[iviguy]

Lately I have had very slight knee pain on the inner knee where the femur and MCL meet. Could this be due to some alignment issue of the clips on my shoes or something? Maybe they aren't related but I can't think of anything else I have done that may have caused this. It's very slight but somewhat constant.

 

[Squizzle]

A lot of things...

...can contribute to this type of pain. I've been suffering from this off & on for a couple of years now. It got really bad last September after a particularly cold mtb ride up in Tahoe. I wasn't dressed warm enough and it actually started snowing. I also didn't warm up & stretch properly. Diagnosis: slightly torn ligaments/muscles etc. Solution: 2 months of physical therapy, quad strenghtening exercises at the gym, lots of stretching every day, double check your seat height, and double check it again. Mine was too short and I think this was also a contributing factor to my knee pain. It's been 7 months now, and finally I am able to ride at full strength again. Just take it slow and give yourself enought time to recover. They do not heal quickly. The PT told me this and he was right on with that. Best of luck.

Also check out the sponsor of this message board's sponsor's site "Competitive Cyclist" make sure to click through the banner to support MTBR! They have an excellent online fitting calculator, so you can at least calculate your proper seat height.

 

[Caffeine Powered]

I just tore my MCL last Tuesday playing soccer. The Orthopod instructed me to ride as much as possible. With the exception of having that foot at the 6 o'clock position while hopping down a curb this morning I have had no issues from the tear. I was fitted for a support brace that I wear while working but it's useless and restrictive on the bike. If you really did tear/ strain your MCL you should avoid pivoting on that leg and don't hyper extend (lock) the joint. It doens't sound to me as though it's your MCL but then I'm not an MD or PA.

 

[Rainman]

I get that pain in the knees too...although mine comes from years of abuse to my knees..

I have always found it to be worse when I have my seat too low for my leg length. For this reason, I tend to set my seat height so that my legs are almost fully straight at the bottom of the pedal-stroke.

This places me too high for really technical sections though, so i'm sorta caught between knee pain and feeling more secure on the bike.

Apart from knee replacement surgery, there's not much I can do about it now.

My doc says I should invent a new compound that can be injected into the joints that will replace the worn out cartilage so I can get full use of the joints again, and also become a millionaire in the process...


R.

 

[SHIVER ME TIMBERS]

ice it fast.....rest and ice help a lot especially after rides

 

[iviguy]

...can contribute to this type of pain. I've been suffering from this off & on for a couple of years now. It got really bad last September after a particularly cold mtb ride up in Tahoe. I wasn't dressed warm enough and it actually started snowing. I also didn't warm up & stretch properly. Diagnosis: slightly torn ligaments/muscles etc. Solution: 2 months of physical therapy, quad strenghtening exercises at the gym, lots of stretching every day, double check your seat height, and double check it again. Mine was too short and I think this was also a contributing factor to my knee pain. It's been 7 months now, and finally I am able to ride at full strength again. Just take it slow and give yourself enought time to recover. They do not heal quickly. The PT told me this and he was right on with that. Best of luck.

Also check out the sponsor of this message board's sponsor's site "Competitive Cyclist" make sure to click through the banner to support MTBR! They have an excellent online fitting calculator, so you can at least calculate your proper seat height.

I have kind of felt that the seat hight was a bit low. I'll check that. I also think my top tube length is a bit short too and I feel like I want to ride the back of the saddle. That may put my knees out of position with the pedals as well. Do you think that could cause problems?