Have been riding lots as part of Mayhem training. Recently noticed some minor knee pain where I hadn't had it before - outside of left knee. Had a few days off the bike and minor pain subsided.
Checked saddle height, fore/aft position, cleat position, all seem fine and as per usual.
Rode yesterday and dull ache pain came back in the ride but in different place - 4 inches above knee on outside of left thigh. Dull ache progresses to mild soreness when massaging the area very gently. The ache and soreness is present off the bike.
I do little stretching before and after, so I'm looking for some specific exercises to try to help.
I have no money to pay someone to look at this so I'm looking for free advice/videos/stretches/rollers on how to get rid of the soreness - whatever I can get, really.
Sounds like the same soreness I had identified as ITB. I use a roller back and forth on it after a warm down strech and it does a lot of good - more painful than the injury itself mind.
Yep that all sounds very familiar....get a foam roller and embrace the pain!! 😈
Hard Foam roller and patience.
Most cyclists could play banjo on their itb
I love my foam roller - turns my legs - calves and quads from tense rocks into relaxed jelly!
OK, so can I use my son's swimming flotation band as a foam roller? What do I do with it, exactly, please?
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That's not my son. Or anyone I know.
is it high density ? - if it squashes flat when you put weight on it its probably no good. you want it to remain round so it rolls - but not so hard that its reallly reallly pain ful (it should hurt a little)
a 2 litre bottle of water not quite full would be a good substitute or in my case - a bit of 3 inch drain pipe wrapped in an old pilates mat.
Or a tennis ball would do the trick short term.
Your ITB runs in between the quads and hamstrings. You should be able to feel the border between these two large muscle groups- that is where the ITB sits.
It is very hard to effectively "stretch" the ITB hence why foam rolling is so popular, especially amongst cyclists
"Rolling up and down" on the ITB is largely pointless. What you want to do is lie on the hard object so it sits at the top of the ITB and gently move your body so the object is moving down the line of the ITB until you reach a painful point. Stop here for 30-60s to start with and then continue to move your body over the foam roller/ tennis ball/ drainpipe until you reach the next painful point and rest on the point again for 30-60s. Keep down this all the way along the length of the ITB (usually the tender spots are close to the knee and hip).
That was my attempt at a lay explanation 🙂 Google "Self Myofascial Release" for more information
Runners Knee Stretches by theschoolpsych , find it on YouTube.
I've recently started running again and ITB has reared it's ugly head. This video of 4 excercises and two stretches is really helping. Particularly the stretch where he put his foot on something around waist height.
I've now realised that us cyclists have good heart & lungs and no doubt very powerful cycling legs but other that we are useless!
Good luck.
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Foam rollers are for softies. You need one of these mofos, or a bit of drainpipe.