Knee pain. What can be done?

[Anonymous]

I always had knee pain when riding a bike ever since I was a kid--something about the way my hips and knees were aligned I guess. I got a Trek bike that was designed for women and it was better for a long time. (Now I have more severe arthritis in one knee that has an old torn cartilage injury and there's no way I can comfortably ride any longer). So I would suggest go to a bike shop and test out different bikes to see if that's an issue for you. Also, it used to help me to wear an elastic brace while I rode so I didn't angle it out in a weird direction. I've always been in the normal weight range.

[Anonymous]

Definitely check your bike seat. Go into a good bike store and have them help you.

Absent that, I added a lot of strength training to help me with my knee pain. For me, at least, building up the muscles around my knee (think squats, lunges, dead lifts) really helped me a lot.

I was diagnosed with early onset arthritis when I went in for knee pain in my 20s. Strength training has kept me mostly pain-free (I also stopped running as much).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cortisone shot if PT doesn’t help.

Def get professionally fitted on the bike, but also follow up with a cortisone shot if that doesn't help. I'm assuming your doc took an x-ray or did an MRI or something similar? I am in my late 40s and have pretty bad arthritis in one knee due to prior injuries. I don't want to have knee replacement surgery yet, so use NSAIDs when the pain is bad and then get a cortisone shot if the NSAIDs don't work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Try tumeric

+100

+1

[Anonymous]

I could walk, hike, etc. for miles on end but biking was killing my knees. I worked with a PT PhD and it made an amazing difference. One bike fit session fixed it. She hitched my bike up to a indoor bike trainer stand and watched me ride. Then she adjusted my seat, my handlebars, and directed me through postural changes.

I don't know where you are located, but I highly recommend it. Just did a quick google search and found this place - https://www.velofitpt.com/bikefit - might be worth a try.

Also - how are your IT bands? I biked throughout the PNW hills during my years in college and beyond, and really had to work on my IT bands so that they wouldn't pull my knee caps out of alignment and cause pain. A sports medicine Dr @ Georgetown helped me out then during a visit back home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Definitely check your bike seat. Go into a good bike store and have them help you.

Absent that, I added a lot of strength training to help me with my knee pain. For me, at least, building up the muscles around my knee (think squats, lunges, dead lifts) really helped me a lot.

I was diagnosed with early onset arthritis when I went in for knee pain in my 20s. Strength training has kept me mostly pain-free (I also stopped running as much).

All those exercises could make the pain worse if not done correctly. If you can afford it, start with PT. Tell them your goal is increasing your strength, but want to do it correctly. PT - not a trainer. I have seen them teach people to use horrible form.

[Anonymous]

Cortisone did not do jack sh*t for me. My orthopedist was puzzled and stumped. I waited weeks for an appt and those shots did nothing.

I backed off deep knee bending exercises and some yoga poses like virasana. I also used those silicone toe separators and they realigned / straightened my toes which apparently were affecting my knees.

Knees feel better but they will never be the same as when I was younger and could do any exercise I wanted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whatever you do don’t do surgery. I was diagnosed with severe arthritis and the quack doc wanted to perform knee surgery on me. Fast forward 6 months and I’m squatting running and tennis with no pain and didn’t go under the knife

So, what was the magic cure? Turmeric?

[Anonymous]

Def get a consult with an ortho. I'm 54 and train for a 10K annually and have intermittent trouble with one knee. Dr tells me it looks perfect on an x-ray for joints and bones, so has to be something related to strength, alignment, or mechanics. It swells up but he didn't suspect a tear. PT did help me get through my race. Experiment with braces. They do help.