[muddywings]

anybody had any serious knee problems that required work??
I'll be heading to see the doc soon but thought I'd ask in here.
My right knee has been slowly getting worse and worse. I have this soreness on the back outside where that tendon is. It takes a couple days to for the pain to ease up and lately its been taking longer and longer. I've taken a week or two off from biking and taken my fair share of motrin but I'm thinking it could take more than that.
Anybody had serious knee problems??
thanks

 

[ibanezrg520kid]

well i haven't had any knee problems, but i have a foot problem that i'm going to the doc. agian soon. i broke my foot a few years back and now i might have to get some scope surgery done on it to heal it up. i hope it doesn't take me out of riding too long, but its pretty f'ed up cause after riding a few nights ago it was strong enough to support my weight after sitting for 5mins to let is rest. i stood up and then all the sudden it hurt like hell and i fell.

have you ever hurt your knee before? twisted, dislocated, hyper extended it? i hope the doc. can find a solution for you man!

 

[Stan Man]

Is the pain directly on the outside of the knee or the back of the leg. While sitting try to pull your foot back as in a hamstring curl. You should feel the hamstring tendon become taught right behind the knee. Is this where the pain is? Fairly rare to have just hamstring tendinitis but is possible if your hamstrings are tight. The more likely situation is IT band friction syndrome. The IT band is a thick fibrous sheath running the outside of the leg from the hip to the knee. It is commonly tight in athletes esp runners and bikers. A tight IT band can rub on the knee causing a friction irritation. This pain will be on the outside of the knee but can travel to the rear of the knee. Simple IT band stetching can often take care of the problem.

I'd be cautious about the use of anti-inflammatories. Their use has been linked to inproper tissue healing. Sure they help with pain cause inflammation acts as a chemical irratant to the nerves, but remember inflammation is a natural process. Take a look at this link.

http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/2003/0103/stovitz.htm

Situations like these are usually caused by some kind of muscle/tendon imbalance or combined with overuse and don't always disappear by taking meds. The meds can just mask the problem. Get it checked out by a qualified ortho doc esp one who is not scalpel happy. I would probably request a referral to a sports therapist or an athletic trainer who will take the time to define the proplem and devise a proper plan to take care of it. A thorough exam of the knee should take at least 15-30 minutes and should take a look at the foot and hip as well. I'd be leary of the 5 minute in and out, take two of these a day and come back in a month if its still a problem, exam.
Hope this helps.

 

[muddywings]

awesome

Is the pain directly on the outside of the knee or the back of the leg. While sitting try to pull your foot back as in a hamstring curl. You should feel the hamstring tendon become taught right behind the knee. Is this where the pain is? Fairly rare to have just hamstring tendinitis but is possible if your hamstrings are tight. The more likely situation is IT band friction syndrome. The IT band is a thick fibrous sheath running the outside of the leg from the hip to the knee. It is commonly tight in athletes esp runners and bikers. A tight IT band can rub on the knee causing a friction irritation. This pain will be on the outside of the knee but can travel to the rear of the knee. Simple IT band stetching can often take care of the problem.

I'd be cautious about the use of anti-inflammatories. Their use has been linked to inproper tissue healing. Sure they help with pain cause inflammation acts as a chemical irratant to the nerves, but remember inflammation is a natural process. Take a look at this link.

http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/2003/0103/stovitz.htm

Situations like these are usually caused by some kind of muscle/tendon imbalance or combined with overuse and don't always disappear by taking meds. The meds can just mask the problem. Get it checked out by a qualified ortho doc esp one who is not scalpel happy. I would probably request a referral to a sports therapist or an athletic trainer who will take the time to define the proplem and devise a proper plan to take care of it. A thorough exam of the knee should take at least 15-30 minutes and should take a look at the foot and hip as well. I'd be leary of the 5 minute in and out, take two of these a day and come back in a month if its still a problem, exam.
Hope this helps.

Thanks. I'm in the military so some of the docs can be real hack jobs that just love to cut into ya for the experience of it.
The pain is mostly on the side and just radiates to the rear-ish. The pain also radiates downward but its on the side of my calf.
I did motrin for like a week as that's the usual recommendation of my docs...motrin motrin motrin. If it doesn't go away then they kick you up to the next level.
thanks again
me

 

[consumerbydesign]

Hope this helps

I got into biking for knee re-hab.

Cold weather with improper knee cover and low cadence.
A cleat out of alignment
Take time off the bike ,keep warm knees with a high cadence
googd luck.

 

[ChipV]

Two knee surgeries so far...torn miniscus both times. When i start having to go down stairs sideways I know it's time to see the Doc; A few days on crutches and a few months for recovery both times.

 

[crashtoomuch]

Thanks. I'm in the military so some of the docs can be real hack jobs that just love to cut into ya for the experience of it.
The pain is mostly on the side and just radiates to the rear-ish. The pain also radiates downward but its on the side of my calf.
I did motrin for like a week as that's the usual recommendation of my docs...motrin motrin motrin. If it doesn't go away then they kick you up to the next level.
thanks again
me

I've had lots of knee surgery - meniscus several times, acl's on both. Symptoms of that stuff is usually pain in the joint or under the knee cap. What you describe sounds more like a hamstring tendon problem that should not require surgery. I agree with the post above about muscle imbalance. Could be the result of tight calf muscle, IT band or tight hammies among others.

You'd be surprised what a combination of rest, stretching, massage and heat/cold therapy can do. A physical therapist can show you what to do at home. While your waiting, get in a hot tub, once thoroughly warmed up do some gentle stretching.

Good luck.

 

[bulletbob]

I'm not 100% sure...

anybody had any serious knee problems that required work??
I'll be heading to see the doc soon but thought I'd ask in here.
My right knee has been slowly getting worse and worse. I have this soreness on the back outside where that tendon is. It takes a couple days to for the pain to ease up and lately its been taking longer and longer. I've taken a week or two off from biking and taken my fair share of motrin but I'm thinking it could take more than that.
Anybody had serious knee problems??
thanks

...exactly what spot you're talking about without seeing you point to it but could it be the Illio Tibial Band area?

there's plenty of stuff out there on that area, especially for runners so do a quick search and see if that's the spot. It's a really common injury area but also easily treatable.

If so, it's pretty easy to do some specific stretching exercises for that area that'll definitely help.

If not, never mind!

 

[free-agent]

Knee problem for me-any ideas?

I've been remodeling my basement and spent one day getting up and down on ther floor on me knees a lot cutting drywall. The next day I woke up with pain behind me knee, and on the inside of the front. I haven't been to the gym in a week in order for it to heal. I did some research on webmd but didn't find anything. Anyone have any ideas? I'm going crazy missing the training right now, but I don't want to hurt it more doing squats and leg presses.
TIA

 

[crashtoomuch]

I've been remodeling my basement and spent one day getting up and down on ther floor on me knees a lot cutting drywall. The next day I woke up with pain behind me knee, and on the inside of the front.

Hmmmm...pain on the inside front is different from pain in the back. Here are some things to consider...

If you didn't twist the knee out of the normal range of motion, chances of something really bad are lower.

If you don't have significant swelling, chances of something really bad are lower.

My guess is that by kneeling on a hard surface over and over, you irritated the joint. When you go to full flexion, or put weight right on your kneecap, the kneecap is riding right on stuff that can get tendor.

I would go for ice 20 minutes at a time 3 times a day and see if it goes away on its own.

It's frustrating to feel like your loosing fitness. But, this is a good time of year to deal with this. And, investing a couple of weeks now is much better than jacking around with it for months when the riding is at its best.

Good luck.

 

[free-agent]

Thank You...

I appreciate the reply. I think you are right on.
Happy New Year,
FA

 

[@dam]

I've had symptoms similar to these since last march. They're minor enough where the docs can't pinpoint the problem, but severe enough where I probably ride 20% as much as I used to. I'm getting totally out of shape and am getting depressed.

My pain usually feels right inside of the joint, but is often on the inside edge (left knee only). Sometimes it is on the lower outside corner of the knee though.

Just thought I'd drop this in, as some of you sound knowledgable about knee problems.

 

[crashtoomuch]

I've had symptoms similar to these since last march. They're minor enough where the docs can't pinpoint the problem, but severe enough where I probably ride 20% as much as I used to. I'm getting totally out of shape and am getting depressed.

This is a tough one and sounds very frustrating. When you say "docs" , it makes a big difference if you mean an orthopedic doc who specializes in sports injuries or some other doc. A good orthopedic doc should be able to contort you in enough positions to nail down the most likely cause and rule in our out big stuff.

The really big stuff (torn ligaments) would be obvious. It sounds like a cartilege irritation or maybe a small tear. They've done studies where one group with minor irritiation was scoped for repair and one group with similar symptoms was not. A year later the surgery group did no better. So, don't leap to the "I need to have it scoped" mindset.

It would help your head to make a plan and stick to it. It'll give you focus and make you proactive in getting your knee back. And, you will get it back. If you haven't seen a good othro, you should. If you did that already, you could work on strength, flexibility and pain/inflamation control.

For strength, squats, leg press and hamstring curls do the trick. You need to balance what you can lift with how much irritation it causes. If its major pain and/or swelling, you may have to bail and do straight leg lifts (lying on the floor with ankle weights) or rubber bands stuff. Biking on a stationary bike and/or easy flat road is another thing to work on - no big hills and no out-of-the-saddle at first.

For flexibility stretching several times a day for hammies, quads and calfs will help you. If you have limited range of motion for full extension or full flexion, add it to the list of things to work on. If you can't go to full flexion (heel to butt) due to fluid in the joint, then more ice for you. At a minimum,.stretch in the shower in the morning, at lunch and in the evening. It's best if done when you've warmed up, but try not to skip it no matter what.

For pain/inflamation control take glucosamine every day. It'll take several weeks for it to kick in, but it will. Advil works for minor post-workout pain/swelling, but shouldn't become a habit. Ice has amazing healing powers and pain relief and should be your best friend when your having a bad knee day.

If what you have is some minor irritation and you stretch, strengthen, ice and pop glucosamine, I'd bet that in 8 weeks you feel much better and it will snowball in a good direction from there.

Check out Bob's ACL Board - it's not just for acl problems and there are therapists and patients who have seen it all. You could post your question there and have lots of company.

http://factotem.org/cgi-bin/kneebbs.pl

Good luck

 

[@dam]

Thanks for the advice. I have seen two orthos. They've said chondromalicia, tendonitis, muscle imbalance, synovial band and plica band may be the issue. They aren't sure which, or if it is all of the above.

I'm icing my knee right now, and I've been taking glucosomine and advil for months now. It goes up and down. About three months ago I thought I was better, so I started riding again. After a couple of weeks I ramped back up to doing regular rides with the guys, but the symptoms came back. Frustraing stuff. I think I'll take your advice and do my stretching routine 3 times per day though. Doing deep squats makes it way worse though, so I'm not doing those. Straight or slighltly bent knee exercises only for me.

Thanks for the tips.

 

[crashtoomuch]

I have seen two orthos. They've said chondromalicia, tendonitis, muscle imbalance, synovial band and plica band may be the issue. They aren't sure which, or if it is all of the above.

You might consider seeing a good Physical Therapist. They deal with this stuff a lot. I paid out of pocket to see a really good one since the one that my insurance paid for wasn't gettting it done - it was a step change in the level of quality. They can give you a "thera band" - a giant rubber band kind of thing that you can do straight legged strength stuff with.

I've been dealing with pain on deep knee bends for a while. Could be a kneecap tracking deal. For me, it meant strengthening the quads and the VMO (that little triangular muscle on the inside above the knee). You can also do shallow squats (as low as you can go without pain) against a wall, or against a wall on one leg.

I keep waiting for them to develop some joint lube that you can inject.

Good luck, my brother of the knee.