Had an MRI scan today for a suspected torn cartilage in left knee. Turns out its the inside of my patella that is rough and causing the pain. The doc said just carry on as normal, take pain killers when required (a lot) and over time it will prob go away.

Anyone had this? Any advice from a bike point of view would be welcome as biking causes it to hurt. I ride in SPD's all the time – would flats help?

I've had that. Had the back of it 'judiciously power shaved' (that's what the doc wroet anyway). Was much better for a bit, any now it's back how it was.

Don't think I'll bother going through that again

See a physio

check cleat alignment and saddle height

stretch hamstrings

check VMO is functioning (probably needs help from a physio)

Its not to hard to sort but I think just carrying on might not work as its a matter of learning to use the muscles correctly…..

Thanks for the advice. Whats VMO?

I'm tempted to start riding flats some of the time – would this help?

MRanger – i had it when i switched to spds for my commute (have always used flats for proper riding and commuting).

I went to my GP – he took one look at my legs, said "so you cycle a lot then?!" he then asked if i'd changed anything – i mentioned the spds.

He instantly said stop using them and have at least 2 weeks off the bike.
Did as he said, back on flats for commuting now and haven't had the problem since.

He mentioned the shaving op as a backstop position if all else failed, glad that it didn't come to that!!

VMO = Vastus Medialis, also known as the bulge of muscle just above your knee, towards the inner side of your thigh.

Helps stabilise your kneecap tracking against the bulk of your quad muscles which are aligned on the outer side. Tends to be underdeveloped in cyclists and may "switch off" after knee injuries or similar. Physio might suggest exercises to reactivate and strengthen it.

Interesting. My knees have always been a bit dodgy from lots of snowboarding but since I got a road bike and started commuting in 3-4 times a week my knees have become worse. Flats on a road bike would look weird though!

I used to snowboard a lot too! too many dodgy flat landings?!
VMO Physio sounds interesting, might look into that myself.

Flats may or may not ne needed. How confident are you that your cleats are correctly aligned. Are you feet in the same position on the spds as the flats? Clips and straps is another option.

A simple first step for a road bike, put your saddle up a bit. The VMO kicks in as you straighten your leg. If your leg is always bent riding it gets lazy and doesn't fire. The the knee cap then fails to track and it all gets sore…..

I'll try lifting the seat up. I have adjusted my cleats using the sitting on a table method with your legs dangling down. Not that confident they are correct though.

el_creedo – snowboarded into a rock when turning into the upslope of a small bowl. Both knees hit the rock pretty hard. Always been dodgy since then but only recently (8 years after) become an issue.

I had arthscopracy on the 29th for suspected patella maltracking caused by an imbalance between the quads and Vastus medialus. Started about 8-9 months ago and progressively got worse until I couldn't walk downstairs properly!
Pain was centred behind the knee and was worse when seated for long periods of time or descending slopes.
Turns out it was a plica which is an imperfection in the lining the patella runs on. Had debridement a couple of weeks ago, been back on the bike commuting and did a "proper" ride yesterday (60k on the ss)-and the physio has banned me from riding for a week! Recovery should take a month but Im getting really antsy as it's only a month till cx season starts and Im a long way off being race fit.
Important to find an orthapedic surgeon you can trust- I've been lucky to get one of the best -but I had to see him privately and then get referred to the nhs.
Fingers crossed if I calm down a bit I'll be back up to speed for the bulk of the season.

Having a arthscopracy on saturday after dislocating my patella on the 31 May. When the knee cap moved I chipped a large lump of bone off the back of the kneee cap that's trapped in the joint. This dislocation happened because of the imbalance in my quads through cycling, all i did was twist my ankle, so beware!!!

This dislocation happened because of the imbalance in my quads through cycling, all i did was twist my ankle, so beware!!!

Hey Conespanner, I can empathise having done this myself a couple of times. Is this the first time you've dislocated it?
Also, I was told by doctors that cycling was a good form of exercise, to build up muscle strength and hold the patella in place. As far as I'm aware, people dislocate their knees because of the bone structure, that is usually there is not enough of a groove in the top of your leg under the patella.

Conespanner fixed and raring to go. Lump of bone size a £1 coin removed, consultant shock his head in disapproval.

Agree cycling is good exercise and I have been told to get on the bike after one as it pulls the knee cap in tight.

It was the first dislocation, but as I twisted the lower leg/ankle inwards, the outer well developed outer quads moved the knee cap in the other direction. It did smart a bit for ten minutes or so!

Badnewz, have you never chipped any bone off or was I bloody unlucky?