gabymtl

hello,
I am not a competitive cyclist, but a daily commuter and an avid lifelong weekend rider. I am 40 and about 2 years ago have started ‘feeling’ my knees, no pains yet, but still feel than I need to rest and even sometimes ice my knees after a long day on the bike. I recently switched to geared from single speed and that was a major relief on my knees, especially from the stop and go traffic pressures. Xrays haven’t showed any noticeable wear (although I need to do a MRI or CT scan). I was wondering if there are any in this community that might have something to share as far as exercise, habits or just life advice so I can keep my knees strong as I plan to ride untill my late years.

Thanks,
Gaby

berner

I think you are right in looking for knee exercises to ward against the possibility of light discomfort becoming a serious issue in later years. In my mid to late 50s, I took up tennis while living in a southern state where tennis could go on year 'round. After a few years of playing 3-4 times per week, I began experiencing some knee discomfort. The majority of the courts were clay. I noticed that playing on hard courts was what triggered the knee problem. This was so even during lighter use training with a jump rope for the same reason as prize fighters, to improve foot dexterity and speed.

A lot of the movement in tennis is side to side shuffling just the same as a defender in basketball will do when an opponent is driving for the basket. There is not much of this in cycling with the result that those muscles used in lateral movement and connective tissue get under utilized compared to quads and hamstrings. I've come to the conclusion, based on how my knees have responded, that muscle groups should be at the same strength for the work to be done. In cycling, which to totally repetitious, any slight misalignment can cause problems. Since my tennis days, I've been doing knee exercises for use in lateral movement and have been doing them for about 25 years.

The video shows some exercises for strengthening knees for lateral movement. There are many other such videos. For myself, I use 10 pounds worth of ankle weights on each ankle while lying flat on my back and with legs straight up in the air, do my version of a split. This can be felt immediately on all the muscles of the inner thigh. Then, lying on one side I raise the upper leg as high laterally as possible, then the other side. I do there nearly daily, especially if the troublesome right knee has been complaining. Good luck. I think movement is the answer.

wolfchild

Supplement your cycling with some weight bearing exercises. Any weight bearing exercise will do: walking, hiking, squats, deadlifts, lunges, running, stair climbing...Also cycling is mostly a quad dominant activity , so it's a good idea to include exercises which hit your hamstrings, glutes, core and an entire posterior chain to balance things out and make sure that all muscles get enough activation..

I.B.Roots

You are smart to be thinking long term. I have knee overuse problems...when they hurt I stop doing what I am doing (if I can).

Some things I do to avoid being shut down:

Exercises that balance and build my thigh muscle group (I don't know what the muscles are called but all 4 sides)

Eat certain foods that help like silicone rich vegetables, cinnamon to reduce swelling

If I have to ice, then it's with a frozen bag of peas

Slow ramp up in amount of exercise and intensity

Plenty of rest and recovery

Jon T

Do you "fit" the bike correctly?
Jon

jpescatore

I echo the check your bike fit comment - I would only feel my knees after long hilly rides, just thought that was normal. When I bought a new bike, it came with a professional fitting (not just the usual bike shop mechanic fitting) and he raised my seat and moved my cleats back in my shoe - now my knees are fine after long hard rides, too.

I also do squats, either just body weight or with relatively light weights. They are good for leg muscles and knees, easy to do anywhere/anytime.

DaveSSS 

I blame too much weight machine exercise with heavy weights for shortening the life of my knees. I had three surgeries for torn meniscus over the years. Removing some meniscus shortens the life of what's left. I had my first surgery in my mid forties and my third in my early fifties. At 57, my left knee was beyond help, so I quit cycling, to work on a home build and then a hot rod build. I wore a heavy leg brace on the left leg, most of the time. At age 64, I had both knees replaced. I returned to cycling last July and now I've ridden about 5000 miles on very hilly routes. I'm now using some really low gears - Campy Chorus 12 with a 48/32 and 11-34.

FWIW, I started taking glucosamine chondroitin supplements in my early forties.

Jicafold

You don't "need" to do an MRI or CT. That is something you may want, but at this stage whatever information it provides is likely irrelevant. No decent physician is going to order an advanced imaging study, especially without an injury, unless you have failed to improve with all conservative including physical therapy, anti-inflammatories, and activity modification and your knee pain still affects your everyday life.

canklecat

Knee pain doesn't necessarily indicate there's excessive wear or injury. Sometimes it just goes with age and other variables. Sometimes it's related to other illnesses.

Assuming a good bike fit and pedaling technique, it may just be something you'll have to cope with.

At 62 my knees are still in good shape, despite a family history of knee problems. Most of my family with knee problems had other issues: arthritis, injuries, sedentary lifestyle, refusing to cooperate with physical therapy, etc.

I've had a few knocks to the knees and temporary pain but no permanent injuries. And I've always tried to be fairly active and diverse in exercise. I do have pain from other actual injuries -- mostly neck and shoulder. But some days my knees ache anyway, despite having no real problems.

For me it's a combination of Hashimoto's, an auto-immune disorder that mainly affects the thyroid but produces a truck load of other symptoms that mimic other diseases. That includes body aches for no apparent reason. And I feel it worse with storm fronts and sudden changes in barometric pressure. I used to laugh when my grandparents claimed they could predict weather with their joints. I ain't laughing now that it's happened to me.

Sometimes my knees ache on longer bike rides, but it varies quite a bit. Sometimes after 20 miles, sometimes 30, sometimes I can go 50, 60 or 100 miles before the knees ache. Usually I'll stop for awhile, massage and stretch, sometimes take an ibuprofen. I almost always take an anti-inflammatory before a ride, sometimes every day as a preventive, so that cuts way back on the aches and pains. I switched from ibuprofen to prescription diclofenac -- two small pills a day, less risky, more effective. CBD can help too, but that's a whole 'nuther topic.

I do some body weight exercises -- squats, lunges, etc. -- and stretches and massage. After almost every ride or workout I use various massage methods on my legs. The best is a heavy marble rolling pin I've had in the kitchen for years as a decorative item. The cool marble helps and because it's so heavy I don't need to press down while rolling across my thighs. Using it on the backs of my thighs and calves adds a little arm/upper body workout. And I have a foam roller and percussion massager with double heads the size of golf balls. It all helps.

Besides off-bike exercises, I vary my cycling workouts too. I used to just spin, but for the past year I've been mixing it up, sometimes using bigger, harder gears and mashing to strengthen the legs. I'm very careful about technique to avoid splaying out my knees, etc. But I've found it helps a lot to start on the indoor trainer, warming up gradually for about 30 minutes, then doing 5 minutes in the biggest gear I can churn at around 50-60 rpm, then 5 minutes in a gear I can easily spin at 90 rpm without gasping for breath or sweating too much. The goal here is to work the legs and knees, not a cardio workout -- I do my cardio separately. These sessions are just for strengthening my legs and ensuring good technique.

Besides strengthening my legs it's also helped on outdoor bike rides for climbing. I can switch between spinning while seated and standing to climb in bigger gears. Varying it helps reduce flareups of knee pain, and changing positions seems to reduce problems with my neck and shoulders.

I also take a bunch of supplements but who knows whether it helps. I was diagnosed with osteopenia last year, a consequence of the Hashimoto's and parathyroid disease. My docs added vitamin D and calcium to my regimen, but a year later it hasn't made any difference. There's no consensus on whether supplements can correct some deficiencies, and taking too much can create other problems.

Of the various voodoo potions I've tried, MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) seemed to help, both orally and as a topical analgesic. It's a common transdermal carrier in some topical analgesics and makes them more effective. I've tried many -- Stopain, Biofreeze, Osteo Bi-Flex, and Ted's Pain Cream. Ted's helps the most. The maker's theory is that the resveratrol helps more as a topical than as an oral supplement. Sure helps me. Check out their website for details, it's too much to repeat here. It was developed by neuro-scientists and they're trying to meet the FDA standards for testing to recognize resveratrol as an effective active ingredient. Meanwhile they can only make claims for the other ingredients common to many topical analgesics that have already been recognized by the FDA.

imakecircles

I'm in my late 40's and found through my earlier 40's that Glucosamine, Chondroitin sulfate, and MSM, often marketed together as joint supplements helped a lot while taken regularly, as I've observed that when I stop taking them my knees and ankles seem to flare up. I used to play basketball, tennis, and hike a lot more, then moved to riding the bike almost exclusively before recently realizing that I needed more balance as has been recommended by several posters above.

gabymtl

very helpful advice. def happy to have put up my post. I suspected (and read) that some muscle groups could be developing unevenly from others and putting pressure on less developped muscles. thanks!

gabymtl

thanks for confirming even more my suspicion that I need to target underdeveloped/utilized muscles. I wisht there was a excersice program specially designed for this. Will search for it! Best.

gabymtl

Thank you for the input, I like the frozen bag of peas suggestion. Also adding anti-inflamattory foods to my diets is something I missed. Best.

gabymtl

yes, that was the first thing I targeted. without any noticeable change. I blame most of the knee stress on the stop and go traffic, and my single speed setup (which I have given up!).

gabymtl

that makes me thinks twice about bike fit, I haven't really thought about a professional fitting, but will look into it. Thanks!

Metieval

start with all around exercise and strengthening.

start with DIET, Fast food / processed food is going to kill your joints.

start with a bike fit.


"Overuse" is a myth, Poor posture, poor form, muscle imbalance, bad footwear, bad diet, poor hydration, tight ligaments.... is the blame!

berner

Came across this video yesterday, sort of confirming my exercise theory of movement.

DaveSSS 

What is not a myth is arthritis. Combine that with lots of cycling a weight lifting and you're sure to need knee replacements at some point.

caloso

It is absolutely possible to have knee pain that results from muscular imbalance/weakness. I had knee pain which was caused by a tight/irritated IT band which was caused by a weak/irritated piriformis. That is one of the minor gluteals which rotates your thigh. Since we cyclists are super strong forward and back, but tend to be weak side to side, it's more prevalent among cyclists than normal people.

It was treated with PT (stretches, elastic bands, and other exercises) and ibuprofen. But the best thing I started doing was playing rec league soccer. Haven't had any pain since.

grayEZrider

I agree. I manage the "mixed use" workout by playing soccer with my two dogs and hiking rough trails while picking up trash and building more trails at a local state natural area. Using mostly C&V bikes lets me easily gear for several different hilly rides and SPIN not mash (or even stand). Minor pains are normal and probably due to several wheelchair inducing motorcycle crashes back in the 70s and 80s. I'm having trouble avoiding cramps and figuring out the hydration control thing but at 69 I've still got plenty of time to sort it out.

Alloyboy

If you have stairs in your house or live in an apartment building you just have to walk up and down the stairs every chance you get. There is no need for health clubs or exercise machines. I have my CCM Presto on my Blackburn TrakStand trainer ( Rantoul IL ) for the rainy days and also the winter. Did I mention to walk up and DOWN the stairs every chance you get. Jim.

gabymtl

thank you for the input. Funny that I have had the suspicion that I also might be afffected by humid condition. It seems that I only suffer form my back spasm episodes when it's raining out, mostly.

I am def going to get a foam rollar, something that now seems an essential tool for me. btw I use marble balls (the larger ones) form my chilhood days to massage the bottom of my feet.

Thanks again I'll be revisiting your reply regularly for the input!

gabymtl

thanks for the input! do you use the Ibuprofen before a ride or at rest?

canklecat

Glad to help.

Regarding barometric pressure, as I mentioned before I was skeptical when my grandparents and, later, my mom claimed they could feel weather changes in their joints -- knees and back with my grandparents, knees and shoulder with my mom (she claimed she could feel lightning flashes in her titanium joints!).

But now that I've experienced it consistently I'm persuaded it's a thing.

Earlier this week we had a sudden pressure drop from the normal of 30 to 29.5 just before a t-storm. And this morning it's increased to 30.5 very suddenly. Both times my injured shoulder and neck began aching. And I didn't even notice the pressure increase this morning until just now. Last time I checked, around midnight, it was still at 30. Occasionally I feel some aching in the knees, but usually only when I've sat or slept in one position for too long. I have to turn a lot at night to minimize those aches.

Luckily I'm one of those people who experience relief from some pain when I exercise, especially bike rides or indoor trainer sessions. The relief often lasts a couple of hours afterward too. I know some folks hurt worse when they try to exercise, which must be discouraging.

caloso

Only after if I'm really sore. I don't think I've ever taken it before.