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+--- Thread: anatomy - describing thigh muscles, knee pain, and trying to push myself on the bike (/showthread.php?tid=123170)
anatomy - describing thigh muscles, knee pain, and trying to push myself on the bike - mattkime - 09-05-2011
i've started to develop knee pain and i've put more miles on the bike. Its my right knee, behind the knee, interior, above. i've looked at diagrams of the thigh to discover that muscle layout is far more complicated than i thought.
anyway, does anyone know what muscles might be causing the problem?
its not enough to get me off the bike but it is enough to be cause for concern. its a dull soreness that appears if i go on 30+ mile rides or decide to sprint a lot. (which is tempting on my relatively short commute)
I was fit by a higher end bike shop but it might be worthwhile for me to go to a professional fitter. i'm trying to spend a little time figuring this out on my own. (seat and cleat adjustment, etc)
thanks
Re: anatomy - describing thigh muscles, knee pain, and trying to push myself on the bike - davester - 09-05-2011
As long as there is a bit of flex in your knee at the bottom of the stroke, you're not causing damage due to "fitting". If you can sit on the saddle and pedal backwards with your HEELS on the pedals without your hips swaying from side to side then you should be about right (this doesn't assure that you are set up correctly, but it does assure that you are not wrecking your knees.
It's probably more likely that you are pushing too high a gear, which is exerting too much stress on the knee joint. How fast are you spinning? Anything less than 60 rpm is likely going to be damaging. My bicycle knee problems have always been meniscus related (i.e. behind the knee cap) and have gone away when I've switched to lower gears. That instantly reduces the resolved stresses on the knee joint.
Re: anatomy - describing thigh muscles, knee pain, and trying to push myself on the bike - SteveO - 09-05-2011
I get some knee pain when I push too high, too hard. The sprints? Hmm, that'd be my Mr. Obvious guess as well. You might also consider taking up yoga and some simple PT you can do at home while watching a movie or whatever...there are some great stretches and strengthening opportunities for those muscles around your knees, hips, lower back, etc. Stronger muscles can take some of the stress off the joints.
Knock on my head, er, wood, I haven't had any major knee issues to speak of since I took up a pretty intense yoga regimen a couple times a week the past 6 months. I also gave up indoor soccer. Which I miss.
Re: anatomy - describing thigh muscles, knee pain, and trying to push myself on the bike - mattkime - 09-05-2011
I'm rarely pushing too high a gear. My cadence stays around 100, although I drop into the 80s as i get tired.
Anyone have exercises to recommend?
Re: anatomy - describing thigh muscles, knee pain, and trying to push myself on the bike - M A V I C - 09-05-2011
Are you using clipless pedals? Since you mention "cleat adjustment" I'm pretty sure you are. In which case, yes, this is a very common problem with clipless pedals.
1. Your cleat may not be properly shimmed and thus the cant is off. If you can't feel what's off, then you may need to get a pro fit done.
2. The cleat may not be angled properly and/or your pedals doesn't have enough float. For some reason I'm thinking you have SPD pedals, in which case that's a common problem with that design. It's why I have Time ATAC pedals. It used to be the Frog pedals had a good amount of float, but it's been years since I've dealt with them.
When I worked at a shop, I don't recall a single instance of knee pain from clipless pedals not being resolved by fixing one or both of the above. My brother rides a lot and has had knee surgery. He also has had to have his knee drained a few times. He finally fixed the cant on his pedals and no he know longer has knee problems.
Re: anatomy - describing thigh muscles, knee pain, and trying to push myself on the bike - mattkime - 09-05-2011
Yes, SPD, but i think the float should be sufficient. Shimming is an interesting idea that i hadn't come across.
I think I'll spend yet a bit more time trying to pay attention to my body and see where it gets me but I'm inching closer to the pro fit.
Re: anatomy - describing thigh muscles, knee pain, and trying to push myself on the bike - Black - 09-06-2011
mattkime wrote:As long as the angle is not off.
Yes, SPD, but i think the float should be sufficient.
If I recall correctly you're fairly new to these?
Common mistake = aligning the angle of the cleat with the shoe.
Otherwise I'm sure you've heard the old cyclists' adage:
Pain in the front of the knee, seat too low
Pain in the back of the knee, seat too high
(not saying it necessarily applies here- not a fan of one-size-fits-all advice where the body is concerned)