How much cycling with knee pain?
GWSGregS
Posts: 14 Member
Hello everyone. I would appreciate some wisdom regarding what seems to be a bit of an overuse injury.
So I've taken a few days off trying to heal some pain I have just below my left kneecap. It's not horrible, but I was going to run long on Sunday and after 30 mins it just seemed like one of those things that I would regret pushing through. I don't think it's serious because it's not really painful, just a bit more than the usual aches and pains.
Obviously swimming isn't a problem.
And in terms of running, I decided to push my schedule back a week so I'll just do a few short runs as long as no pain this week, and look to the weekend to run long again. I'm planning to do a half marathon at the end of April, so I have lots of time. My last long run was 20K.
What I'm not sure about is cycling. Am I better to keep riding or take a break? For those who know trainerroad, I'm just in week four of the traditional base Mid Volume 2 plan, so this is a comparatively light week anyway; 4-5 hours of mostly AE riding. I could cut that in half and do some 30-45 min sessions or just keep going with the plan trying to keep cadence high and load light.
I hate backing off. So maybe I'm just looking for someone to say that's really what I should be doing to ease the guilt.
I appreciate any thoughts.
So I've taken a few days off trying to heal some pain I have just below my left kneecap. It's not horrible, but I was going to run long on Sunday and after 30 mins it just seemed like one of those things that I would regret pushing through. I don't think it's serious because it's not really painful, just a bit more than the usual aches and pains.
Obviously swimming isn't a problem.
And in terms of running, I decided to push my schedule back a week so I'll just do a few short runs as long as no pain this week, and look to the weekend to run long again. I'm planning to do a half marathon at the end of April, so I have lots of time. My last long run was 20K.
What I'm not sure about is cycling. Am I better to keep riding or take a break? For those who know trainerroad, I'm just in week four of the traditional base Mid Volume 2 plan, so this is a comparatively light week anyway; 4-5 hours of mostly AE riding. I could cut that in half and do some 30-45 min sessions or just keep going with the plan trying to keep cadence high and load light.
I hate backing off. So maybe I'm just looking for someone to say that's really what I should be doing to ease the guilt.
I appreciate any thoughts.
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Replies
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if it is pain below your knee cap it is probably you patellar tendon, and yes from overuse. If you have a lot of weight to lose, maybe you are going too fast for what your body is strong enough to handle. I am NOT an expert, but I have had my knee reconstructed (three times) and I would say it's NOT WORTH IT! Don't push through it! Do some walking or swimming to take off the weight, then gradually build up to running as the weight falls off. I get pain and swelling in my knee with overuse, but I also have screws and plates in there, so I am used to it, but man if I could get back the last 20 years of knee pain, I would! I would do anything to avoid a long term knee injury.
Heather 0 -
Do you know if the knee pain is from cycling or running? If you are using clipless pedals, the position of the cleats on the shoe can be critical. Increasing the float may also help. Also, intensity as well as distance affects injuries too.0
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Well I had an easy week, swimming, cycling and finally a pain free 4K this morning. I'll take Heather's advice and build slowly staying away from any pain. And yes dropping weight is bound to help.
When I look back at the last few months, I think the time when I really pushed it too far was actually with cycling. I did a few trainerroad rides that included what they call Force Intervals, which are high wattage intervals of 30-45 seconds with a low cadence between 50 and 60. I thinks that's what really caused the initial over-stress that just got worse as running mileage increased. So I'm not doing that anyone...and slowing down for a bit....
Thanks for the advice everyone.0 -
Those force intervals can be hard on the knees.0
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Have you been properly fitted for your bike?0
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Giraffe33991 wrote: »Have you been properly fitted for your bike?
This is very important. Being at the right angles takes a lot of the stress of the skeletal system and puts it into the muscles. Body position, cleat position, crank length, all very important.
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Yes, I should probably do that. The bike is about 10 years old and I think I just had a cursory setup when I purchased it.0
