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79pmooney: Thanks for sharing your experience, it's good to hear stories of recovery and perseverance. I know from my history that it's about managing it and knowing how the body will respond. This is the first I've heard the virtues of warm knees and it's strange I've never had problems with cold before. Still seems like sound logic to me. Fortunately (because I hate covering my legs) we're coming into 80 degree weather now.
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Carbonfiberboy, @
OBoile: Thanks, this is good validation of things I've learned from running. Though admittedly, the whole VMO link to PFPS has always confounded me because I've thought running and cycling to work both the VM and VL roughly equally. My understanding is that drilling the VMO was borne from the intention to get the knee to track more medially, however the underlying cause of PFPS is not really problems with the kneecap, but with the femur rotating medially under the kneecap. I've always done VMO work along with intensive focus on hip strength and rotation so keep wondering if the VM drills themselves are making a bit of difference. That said, I'll keep doing it because the combination has worked in the past.
In general, it's good to hear the message being more, "back off" rather than "stop riding." It's been three days now since my flare up started and the pain is much more intermittent than it was on Monday. I think I'll keep off the hills and try to get some easy miles in the small ring this weekend and see how it responds. Hopefully responding early enough will serve as a relatively harmless reminder of the need for maintaining strength and stability. I'm signed up for the Death Ride in July so think I'll back of my expectation to clear five passes. I see already I just got started too late.