I've been suffering for a couple of years or so with knee pain in one knee. I only get the pain when cycling. It usually comes on when I push a large gear, or do some climbing, but always comes on within 30-40mins. I had a cheap bike fit (cleat fit, bike position, stem adjustment etc) with Vankru, but that doesn't seem to have fixed it. I'm definitely more efficient when pedalling now, but was wondering if anyone else has had a similar issue?

I do get a bit of pain relief if I make sure I stretch my IT band 3 times a day, but it hasn't so far cleared the problem. I guess what I'm getting at, is if anyone has had the issue, have you managed to clear it through a regimen of stretching, or something different? I often forget to do the stretches, and often wonder if it will fix the issue. I understand the IT band can take a long time to sort as it's such tough tissue... I'm tempted to go for some physio/sports massage on my legs as I sometimes get a tight calf (opposite side to the knee pain).

I never get knee pain when walking or running, and I've tried all sorts of saddle positions etc. I spoke to one of the bike fitters in Hargroves Cycles who recommended their cleat fit, which I am tempted to do as he seemed to have some better ideas on the cause of the pain than Vankru did.

Been meaning to ask on BR/Cyclingnews forums for some time, but never got round to it

Cheers.

I've been suffering for a couple of years or so with knee pain in one knee. I only get the pain when cycling. It usually comes on when I push a large gear, or do some climbing, but always comes on within 30-40mins. I had a cheap bike fit (cleat fit, bike position, stem adjustment etc) with Vankru, but that doesn't seem to have fixed it. I'm definitely more efficient when pedalling now, but was wondering if anyone else has had a similar issue?

I do get a bit of pain relief if I make sure I stretch my IT band 3 times a day, but it hasn't so far cleared the problem. I guess what I'm getting at, is if anyone has had the issue, have you managed to clear it through a regimen of stretching, or something different? I often forget to do the stretches, and often wonder if it will fix the issue. I understand the IT band can take a long time to sort as it's such tough tissue... I'm tempted to go for some physio/sports massage on my legs as I sometimes get a tight calf (opposite side to the knee pain).

I never get knee pain when walking or running, and I've tried all sorts of saddle positions etc. I spoke to one of the bike fitters in Hargroves Cycles who recommended their cleat fit, which I am tempted to do as he seemed to have some better ideas on the cause of the pain than Vankru did.

Been meaning to ask on BR/Cyclingnews forums for some time, but never got round to it

Cheers.

yes i have had loads of knee problems and am in the middle of fixing it

as far as i can tell there are three things that can cause knee problems but all three are linked

1. Bike fit
2. your body
3. the way you ride

as you have had a basic bike fit and given your knee pain appears after a short time when pushing hard i would personally focus on number 2 first

while your bike fit may not be ideal if you had a saddle fit and are confident that your saddle height is correct then my personal unqualified opinion is it is more likely to be 2 or 3 that is major cause of issue.

with regards riding style, guess this depends on experience. you say it comes from pushing hard which in my mind removes number 3 as most likely cause. often knee pain can be caused by newbie / unfit riders pushing too high a gear for too long. if you are not that new and do not get it all the time then would ignore this

right number 2. your body. riding is not a natural thing for us to do and your body needs to adapt to it. a lot of people spend ages tuning their bike position. why do they do this? because of the highly repetitive nature of riding. you spend hours doing the same thing over and over again many times a minute so the smallest issue can result in a big impact. well the same is true of your the other part of the machine, you. a small issue in your body can result in a big impact. i have been seeing physios about my issues and frankly i have about 4 things that are contributing to my knee pain. tight hamstrings, over worked abductors, dodgy back and a tight nerve.

this is where it gets difficult. in general, lack of flexibility is a big issue and if it is a simple as that then Yoga is a very good idea. hamstrings in particular can cause knee pain and downward dog is your friend. if like me you are completely fliped then i would recommend finding a good physio. any good physio should be able to help you, i was lucky in that i found a physio that was also a cyclist so had a good understanding of the issues.

Oh should have said that the best thing you can do is bite the bullet and get a full bike fit by someone who has physio experience as well. They will check 1 and 2 for you.

Here it costs a good $400 to get this done but should fix you and in some cases (i know i was able to) you can claim back of health insurance

I've been suffering for a couple of years or so with knee pain in one knee. I only get the pain when cycling. It usually comes on when I push a large gear, or do some climbing, but always comes on within 30-40mins. I had a cheap bike fit (cleat fit, bike position, stem adjustment etc) with Vankru, but that doesn't seem to have fixed it. I'm definitely more efficient when pedalling now, but was wondering if anyone else has had a similar issue?

I do get a bit of pain relief if I make sure I stretch my IT band 3 times a day, but it hasn't so far cleared the problem. I guess what I'm getting at, is if anyone has had the issue, have you managed to clear it through a regimen of stretching, or something different? I often forget to do the stretches, and often wonder if it will fix the issue. I understand the IT band can take a long time to sort as it's such tough tissue... I'm tempted to go for some physio/sports massage on my legs as I sometimes get a tight calf (opposite side to the knee pain).

I never get knee pain when walking or running, and I've tried all sorts of saddle positions etc. I spoke to one of the bike fitters in Hargroves Cycles who recommended their cleat fit, which I am tempted to do as he seemed to have some better ideas on the cause of the pain than Vankru did.

Been meaning to ask on BR/Cyclingnews forums for some time, but never got round to it

Cheers.

Ok free advice time

I work in this area

you never said where the pain is -

some general bits and pieces of what others have mentioned

if it is ITB related the issue is compression of a fat pad on the outside of the knee, and that irritates nerves endings.

ITB issues come from proximal ( higher up ) issues in running and walking and sometimes in cycling.

LLD - leg length discrepancy comes in 2 forms Functional - ie the body makes one leg act shorter and structural one leg is shorter.

do you rock side to side when you are tired and climbing ?

I may be able to help maybe not internet advice is bad at the best of times

1st get an diagnosis

get a really good bike fit done.

ice your knee, rest and stretch , look at your core stability and get someone to look at muscle balance on the leg for you.

generally treatment is simple but pushing boundaries will not help   

Ok free advice time

I work in this area

you never said where the pain is - looking at the right knee from the front, it would be lower left, on the front of the knee - best I can describe.

some general bits and pieces of what others have mentioned

if it is ITB related the issue is compression of a fat pad on the outside of the knee, and that irritates nerves endings.

ITB issues come from proximal ( higher up ) issues in running and walking and sometimes in cycling.

LLD - leg length discrepancy comes in 2 forms Functional - ie the body makes one leg act shorter and structural one leg is shorter.

do you rock side to side when you are tired and climbing ? no, I tend to be pretty smooth when pedalling. when I get tired (quickly on climbs, I'm over 6' and weigh 13st), I just sit and grind out the 28t

I may be able to help maybe not internet advice is bad at the best of times

1st get an diagnosis

get a really good bike fit done.

ice your knee, rest and stretch , look at your core stability and get someone to look at muscle balance on the leg for you.

generally treatment is simple but pushing boundaries will not help   

I can answer two of those in red.

thanks for the advice, I think I'll back to Hargroves for the cleat fit/BG fit and see what they say. At the same time, I'm going to contact a physio that was recommended to me recently.

Tony, cheers, put up with it for 3 years now - bored with the pain. It holds me back from doing bigger mileage rides. Want to achieve some cycling ambitions in my life (Marmotte, L2P etc) so need to get it sorted once and for all. Just don't have bottom-less pockets of cash...

I can answer two of those in red.

thanks for the advice, I think I'll back to Hargroves for the cleat fit/BG fit and see what they say. At the same time, I'm going to contact a physio that was recommended to me recently.

Tony, cheers, put up with it for 3 years now - bored with the pain. It holds me back from doing bigger mileage rides. Want to achieve some cycling ambitions in my life (Marmotte, L2P etc) so need to get it sorted once and for all. Just don't have bottom-less pockets of cash...

sound like it up around your hips and core area, the ITB inserts on the right hand side of the right knee ie the outside , it begins as a muscle on the outside of the hip and if stretching that helps then I would say the hips and core are the problem

Physio get a to

1 diagnosis the  problem

2. work out why it is getting stressed

3 build a treatment program to 1 - reduce pain

                                                   2- stop it from coming back

good luck

Just starting to get a bit of knee pain (lateral collateral ligament?) on the left leg only now that I have restarted on the pride and joy for turbo only.

Having done all winter so far on the CX bike, I suppose these transitional niggles are inevitable, but it's not helped by the fact that I have different shoes and pedal systems on each.

A shop near me does Cyfac fits but I'm a bit concerned about how much it will cost as we're not as flush these days with Mrs L'arri not working.

Apparently, the machine spits out an optimal fit but when you do these fits, do they go ahead and apply the settings in the shop or do you have to do them yourself?

Larri take some photos show me where it hurts and write down when it hurts etc

see what I can do over the interwebs

Not my legs obviously but #1 is the main source of pain and a little bit #2.

#2 subsides quite quickly but #1 stays around a little longer. It's odd because it's not your "classic" knee pain.

I get it after about a half hour on the turbo, typically when riding against a lot of resistance. It doesn't happen before two hours out on the road but it's noticeable after that.

feel it a little when walking on stairs ?

Yes, I do, but only #1. And my stairs are very steep.

Gotta love the in-house support! Thanks so much, jsg!