I have been experiencing a good deal of pain on the inside and bottom of my patella when flexing and extending my knee. I have been going to physical therapy for it for 2 weeks thus far. It has gotten slightly better. I tried cycling on my trainer and made it 18 minutes before the pain came back. Has anyone experienced anything like this and if you have, how long did it take to go away? Did you do any rehab etc? Thanks in advance for the insight.
Bike fit, bike fit, bike fit. You need to have someone look at you that knows what they are doing, cleat adjustment, pedal type, and overall fit of the bike. All these things are crucial to a healthy knee. Then the PT and stretching can actually have a chance to help. If you are in Northern California I can suggest a few.
Patellar tendonitis? does it extend to the tibial tuberosity? (bony little bump on the shin bone, at the top)
Ditto on the bike fit, also, stretch quads and IT band as tightness there can cause excess stress on the patellar tendon.
Every time I had cycling-related knee problems I was able to solve them with a cleat adjustment.
As strange as it seems no matter what my cleat position I would eventually develop knee pain due to volume (when I was a dedicated cyclist). But the solution was simply to change my cleat position. If I was heel in and got a sore knee I would adjust it to a straight neutral position. If that was my position when I got sore, I’d adjust it to a heel in position (where the ankle bone just kisses the crank).
try lowering your seat a cm or two.
I had similarly located pain and ended up having surgery for meidal meniscus. I had it for a long time and it would kind of come and go. I could not run with it really tho. I could still cycle, swim and do pt exercises. I was not eligible for MRI so eventually did exploratory surgery and found huge tear.
Have you had the MRI? seen a doctor who did the manipulation for meniscus tear?
That also sounds like the problems I had last year. I waited until the end of the season for an MRI and it was a torn meniscus for me also. I had PT before the surgery and it helped - but with a torn meniscus, PT will never fix it.
I would suggest seeing a physician, get an MRI and if it is a torn meniscus get it fixed asap. The post-surgery recovery time is short and you’ll be back on the bike in short order. Regardless, an MRI would tell you if there is any damage to your knee.
Seeing a fit specialist is a great idea, but unless you have your cleats way out of position you should be able to ride more than 18 minutes on your bike. And my guess is that if one is way out of position, they both should be also. And it sounds like you have pain in only one knee.
Best of luck. See a doctor.
I doubt it is a meniscus tear. But a competent PT should be able to discern this condition. Get to your MD, and get it checked out. No one on this forum can tell you exactly what it is… when you go. be sure to tell the MD everything. Ask about the MRI, and get a referral for PT.
Then call local PT’s and askk them if they have a PT who does bike fitting. IF they do, they will be able to not only fit your bike properly (including the cleats) and treat the problem effectively.
Just lowering the seat can put the patella in a different position, but it wont fix the problem. Fix the problem. Get to your MD, then a PT, and for pete’s sake…do the exercises and stretches.
Good Luck.
Patellar tendonitis? does it extend to the tibial tuberosity? (bony little bump on the shin bone, at the top)
Ditto on the bike fit, also, stretch quads and IT band as tightness there can cause excess stress on the patellar tendon.
What if it does extend to the tibial tuberosity? Is that an indication of something worse?
I asked that question trying to figure out the exact location of his knee pain; it’s easier to speak in anatomical turns than everyday speak.
The patellar tendon inserts on the tibial tuberosity so if he were having pain in the area distal to the patella to the tibial tuberosity then patellar tendonitis would be my guess.
try lowering your seat a cm or two.
Wrong way in my opinion. I had the same symptoms end of this summer my seat was too low.
Too high normally results in ITBS.
I asked that question trying to figure out the exact location of his knee pain; it’s easier to speak in anatomical turns than everyday speak.
The patellar tendon inserts on the tibial tuberosity so if he were having pain in the area distal to the patella to the tibial tuberosity then patellar tendonitis would be my guess.
And if you don’t know anatomical terms, like most people, saying the inside bottom of the patella is good enough.
I do; I am actually starting PT school next year/have been working for one for quite some time, but I was unsure if most people knew them.
I have been rehabing my knee for 2 weeks. It has been getting a little better but still cannot run. I tried cycling today and my tri coach made the suggestion of using a bit more hamstring and the pain went away. It was temporary but felt good for once!
It is not a meniscus tare. I had it tested pretty extensively. Just thought I would give ya’ll an update. Thanks for the input.