knee recovery.

[DirtDiva]

Tendonitis is simply an inflamation of the tendon(s). I guess it could be caused by bruising, but, as far as I know, it's generally related to over-use injuries.

[LBTC]

CC, your pilates instructor has WAY more knowledge than I do! But I'm glad my note had you asking more questions that might lead to relief and long term healing!

pkq - so much is all about balance, it's amazing! Every thing is interconnected, so it all makes sense to me.....it's just sometimes terribly hard to find out which thing is out of balance!

Namaste,
~T~

[pkq]

LBTC, yep, you are right. You should have my brain for understanding out of balance. A doctor told me once that my butt pain was the tendon/ligament tightening up because the hamstring wasn't being stretched enough and strenghtened enough. I thought he was full of it but followed his advice. He was right. Glad I followed his advice.

[traveller_62]

BTW...is tendonitis the same thing as having a bruised tendon?

A bruise is associated with bleeding (usually small blood vessels...that's what causes the discoloration) as the result of trauma without breaking the skin; tendonitis is swelling or inflammation of the tendon or the sheath that the tendon is covered by.

Bruising and inflammation often go hand in hand following trauma but they are not technically the same thing. You can have tendonitis without bruising because tendonitis is most often cause by overuse instead of trauma.

A bruise and a contusion are the same thing.

-traveller

[VenusdeVelo]

LBTC I thought your comment was also interesting as I never linked the two. Ithought it might have to do with a strength/muscle issue, but was not sure which. After riding on this bike setup now for a few years (was professionally fit), I have ramped up my indoor training this year and for the first time ever, the top of my knees begin to hurt...esp after a long Spinervals sessions and walking up the stairs later.

I am wary about making changes to the fit, and the LBS here are pitiful (living overseas). I am supposed to be back in the US by spring, I am thinking of having a professional re-fit again also...I may just have altered my riding style just enough now to warrant a re-fit, not sure...I am a more aggressive road rider now than I was when it was first fit. Just bought a new mtn bike that likely has a slightly diff fit so I may be getting used to 1 fit over another as well (diff cranks, etc...our LBS claims he cannot find 165cm crankarms ANYWHERE in Europe so I have 170cm on my new mtb and will probably change those out eventually). And I always contend that biking indoors on the trainer really makes you feel the little tweeks and pains on your bike because you're more "fixed" in a position (ie, the butt is more sore, the feet tend to feel uncomfortable...things you would not feel outside).

I've been playing on the seat (sit back, sit forward) to see if it alleviates some pain, and determine if maybe I make a micro-change to the seat and see what happens. I am frustrated because I have NEVER had knee pain...*sigh*, I don't want to start now. My bike was always my saviour in fact if I ever had sore knees or a sore hip (long-time injury that flairs when I don't get on my bike) -- I rode and it went away.

Any other recos, most welcome!! And I am going to look up some inner thigh strengthening exercises...

Thanks!!

[VenusdeVelo]

CrazyCanuck -- one other thing...I've not rec'd it yet (on order) but some of the runner sites recommended a book called "The Knee Crisis Handbook: Understanding Pain, Preventing Trauma, Recovering from Knee Injury, and Building Healthy Knees for Life By: Dr. Brian Halpern" about $12.

Supposedly primarily about how to protect your knees when you are a cyclist or runner, what to do to ensure they are in great shape, and I am hoping it addresses problems and how to resolve.

Something to think about, Rodale Press, available on Amazon.

[traveller_62]

I have ramped up my indoor training this year and for the first time ever, the top of my knees begin to hurt...esp after a long Spinervals sessions and walking up the stairs later.

venus,

are you working out more than usual? and/or doing a ton of power ramps on the indoor trainer?

even if your bike fits perfectly you can still get tendonitis.

-traveller

[VenusdeVelo]

Well I am doing more indoor training than last year, and I think my spinning is actually a little more riding than I was doing outdoors in the nicer weather. I am actually doing primarily the Aerobics wokr (ie, Spinervals Aerobic base DVDs etc.) so no major power at this point either.

The knee pain just does not seem like tendonitis because of how it can subside in a couple of days when I don't spin. But not 100% sure. It just feeels like something is off...either I need more strength, or fit or something. The weird thing is that when I mountain bike (about 1/week) I don't get the same residual knee pain and when I rode on the road this summer I did not either.

Hmmmm.....as she scratched her head ...