Standing + Big Gears Always = Knee Problems?

On Mon, 03 Apr 2006 21:44:38 -0400, Steve Sr. wrote:

Hello,

Before I get to the details let me start by saying that I am in my late
40's. Before anyone suggests bike fit as a cause let me say that the
bike fit is good as evidenced by no knee problems until starting the
above. I have also been riding about 100 miles a week through the winter
so this isn't a spring over doers thing either.

I have recently been trying to increase my strength by pushing hills
while standing and slightly bigger gears sometimes while riding. I have
noticed an increase in strength but unfortunately my knees don't seem
able to take the added stress.

So here I am sitting by the computer with my knee wrapped in an ice
pack. This is probably patellar tendinitis as the pain seems to come
from tendons on the top inside and bottom outside of the kneecap. The
best I can tell is that the knee gets inflamed which then causes tendons
and such to move out of place causing even more problems.

So, am I doing something wrong? Other folks I ride with, some younger,
some older, don't seem to have a problem standing or pushing bigger
gears. Is there anything I can do to solve this or have I been
genetically unlucky and born with bad knees? If not I have probably
reached my cycling limit.

You should probably get lower gears to ease the stress on your
knees. However, I think pushing big gears at low cadences while sitting
is worse than while standing. So if you're having trouble pushing
at least 60-70rpm, get out of the saddle no matter what gear you're in.
Straighten your leg at the top of the stroke, riding the pedal down with a
straight leg, letting your weight do the work. This way you limit the
force on your knees to that of your own weight.

You might be able to work with a physical therapist or personal trainer to
build leg strength through weight training, or a program of short hill
climbs.

Matt O.

There's some other factors that can cause this. Were you warmed up
enough before standing and pushing? Also, was the weather cold? Did
you have something warm over your knees? You're in your late 40s.
Take care of your knees. Don't push too hard. If you're doing 100
mile rides, that in itself could be hard on the knees.

When cooled off, do your knees pop or creak when you stand up? If so,
first I'd try a combination of icing and massaging two or three times a
day. Standing on a pillow on one leg is a good PT exercise. Do other
exercises and stretches besides cycling.
Jim Gagnepain
http://home.comcast.net/~oil_free_and_happy/

Per Steve Sr.:
Interesting point. I always thought that standing would be worse since
your knee cap actually comes loose and then snaps back into place once
per revolution while standing. Anybody else care to weigh in on which
is really worse?

My experience is that it depends on pace and effort.

I stand a lot going up hills for the variety, because it feels good, and to give
my butt a little rest. When I do so I'm just sort of loping along in a gear
that's maybe fifty inches higher than what I'd spin in the saddle. In that
situation there is no negative effect on what's left of my knees.

OTOH during my very brief single speed career, my knees were definitely headed
for trouble. The diff being that often I would ride out of the saddle with
maximum effort (mainly to get up hills).
--
PeteCresswell

(PeteCresswell) wrote:
Per Steve Sr.:
Interesting point. I always thought that standing would be worse since
your knee cap actually comes loose and then snaps back into place once
per revolution while standing. Anybody else care to weigh in on which
is really worse?

My experience is that it depends on pace and effort.

I stand a lot going up hills for the variety, because it feels good, and to give
my butt a little rest. When I do so I'm just sort of loping along in a gear
that's maybe fifty inches higher than what I'd spin in the saddle. In that
situation there is no negative effect on what's left of my knees.

OTOH during my very brief single speed career, my knees were definitely headed
for trouble. The diff being that often I would ride out of the saddle with
maximum effort (mainly to get up hills).

My one serious knee injury came with a fixed gear. After riding a fixed
gear in real mountains in Germany with no problem I returned to the US
and set up my bike again with one. The knee problem happened the day I
put new cleats on my shoes. One was set wrong and I messed up my knee.

There is nothing in the OP's original post to indicate that he strained
his knees from pushing a gear too big. It sounds like he was being
pretty moderate in his approach. I don't know what his problem is but
it is not "big gears", and if the gear size was in reality the problem,
it really wasn't- it is that he has extraordinarily weak tendons or
athritis or something. He needs to find the underlying problem and fix
it. Telling him to stop trying to improve his leg strength by pushing
moderately higher gears is simply bad advice.

My first advice would be to go to a doctor to have his knees checked
out. If there's no underlying medical condition, he might want to try
training with big gears only out of the saddle to eliminate saddle
position as a source of the problem. Based on my experience, I would
take a look at shoe-pedal angle- if it's not right, every revolution
will strain ligaments and it would certainly be exacerbated by higher
power output, whether from bigger gears or higher rpm.

All of this assumes enough rest for the current problem to subside, and
enough rest between rides to allow adequate recovery. This may mean
resting for more than a day after a hard ride. In your late 40s there's
no guarantee that you can adequately recover after a single rest day-
it will vary by fitness and ride intensity. If you go out and your legs
feel tired from the previous ride, you haven't rested enough. Park the
bike and go for a quick walk if you can't control the intensity of your
ride.

It's not the gear size.

Steve Sr. wrote:

I do have what doctors have called crepitas where tendons snap over
calcified deposits. Sometimes the pain orriginates from one or more of
these areas and sometimes it is just a non-specific ache. However, I
have crepitas in both knees and only one knee is currently causing a
problem.

Didn't see the "slide your cleats back" advice, often offered in these
discussions. That seemed to help my knees, which of course are mine,
not yours g. Foot further forward on the pedal, is the position.

Spinning can be very, very bad for knees, whatever the underlying
problems of cleat alignment, joint problems, saddle height, whatever,
might be.

Stretching can be destructive, as well. And it doesn't take bouncing or
forcing to cause a problem.

http://www.lowcarbfreedom.com/2004/0...rian_stud.html

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/ar...5/Feature1.asp

Suggesting stretching after, not before activity:

http://www.ultrunr.com/stretch.html

A good warm-up can be as easy as careful standing in a big gear for a
few minutes, along with some relaxed seated pedaling. Some of those
trackies can ride short, intense velodrome races with pretty
casual-looking warm-ups, and you see them come back the next week and
do it again. Same holds true for some good crit riders.

IME, using large gears up hills isn't a problem by itself, if done
carefully. It's accelerating up hills, possibly to answer a group
surge, while in a big gear that causes "soreness". That, and big-time
for me, spinning up and over the tops of hills, possibly that
acceleration thing again-- I don't know exactly why, or what's going
on, but I've learned to upshift a little early and stand before the
crests, instead of increasing leg speed while seated, esp. when riding
in a group, to cover the usual acceleration at the top. Recently
repeated this lesson, with only mild irritation being enough of a
reminder, thank you. (Anecdotal, offered as such, while noting
regularity of occurrence).

Another big change for me was going to 165 cranks. Some of the "crank
length" tables support this choice, relative to my leg length. Who
cares, I tried them and a certain constant after-ride knee soreness
went away and hasn't come back.

My saddle height has migrated down to where I have a little bend in the
knee, sole of foot more or less parallel to the ground ("flat") at the
bottom of the stroke.

Oh yeah, I'm older than you g, and had "off the bike" knee problems
20 years ago. Rode close to 60 miles yesterday, and during the second
(slightly shorter) half, had to give it all behind a faster rider in
order to make it to an appointment (what a pretty day... whoops!). No
problems at all today, will do a couple of hours later as schedule
permits. I know I'm lucky, but then, I try to pay attention, too...
"offered only as a positive", thanks.

Birthday coming up, I already did the "years/miles" thing yesterday.
Maybe a Century, or even a Double Birthday Spectacular! I'll need to
start early g, and easy.

Good luck in your progress! --D-y

In article .com,
wrote:

(PeteCresswell) wrote:
Per Steve Sr.:
Interesting point. I always thought that standing would be worse
since your knee cap actually comes loose and then snaps back into
place once per revolution while standing. Anybody else care to
weigh in on which is really worse?

My experience is that it depends on pace and effort.

I stand a lot going up hills for the variety, because it feels
good, and to give my butt a little rest. When I do so I'm just
sort of loping along in a gear that's maybe fifty inches higher
than what I'd spin in the saddle. In that situation there is no
negative effect on what's left of my knees.

A FIFTY inch difference? Is that correct? Wow, I don't approach that
amount of difference sitting versus climbing while standing.

OTOH during my very brief single speed career, my knees were
definitely headed for trouble. The diff being that often I would
ride out of the saddle with maximum effort (mainly to get up
hills).

My one serious knee injury came with a fixed gear. After riding a
fixed gear in real mountains in Germany with no problem I returned to
the US and set up my bike again with one. The knee problem happened
the day I put new cleats on my shoes. One was set wrong and I messed
up my knee.

Actual damage or "just" pain, inflammation and irritation? The knee is
a complicated joint and it's possible to cause tendinitis, inflamed
bursae, etc.

There is nothing in the OP's original post to indicate that he
strained his knees from pushing a gear too big. It sounds like he was
being pretty moderate in his approach. I don't know what his problem
is but it is not "big gears", and if the gear size was in reality the
problem, it really wasn't- it is that he has extraordinarily weak
tendons or athritis or something. He needs to find the underlying
problem and fix it. Telling him to stop trying to improve his leg
strength by pushing moderately higher gears is simply bad advice.

My first advice would be to go to a doctor to have his knees checked
out. If there's no underlying medical condition, he might want to try
training with big gears only out of the saddle to eliminate saddle
position as a source of the problem. Based on my experience, I would
take a look at shoe-pedal angle- if it's not right, every revolution
will strain ligaments and it would certainly be exacerbated by higher
power output, whether from bigger gears or higher rpm.

I agree. Check for a real knee problem. I spent a lot of time chasing
last year down why my left knee had occasional stabbing pains when
riding and altered all kinds of aspects of my position and bike fit,
only to find I had a torn meniscus- probably from aikido or a fall when
cross-country skiing- and needed surgery.

All of this assumes enough rest for the current problem to subside,
and enough rest between rides to allow adequate recovery. This may
mean resting for more than a day after a hard ride. In your late 40s
there's no guarantee that you can adequately recover after a single
rest day- it will vary by fitness and ride intensity. If you go out
and your legs feel tired from the previous ride, you haven't rested
enough. Park the bike and go for a quick walk if you can't control
the intensity of your ride.

It's not the gear size.

Per PeteCresswell...
good, and to give my butt a little rest. When I do so I'm just
sort of loping along in a gear that's maybe fifty inches higher
than what I'd spin in the saddle. In that situation there is no
negative effect on what's left of my knees.

Per Tim...
A FIFTY inch difference? Is that correct? Wow, I don't approach that
amount of difference sitting versus climbing while standing.

Good catch. I got my units mixed up. I should have said "percent".

I ride a fixed-gear hub that has a 13.5% difference between each gear and I'll
routinely roll up 4 gears when I stand... sometimes three depending on the hill
and my momentum. Depending on the starting gear, that's more like 15-25
inches.
--
PeteCresswell

Steve Sr. wrote:

Interesting point. I have a 29" inseam and both road bikes now have
170 cranks. One was changed and the other was ordered with 170s. The
mountain bike where this latest problem seems to have begun has 175s.
I wouldn't think that 10mm would be a big enough difference to cause
this problem.

Just a part of a recipe, helps with my "general comfort", keeping the
inflamation count down g. Not offered as a miracle cure. As others
have suggested, if the standing in big gears is what bothers your
knees, stop. If I do any of that (I have a 45/15 fixed gear bike, not
all that huge a gear), I do it solo and real carefully.

Congratulations! I just want to be able to do 80 miles when I'm 80!

Good idea!

OK, have you tried glucosamine/chrondontin supplements? I hurt a knee
walking down stairs a couple of years ago. The doc said the xrays were
good, and I should do rehab-style leg extensions on a machine, and take
the glu/chron too. Took awhile, but the knee got better. I've had one
or two episodes of soreness since, seemingly bike or not bike related,
and have used glu/chron for shorter periods of time. I don't use it all
the time because it costs $$ and frankly doesn't seem to "set very
well" with me. Nothing severe at all. Apparently, one health food store
item that is accepted by the "real" medical community after successful
studies. --D-y

On 5 Apr 2006 18:39:58 -0700, wrote:


OK, have you tried glucosamine/chrondontin supplements? I hurt a knee
walking down stairs a couple of years ago. The doc said the xrays were
good, and I should do rehab-style leg extensions on a machine, and take
the glu/chron too. Took awhile, but the knee got better. I've had one
or two episodes of soreness since, seemingly bike or not bike related,
and have used glu/chron for shorter periods of time. I don't use it all
the time because it costs $$ and frankly doesn't seem to "set very
well" with me. Nothing severe at all. Apparently, one health food store
item that is accepted by the "real" medical community after successful
studies. --D-y

Yeah, my wife had an injury and her surgeon (an MD) suggested also
trying glucosamine/chrondontin -- he said it helps some people but not
everyone.

JT

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Tim McNamara wrote:
In article .com,
wrote:

snip

I agree. Check for a real knee problem. I spent a lot of time chasing
last year down why my left knee had occasional stabbing pains when
riding and altered all kinds of aspects of my position and bike fit,
only to find I had a torn meniscus- probably from aikido or a fall when
cross-country skiing- and needed surgery.

Knees are peculiar, and there is even a study in the New England
Journal of Medicine where placebo arthroscopic surgeries had the same
success rates as the real thing. See http://tinyurl.com/ld8hh . An
orthopedist I know is also adamant that much knee pain is referred pain
from the hip. So, the moral of the story is go to a good orthopedist.

All of this assumes enough rest for the current problem to subside,
and enough rest between rides to allow adequate recovery. This may
mean resting for more than a day after a hard ride. In your late 40s
there's no guarantee that you can adequately recover after a single
rest day- it will vary by fitness and ride intensity. If you go out
and your legs feel tired from the previous ride, you haven't rested
enough. Park the bike and go for a quick walk if you can't control
the intensity of your ride.

I wish I could rest that much -- I don't think my legs have felt fresh
in ten years. I just take a lot of ibuprophen and try to get my knee
pain to be equal to or less than my back pain. Balance is important. --
Jay Beattie.