getting a badly inflamed knee on one side at the mo.
yes after cycling but also after day’s work going up and down step-ladders, but not a ridiculous amount.

doing some good leg stretches to try to combat it, which have helped a lot at times. not over-doing these obviously. but anyway it still comes-on once or twice a week.

anyone got any good remedies or advice for lookng after my knees?
my ostoepath brother tells me that the troube with inflamation is it can lead to more chronic inflamation = arthritis.
don’t want to be on an electric assist by the time i’m 50!

also, i’ve got 170mm cranks on my good bike, and 175 on my dad bike.
anyone had experience of different cranks lengths causing knees problems?
i’ve always had 175 on various bike till this one pair of 170s a couple of years ago.

Your brother is right. Don’t bugger about, go to your doctor. If this is a recurring symptom you may have already damaged your knee. Get an MRI or an x-ray ASAP.

woh, ok thanks rhayter!
speaking from experience?

doing some good leg stretches to try to combat it

Get thee to a physio, many trusts now do self referrals, you can check online. If the muscles are short, then stretches will help. But you may be weak in one or more muscle groups, so strengthening would be what you need.

Yes, jamiesilo.

But I didn’t mean to alarm you. Knees are funny things. I’ve had problems with mine, one and off, for years. Came close to surgery a few years ago, but the specialist I saw suggested that I wait another 3 months… and they sorted themselves out.

Get an expert opinion. Or two. But I’d be worried if the pain kept coming back time and time again, as you described. Get it fixed.

ok, i’m in france so not sure how referals/physios work, or if they do at all on my insurance. may go to a sport orientated osteo if it continues.

but did any of you work out any relation to biking?
and anyone changed crank length and had problems?

just taking it easy on climbs etc helped? lower gears?
i have stopped pedalling up the hill to my house with my 4 year old daughter on the front. did seem like unnecessary strain

Had Knee problems,and pain in ankle, mentioned to osteopath and tracked cause down to bone in ankle dislocated .
solution was to pull foot down n twist n push back up then released muscle in thigh and hey presto ,problem solved.

My thoughts were wrong adjustment of spd’s ,shoes all sorts of things gate etc.

So just shows,get it looked at ,Based in eire so we have to pay GP ,oesteo is sport based too so he knew his game .

I have found this to be very useful:

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/take-care-of-your-knees-part-2-17445/

How tall are you?

I’m 6’2″, with 36″ legs. My 38yo knees are happier on 165 cranks than 175’s…

I’m not suggesting that crank-length alone is at the root of your problems, but, y’know, bike-fit IS important.

Good luck!

I’m 6′ with 33″ legs and thought I’d try 175’s on my road bike, couldn’t get on with them and went back to 172.5 – you wouldn’t think that you’d be able to notice it but I could!
I’ve had periods of knee pain caused by too much cycling and mine were due to tight IT band. Plenty of stretching (difficult to get an effective stretch) and the torture of a foam roller and it sorts itself out.
Unfortunately I now have intense burning/pain down the outside of my knee whilst squatting down, also thought to be due to recruitment of the IT Band to stabilse my knee as I’ve ruptured the ACL. Currently trying to work on strength and stability to see if I can live without it or have to go under the knife!
Bloody knees!

Get a diagnosis on what your knee problem is as there are many conditions – it could be down to inflammation, injury or wear’n’tear or simply over-doing it. The fact that your experiencing pain on your lateral side could be an indication of a bike fit / pedal/cleat / alignment issue – using pedals with more lateral float may help. Shorter cranks do put less strain on the knee IME, but you do spin more which can exacerbate poor alignment issues.
I’m suffering the after-effects from a 38.5hr race in the arctic 2 weeks ago where soft snow meant I had to push my bike for about 90km – I was simply hurting everywhere at the finish, but it took a lot out of my 51-year-old knees!

thanks everyone.
that article is great shermer75.
just taking time to digest it.

looks like i fit the Anterior pain category
guess i’ll go to the doc too and see if i can get some physio.

In France with Insurance no probs get yer ass to the quak toute suite the after care is superb.

smart