Knees

[Ben]

Hi,

I'm doing (attempting to do) LEJOG in a few weeks. I've noticed some minor tenderness a few inches below my knees where the tendon joins the bone. At the moment it is very minor indeed. In fact, I am not sure whether it is only that I am more paranoid as the ride approaches that I have noticed it. As it is, it is only noticeale, for instance, when standing up from a crouch, and is minor.

However, it is a tad worrying - I keep my cadence up and hae a good fitting bike. Any thoughts? Am I being paranoid...? IS it likely to get worse?

Cheers,

Ben

[tomjw]

I have a problem with a knee which is not quite right when walking, climbing stairs - intermittent pain, clicking noises etc, However it has not let me down when cycling even for long distances. I searched on the internet for knee problems and one seemingly knowledgeable site said that cycling is one of the best forms of exercise for knees because it strengthens the muscles round the joint. So don't worry, just "go for it " as they say.

[Bromptonchris]

I have just completed End 2 End recently and experienced severe Knee pain on the first few days. My personal tip is to take Glusoamine Sulphate. Available from most chemists and supermarkets. I took the full dose and felt it was worth doing. As I understand it is a naturally occuring mineral in our body which helps with the re building of Cartilage and joint health. I also used support bandages on the tough days.
A great experience though, Enjoy and goodluck.

[Nurgles]

Yes agreed.I have been taking Glucosamine Sulphate or similar for almost 10 years now and although I do get some swelling in my knee occasionally especially afer long walks I can still cycle every day.My advice for knee problems though is to strenghen the thigh muscles with specific exercises.Cycling automatically does this to some extent.

[handallyingharry]

Massage the tendon gently.
Think of it as a string;
Find where the string meets the bone.
My simple thoughts. You don't need to know the science. just exactly where it hurts and
how to deal with it.... gentle massage.

Taking things to eat is probably not the answer, especially in an age obssessed by food consumerism.

[trk1983]

One question for you, do you use clipless pedals, e.g SPDs? If so, I would strongly recommend you don't use them for the end to end (unless they have a good degree of float).

I say this because I attempted the end to end this summer using SPDs - never had any knee problems with them before until the third day of intense cycling when I got a pain just like you're describing. Each knee does something like 500,000 revolutions for the end to end - so the dynamics need to be right. I now use clips/ pedals with good float plus Specialized shoes which have the 'varus wedge'.

[TJ]

You say "in a few weeks".
It may not be very warm in a few weeks, so make sure you keep the joint warm, and use easily managed ratios, straining against a gear that is too high will do you no good at all.
On some long tours I have done, I had knee problems at the start, which cleared up during the tour, so take it steady and good luck.

[hamster]

Go and see your local sports physio. They will be able to recommend what to do and assess for you what is the likely cause.

Mine has been brilliant with exercises etc when recovering from illness.