Any help for a poor Irish man

[likeafox]

Thanks for reading my thread, hopefully you can help this poor Irish man with his knee problem!!
After putting in a good November and December on the bike in preparation for 2013 racing season a week before Christmas my right knee seized up after a 4 hour spin. In the last 4 weeks I've been doing an hour here and there on the turbo trainer in the hope of "resting" my knee.
Last Saturday I did 2 hours and the pain came back after 75mins.
The pain is (at its worst) very intense and sharp on every pedal stroke just above my right knee cap.
It takes approx. 45-60 mins to bring on the pain.
I am due my third visit to physio this week but I am looking for anyone who may have experienced similar issues who could help.
Being 35 years of age time is not on my side!!... So I would be grateful for any advice that you my fellow cyclists can offer me so I can resume training... for the sake of my sanity... and that of my missus!!

[Joe_W]

Hm. I too have knee problems. What helps me are the following (well, seem to help as I did not do a real study on it and correlation is not the same as causality etc.):

• high cadence: the higher the cadence the lower the force acting on the knee
• multisports: cycling is a very one-sided stress on the knee and a very special load on a limited number of muscles. Doing other sports helps. I go to the gym (for a class with weights, not the machines), I run and swim (though not at the moment... gotta pick that up again). Strangely enough, when I run regularly the pain becomes less. I guess I build up more muscles to support the joint.
• warmth: Keeping the knees warm seems to help. Unfortunately I like to run short-short when temperatures are above 0°C...
• massages: I have some implement http://landingpage.blackroll-orange.de/englisch-version/ that I use though you can also use tennis balls, PVC pipes... I use them mostly on the vastus medialis and lateralis since those seem to be the main culprits (especially the medialis)
  

I am not a medical doctor, nor do I have any medical training this is just a collection of anecdotal evidence.

[GeorgeET]

10-4 to what Joe said, you are way to young to have knee problems. What does your doctor say??
Definitely add weight/resistance training, everyone should to keep bone strength and musculus density. The skeleton is the core.

Ice is your best friend. Do ice pack about 20 minutes daily when in pain.

[Joe_W]

Well, he's older than I... and my doctors said many different things, I eventually found a way to be ... better.

[likeafox]

Hi Guys,
Thanks a million for your help... much appreciated..... theres a positive side to all injuries and with the weather here in Ireland at the moment its a good time to be off the bike!!

All the best and will report in a few weeks when i'll be back on the road.

[redfoxglove]

What has worked for me: Manual therapy: myofascial release, trigger point therapy, cross fiber friction, ice massage, and STRETCHING. Also walking, yes, that thing you do with feet on the ground not on pedals.

I happen to be a licensed therapist but this is not medical advice, just what has worked for me.