# suddenly developed inner knee pain



## NicoleB (Jul 21, 2011)

so this weekend i was on some pretty slippery technical trails. i crashed once, but dont recall hitting my knee. a bunch of other times i slid out and had to slam my foot down.

i've never had knee pain cycling, but after that weekend, i'm having a sharp pain on one of my knees, on the inside, (medial knee pain as they call it). doesnt seem to be part of the kneecap, its further to the side.

everything i read says that improper pedal position causes it. i ride both clipless and platforms (moreso platforms), so its not like i have one bad position all the time. 

so i know what tends to cause it, i just dont know how long it takes for a stupid thing like this to heal. i wanna ride my bike and not sure how much downtime i should take, because it only hurts pedaling, not walking around. just wondering if anybody has had this before.


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## AZ (Apr 14, 2009)

It usually take mine a couple of days.Give it a rest, ice it down and it will likely feel better in a day or two. My two cents.


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## NicoleB (Jul 21, 2011)

month later, stupid dumbass knee still hurts. sort of on the side, sort of underneath the knee cap. i worry its my meniscus now, i dont know. i sneak small rides in anyway and just deal with it. perhaps its not a good idea but i'm so frusterated. the riding season in New England is too short as it is!!!


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## Metalhack (Aug 13, 2011)

The only answer is to go see an ortho doc. I see your from New England. I can refer you to a great sports doc out of massachusetts if you like. Let me know.


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## NicoleB (Jul 21, 2011)

i'm from NH. i dont know if its doctor worhty yet. it doesnt even hurt when i walk, or even mountain climb. just pedal. that leads me to believe it isnt severe at the moment, but something bike related effed something up.


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## AC/BC (Jun 22, 2006)

Im having the same problem (right knee) but I think i've made it worse. It's more of an annoying pain (not bad pain) on the backside of my knee. It feels like its coming from my tendons or something. Has yours healed yet?


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## electrik (Oct 22, 2009)

Nicole?. Two things(this is free advice only - u get what you pay for)

Try some IT band stretching and foam rolling.





What can also happen is the vastus lateralis gets pretty strong while cycling onle compared to the vastus medialis. The lateralis can pull the kneecap to the lateral side which results in pain on the medial side.






Or you may have actually some sort of acute injury.


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## electrik (Oct 22, 2009)

AC/BC said:


> Im having the same problem (right knee) but I think i've made it worse. It's more of an annoying pain (not bad pain) on the backside of my knee. It feels like its coming from my tendons or something. Has yours healed yet?


There is a lot going on back there... did you change shoes or pedals? Have you tried some hamstring stretching? Did you recently up your training volume?


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## NicoleB (Jul 21, 2011)

mine stopped hurting me DURING the ride. no more sharp pinching pains. though i do get aching post ride, but its not that bad. i can live with it. 
i have weird chronic inflammatory issues anyway, so it could have been something like that.


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## electrik (Oct 22, 2009)

NicoleB28 said:


> mine stopped hurting me DURING the ride. no more sharp pinching pains. though i do get aching post ride, but its not that bad. i can live with it.
> i have weird chronic inflammatory issues anyway, so it could have been something like that.


Could be related to the joint's synovial fluid... maybe a bit longer easy warm-up. Why the left knee and not the right? The reason could be due to the other issues you're getting signs of wear earlier... so might not be the best idea to ignore.


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## NicoleB (Jul 21, 2011)

i just happen to have a lot of autoimmune problems in my family, including me as well, so i can never really know when i get random pains whether its a joint thing. i take lots of antiinflammatory stuff for other issues, and it all seems to help


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## electrik (Oct 22, 2009)

NicoleB28 said:


> i just happen to have a lot of autoimmune problems in my family, including me as well, so i can never really know when i get random pains whether its a joint thing. i take lots of antiinflammatory stuff for other issues, and it all seems to help


Yeah, i understand that. This problem has been going on for a few months, it seems specific though and you recall a possible way it actually got injured. It sounds like a bit of wishful thinking to just dismiss it as caused by the autoimmune problem?


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## NicoleB (Jul 21, 2011)

who knows, but its definitely healing! much better than a month ago. no more pain during riding, just a vague ache now and then after a ride. but it feels more like involving cartilage or joint, rather than muscle. i'm a hefty 29 years old. all downhill from here, right?


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## electrik (Oct 22, 2009)

NicoleB28 said:


> who knows, but its definitely healing! much better than a month ago. no more pain during riding, just a vague ache now and then after a ride. but it feels more like involving cartilage or joint, rather than muscle. i'm a hefty 29 years old. all downhill from here, right?


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## nitrousjunky (May 12, 2006)

I have something similar going on with the outside of my right knee. After watching one of the videos above, I wonder if it could be vastus lateralis being stronger than the vastus medialis.

Mine hurts to the right side of my knee cap (kinda to the side, kinda under it). I feel it at the very beginning of the ride, then it goes away. Don't feel it at all for the rest of the ride.

I can feel it at times when going up or down stairs, or when standing up from a squatted position.

It will get better and go away, then return for a couple weeks, then repeat.


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## derockus (Mar 27, 2009)

I have a similar knee pain. Below the knee cap and towards the inside of my leg. When it hurts I want to put pressure on the tendon. I saw an ortho last week and was told it was patella tendonitis. I'm around the same age as you so I was thinking "knee pain! must be one of these terrible things requiring surgery!".

I wear a "jumper's strap" that applies pressure below the knee-cap and redistributes the force on the tendon. It works pretty well and increases stability in my leg. Give one a try (walking, hiking, riding). For $5-10 it's worth a go.


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## neex (Mar 30, 2005)

NicoleB28 said:


> month later, stupid dumbass knee still hurts. sort of on the side, sort of underneath the knee cap. i worry its my meniscus now, i dont know. i sneak small rides in anyway and just deal with it. perhaps its not a good idea but i'm so frusterated. the riding season in New England is too short as it is!!!


I have a 4cm tear in my meniscus that's been there for maybe 3 years now. You will need an MRI to properly diagnose but a knee exam should be the starting point. It could actually be patellar displacement (sp?) due to a very tight IT band. It sounds silly but look into a foam roller or even use a water bottle or wine bottle if you like pain for gain. The idea is that when you roll out your IT band you will loosen it a little and your 'displaced' knee will slide back into the correct position.

I used a water bottle then wine bottle but now use a decent roller....l

You may feel your IT band 'snap' up high on your thigh which is a good sign but feels awfully wrong. Regardless of what you did, you will likely want to start building up strength in that knee by doing low rep/high weight/extended work on it. Since I've strengthened mine up, other than the clicking on stairs here and there, it has been perfectly functional to live with, ride, jump, whatever.

Good luck and go get a knee exam....ultrasound ..... MRI .... scope (hopefully in that order to avoid needing a knife if you can help it).

A.


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## bbbr (Nov 6, 2005)

Just went through knee surgery #6 last week for a torn lateral meniscus in my left knee (my knee surgeon said it was impossible to tear it how i did, proved him wrong i did). Numbers 1-5 were all on the right knee for meniscus tears and a plica band problem. 

My experience with meniscus tears so far is that the initial pain calms down to a certain level and stays there, never really getting better. An MRI and physical exam should lend some light on the problem along with providing a solution. Worst case it surgical, best case you get some PT and pointers on how to keep it from happening again.


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## NicoleB (Jul 21, 2011)

well, i am the OP, and am delighted to say the pain went away. but ya'll can carry on, and thanks for the advice  luckily i must not have had a bad injury


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