soheilsam

My knee hurts little bit it's not a big deal but I'm curious is it safe to cycling? Should I visit a doctor?

79pmooney

If you have chrondomalacia patella, yes, riding on it with pain is like running your car engine without oil. For short spans, your body can rebuild what's been ground off. More, and you are doing permanent damage.

I'm going for a ride now, but search my posts for "chrondomalacia patellae". I've lived with the condition 40 years and wrote a long post about my experience with it, (I got diagnosed 3 days after first symptoms and hae lived with it ever since, Got told at the diagnosis that I had to live by "the rules" or it would be knee replacement time.

Ben

ddeand 

Yeah, see a doctor. Possibly an orthopedic specialist who understands sports. Years ago, I had severe knee pain that was diagnosed as arthritis and partially torn meniscus.. One doctor recommended knee replacement, but an ortho doctor did a simple treatment and recommended regular riding to keep the joint naturally lubricated - that has worked very well. It’s good having a solid diagnosis of the problem.

70sSanO

A little bit depends on how you hurt it. If you were climbing, or really pushing hard, and your setup is off a knee can hurt a little bit. It has happened to me.

If you stay off the bike and it feels better, or take some easy rides, give yourself more pedal float, or a little less extension, or adjust the saddle position and it doesn’t hurt, that’s one thing. If it doesn’t get better with rest and gets worse with riding, then you may want to talk to a doctor.

John

soheilsam

Thanks Ben. I couldn't find your post "chrondomalacia patellae" could you send the link here?

fishboat

While it could be dire issues as described above..a "knee hurting a little bit" could easily (and most likely?) be improper saddle position.

OP..check or have it checked..your saddle fore and aft adjustment. Google saddle setup and front edge of your knee relative to the pedal spindle. If you don't find info..request some more help here. Also check your saddle height..google that too..there's lots of info out there.

(I ran into someone recently that has been having knee issues for a while. I checked his saddle setup..yikes..he had a setback seatpost with the setback facing forward and had his saddle slid all the way forward. Said something about triathletes having their knees forward of the pedals to mimic a runners sprint??? His patella front-edge was about 4 inches forward of the pedal spindle..ouch.)

b88

I exercise by climbing hills. So much so both my knees swelled up like balloons. Now the only exercise I get is pressing the channel remote buttons.

Drew Eckhardt 

No.

I saw a fitter first who resolved my issues, although seeing a doctor would have been smarter.

fietsbob

Yea I hate that. but I'm 72 & lots of stuff hurts , by now..

79pmooney

My chrondomalacia post: https://www.bikeforums.net/general-c...ain-story.html See Post #4 .

Ben

Edit: I just saw that I've been mis-spelling chondromalcia for decades! "r" in the wrong place.

sean.hwy

Can you recommend a good fitter? I see we live close by.

Drew Eckhardt 

Cesar at 3D Bike Fit in San Francisco.

https://www.3dbikefit.com/

sean.hwy

following.

I was in a motorcycle accident 2016. Knee surgery both knees oct 2017. I did lots of PT/yoga/exercise. I can hike 15 miles. Up hill I pretty fast. Down hill I am slower than fat out of shape person. I was never able to run more than a few miles before my knee hurt some much I was limping for the next month or two. So I switched to biking this year. Just a little over 3k miles this year.

Knees feel great:
If go riding with friends ( slow group avg speed under 15mph ) I can ride all day ( 70+ miles easy ).
If the hill is so steep I have to stand while using first gear my knees feel great.

Knees hurt:
Riding solo, push it like an exercise class ( no sprinting ) avg speed 19mph for an hour
Long steep hill using 1st/2nd/3rd gear but I stay seated the whole time but have to push out at least 200 watts my knees hurt.

sean.hwy

Thank you

thumpism 

I have a cure I don't recommend. My left leg was always about 1/4" longer than my right and I had pretty bothersome pain in the left knee that I never had diagnosed, but then I fell off my house and broke both feet. It was the right ankle and the left heel. Long story short, legs wound up much closer to the same length and no more knee pain when cycling. Don't try this at home, even though it worked for me.

soheilsam

Thanks Ben it really helps me. Also I've read an article here about cycling that tells it's very important to see a doctor before any exercise with pain. I'll go to see a doctor ASAP.