Continuing pain in my knees .... help..please.

landsurfer
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Continuing pain in my knees .... help..please.

Post by landsurfer »

Another lovely 45 mile ride this morning, the Nottinghamshire Wheeler.
But as with all my rides the constant level 2 knee pain continues ....
I've tried Colins' guidelines, they helped but the low level pain continues ...
Do i give in and have a Bike Fit ?
Do SPA do them ?
My 2 bikes are a SPA Steel Touring and a BTWIN 500 in touring fit.
So many of the bike fits i see advertised are focused on the race / TT brigade, not the touring GOM brigade.

My GP, a cyclist, said, " Your knees are 60 years old, what do you expect, take drugs ", does not fill me with hope for the next 20 years.

I Want My Knees Fixed !

Some pragmatic assistance and guidance, direction to a proffesional bike fit if necessary, would be welcomed.
But if anyone thinks a "Bike Fit' would help make sure you can recommend it from personal experience please.
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mercalia
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Re: Continuing pain in my knees .... help..please.

Post by mercalia »

maybe you putting too much force into them, need to realise your knees not what they used to be, you expecting too much and you shouldbe careful incase you cripple your self for much later on in life? At your age people are having hip replacements etc due to wear and tear. Fortunately I am ok at 65 as I never strained my knees or legs
landsurfer
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Re: Continuing pain in my knees .... help..please.

Post by landsurfer »

mercalia wrote:maybe you putting too much force into them, need to realise your knees not what they used to be, you expecting too much and you shouldbe careful incase you cripple your self for much later on in life? At your age people are having hip replacements etc due to wear and tear. Fortunately I am ok at 65 as I never strained my knees or legs


Thank you for your positive and encouraging post ..
“Quiet, calm deliberation disentangles every knot.”
Be more Mike.
The road goes on forever.
Debs
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Re: Continuing pain in my knees .... help..please.

Post by Debs »

Sorry to hear of your knee pain, i can empathise :(

There are lots of things that can go wrong with knees, and it really does depend upon individual circumstances...

However, just to say, it won't do any harm to check your crank lengths aren't too long.
25 years ago i could ride 172.5 cranks all day long no problem,
but these day 172.5 size cranks just seem uncomfortable and do my knees in
I've gone back to 170mm size cranks and it feels so right :D
mercalia
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Re: Continuing pain in my knees .... help..please.

Post by mercalia »

landsurfer wrote:
mercalia wrote:maybe you putting too much force into them, need to realise your knees not what they used to be, you expecting too much and you shouldbe careful incase you cripple your self for much later on in life? At your age people are having hip replacements etc due to wear and tear. Fortunately I am ok at 65 as I never strained my knees or legs


Thank you for your positive and encouraging post ..


I did have some knee trouble a year or so ago almost falling down in Sainsburys, but I concluded that was due to too tight socks/leg warmers as when I stopped wearing them things improved.
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531colin
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Re: Continuing pain in my knees .... help..please.

Post by 531colin »

Stretching is worth a try.
PDQ Mobile
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Re: Continuing pain in my knees .... help..please.

Post by PDQ Mobile »

I don't know what Colin's guidelines are but I guess they suggest a high cadence.
Spin, spin at all times.It helps I think.
Keep the knees nice and warm especially initially on a ride.

Crank length? SPD cleat/shoe adjustment? Saddle height?
Diet supplement? Dad swore by Cod liver oil!

I fear you know all this already.
the snail
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Re: Continuing pain in my knees .... help..please.

Post by the snail »

Beyond the sensible advice on set-up, gearing/cadence, I'd suggest an appointment with a physiotherapist, maybe a sports physiotherapist. They'll have more expert knowledge than the average GP or bike-fit person, and probably could work out what the specific problem is.
Vorpal
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Re: Continuing pain in my knees .... help..please.

Post by Vorpal »

What's your gearing? What gears do you use most?
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hamster
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Re: Continuing pain in my knees .... help..please.

Post by hamster »

I've had knee pain over the years. The few things I learned:
1 Crunching big gears is bad - change down early, ditch the 52 ring (I use a 48). Be very careful of sudden overload injury.
2 Crank length matters - did a tour with 175s and it was awful (I use 170 normally)
3 Keep your knees warm - if coldish wear 3/4 shorts or knee warmers
4 See a sports physio - muscle impalances can cause the kneecap to be pulled sideways causing pain

My wife had a similar issue with a similar response from the GP. Three sports physio visits diagnosed a misalignment (hip in her case, rotating the leg and straining the knee), developed and worked on exercises and solved it.

The one bike I never get knee pain on is my singlespeed. I ride is mainly off-road with a 50" gear and a lots of climbing is out of the saddle. I do have a fast cadence as a result.
munroad
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Re: Continuing pain in my knees .... help..please.

Post by munroad »

Do you have arthritis in your knees?
If so:
Use them (you are doing, but bike fit and shorter cranks may help).
Strengthen quads.....going to gym and other exercises...sport physiotherapist.
Are you overweight? If so, lose some.
I have arthritic knees and did all of the above except the short cranks.
Been much better
Gears: Triple with 48 36 26 chain wheel and 12-30 cassette helpful.
fatbelly33
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Re: Continuing pain in my knees .... help..please.

Post by fatbelly33 »

I have had painful aching knees, so I changed my route to no hills all flat & I tend to spin rather than push a big gear. It worked for me and my knee pain is now down to 1/10 as opposed to 3/10 when crunching the hills & using a big gear.
I am in my late fifties so like the OP at the age where knees & hips start to wear but with a bit of care I've found I can continue cycling
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TrevA
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Re: Continuing pain in my knees .... help..please.

Post by TrevA »

What pedals are you using?

I've had knee troubles over recent years. I had to change back from SPD-SL to Look Keos, with red cleats, and I have my cleats set up so that my toes point slightly outwards. I can no longer used SPD's as they don't seem to have enough float.

I've resisted going to Speedplay pedals so far, but they are an option if my knees get worse.

If knee trouble flares up, I go back to using toe clips and straps with flat soled shoes, so that my foot can find its own position on the pedal.

A bike fit might help with making sure your knees are in line and they can study and track your pedalling action. Planet X do them. I've not had one, but I know friends who have. There's a local guy called Phil Craddock who comes to your house and sets you up on a turbo to do a bike fit. He may be willing to travel to Rotherham. Adrian Timmis also comes highly recommended, but he's at Cannock.
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NUKe
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Re: Continuing pain in my knees .... help..please.

Post by NUKe »

As you are an experienced cyclists, I am guessing over the years your bike fit wont be too far out. you might have some alignment problems which a bike fit may help with, but most of the bike fit is about going faster, or making you fit the aerodynamic profile. A sport Physio my be a better bet a t determining what the pain is. things like hip alignement leg length knees problems and back issue are all their domain.
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531colin
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Re: Continuing pain in my knees .... help..please.

Post by 531colin »

Buy yourself a book by Vivian Grisogono....https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=vivian+grisogono
I find the "sports injuries" book better than the "knee" book.....I prefer the layout, although I guess the content is rather similar!
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