knee pain during cardio

iamthesweenmachine

Hello all!
I have been experiencing knee pain after being on the bike and/or elliptical for more than 20 minutes. I did 25 minutes of both today and my knee was hurting. The pain was tolerable and is not only a little bit sore, but should I take any further measures? I was planning on only seeing a doctor if it got worse or continues.

daniellabella986

See a doctor anyway, because it shouldn't hurt after such a short amount of time, especially on a bike. For now put some ice on it and take it easy.

mjudd1990

Can you describe the pains little bit more? Where exactly on your knee and the type of pain? Also how many rest days do you take a week?

JONZ64

What type of pain? Where is it? There are lots of different types of pain and causes, some from shoes and others from damage

iamthesweenmachine

Okay, the pain is right in the front of my knee, around the kneecap. I don't really know how to describe the pain, it kinda feels like what it would feel like if you fell right on it. It gets better if I slow down and after I finish on the bike. It is not so bad that I can't walk, but it really does bother me. I did a quick google and determined that the two most likely causes are tendinitis and overuse, my money is on the latter.

mjudd1990

Tendinitis is usually due to overuse. It could also be patellofemoral syndrome which would also flare up with overuse. Does the knee lock up or feel like it's going to buckle and give way? Are you relatively new to working out? Do you recall feeling any pops or snaps when it first started hurting?

I'm guessing its tendinitis and if that's the case the only real remedy is to rest and let the inflammation subside. Be sure you are icing it for 20 minutes every couple hours. Take Advil or aleve to help get the inflammation down. Unfortunately it's not really something you can just power through until it gets better because activity will only exacerbate it.