Knee Pain! Help Please!

[designer1]

I just thought i would float this one out there and see if anyone else has encountered this....
I ride a fair amount - up to 60 miles in one go every Sunday on the retro Kula build....I have Shimano SPD's on it and the seat height is correct as far as im aware.

However - when i do this sort of distance - I get quite a bad pain on the outside of my knee (Right leg) - the pain runs down the side of the knee, but is also concentrated in the pivot point of the knee? I have done some fishing on the net and think it may be LCL ligament? As a result ive moved the seat forward on the rails 1.5/2cms so that im more over the cranks rather than offset backward - this has helped a little - as normally i cant walk too great for the rest of the day after the ride!

Just curious to know if anyone else gets this and possible causes / fixes?

Thanks in advance!

 

[craiga]

I take glucosamine with condroitin which helps my joints & ligaments.

Once you have pulled that ligament you need to rest it. Every time you ride you will tweak it again. Talk to your Doc. Can be serious.

Also 60 miles is a long way on a SPD type pedal. Look at a road bike pedal & how that spreads the load over the foot.

 

[TheGreenRabbit]

Make sure the cleats are set at the correct position on the shoe.

 

[taffy]

As above take Glucosamine and cod liver oil.

Check your cleat alignment - sit on the dining room table and let your legs hang/swing free. They will find their natural position/angle and you should mirror this with your feet on the pedals (i.e if your left foot points in the front of the cleat should angle out slightly)

Are you pushing to big a gear/lot's? I know if i push a big ish gear/use the big ring a lot i get an ache in my right knee (aggravated old injury) - so unless i've plenty of speed/going downhill i avoid the big ring.

 

[mikee]

i dont use spd's any more for big runs as i was getting pain in my right
knee probably originally from an old motorcycle injury
still use spd's on 20 milers tho

 

[designer1]

All valid points which i will look into...thanks

I dont really use the big ring unless going downhill etc - im in the middle ring mainly 16/17/18 - sitting around 17mph-21mph (wind dependant).

I beginning to think cleats - as my left kneww should be experiencing the same if it were a seat postion problem?

Need to sort something out as got Essex100 in the not too distant future? :shock:

 

[dyna-ti]

You're getting old
Death is on the horizon :shock:

 

[Student Bob]

Sounds more like an Illio-tibial band (ITB) strain. It's a big band of ligament that runs from your hip to just below the knee. If you're getting flare-ups of pain following a long ride, then it's likely that the SPDs are rolling your feet outwards putting a stretch on the ITB.

I'd drop the saddle a bit lower or try a more supportive pedal. There's some really good stretches on the interwebs for the ITB, and if you can get access to a foam roller, there's some killer stretches that'll sort you right out....

Nothing to worry about unduly, it's a really common injury, and with stretching and sorting out the cause, you'll be sorted in no time!

 

[designer1]

ok great - i will search on tinternet!

Thanks

 

[S8-Tom]

I had a similar thing after building up my most recent retro bike.

So far I've:
switched to egg beaters as there's more 'float' in the pedal/cleat interface.
adjusted my saddle everyway you can think of (seems that a few mm forward was the way to go).
adjusted my stem height (lower).
adjusted cleat angle.

Finally got comfortable on the last ride.