be nice to your knees

[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 ...

[LBTC]

Hey, Venus

With your bike on the trainer, do you make sure that the front and rear wheel are level? I don't have a proper stand for the front wheel, but position cast dumbbells to hold the front wheel up....I usually use a tape measure to ensure that both wheels are off the ground by the same amount. If it's not exact, it may change your fit just enough to tweak your knees?

As for inner thigh muscles - side lunges are a perfect one to add to your weight routine to strengthen them. Of course, if you head to a gym they have a few machines that can do it too.

Good luck! I hope you fiture it out soon!

Namaste,
~T~

[RoadRaven]

Has anyone mentioned glucosamine... I just looked at the whole thread, but maybe I missed it...

Glucosamine wont sort out tendons... but it can be hugely helpful for joints and cartilege...

And def check positioning of seat/angle of cleats

[VenusdeVelo]

LB - I will check the exact diff in front and rear, I do have a proper front wheel stand but have never actually measured both to ensure I am not continually riding in an "uphill" position...seat and cleats were all professionally it. Weird thing is I'd never elt this like this on the road this summer (only a small amount), I've noticed it more on the trainer.

I did start the gluco a few weeks ago to see I see a differerence, I won't probably know for another month but hopefully it improves things all around...

*Sigh*, you gotta love what those 40's bring !!!

Thanks for all the advice!!

[VenusdeVelo]

Great photos LB!!! I looked at them before and now again, and you've got some great composition in them. And the dogs are my personal fave (love dogs ;-).

[crazycanuck]

Thanks venus for the book suggestion..i'll try and hunt it down here.

My knee's feeling much better but still quite stiff. I went and visited another physio on friday & it was AWESOME....He was quite happy i'd continued my regular regime-swimming, walking to work & pilates as i could pinpoint the minute but important feeling of my knee wavering a little bit as i walked & biked. Also, the reason for some of the pain is yup my ITB is still quite tight...

He gave me some stretches to do, taped the top of my knee & said to go for a ride on sat & let him know if it made a difference while riding. Yup it did & will do more riding before my appt this week without the tape.

Again ladies, thanks for your input & i appreciate your posts.

c