Slight knee pain after riding when sitting/standing

vlkslvr

Active Member
Anyone help me out with this one. I have slight knee pain at the top of my knees when sitting down after riding. I'm just getting back into riding and have been mostly at 6MR. Rides last from 1-2 hours and I never feel pain while riding. I feel comfortable on the bike, saddle is at a decent height (another more experienced rider commented on it being ok in a different conversation), I don't hammer large gears, usually ride middle ring, middle cog for most of 6MR. I'm riding in regular sneakers and toe straps right now so it's not misaligned cleats.

Sensation is similar to hurting muscles after a hard ride but it's at the top of the knee. No swelling and no grinding or weird noises. If I don't ride for a few days I'm ok so I don't think it's anything major. I've been riding for about 4 weeks now and the pain is less in intensity and duration after each ride.

Pretty sure it's a setup/ position issue but would love to hear any and all suggestions.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
If you stop riding at (say) 2:00 pm, what time does it start and how long does it last?
 

vlkslvr

Active Member
Do you ride with platform pedals or clipless pedals?

Platform pedal with a toe strap. No clipless/cleats yet as I indicated in my post.

Knees are generally in good shape. I should have mentioned that I have fallen arches and wear orthotics. No knee pain from a 5 mile run which is way more damaging then pedaling for a few miles.

I'm figuring it's a muscle imbalance/setup issue that I'd like to get to the bottom of. It's not anything close to keep me from riding but I'd like to make sure it's not going to cause problems later on.
 

vlkslvr

Active Member
I repeat my same question as above.


Sorry dude I didn't see the question the first time. Don't really notice it till later in that day and it diminishes over the next few days. Don't notice it seated or standing/running or on the bike. Only when I'm sitting down, same motion as if you were doing a squat.
 

sixseven

New Member
It could be that your couch isn't set up right. Get it fitted. It will make a world of difference in your riding. :p
Most of the great riders ride on the Ethan Allen stuff, the lower end models.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
My guess is that it's a combination of things - not cooling down, bike fit, lack of mobility and/or stretching, overloading the knees with too much biking too fast. But there's probably only 1 of them that's triggering it. IMO when something like this happens it's a combination of things. The thing is to figure out which one triggered it. How many times are you riding a week? And how long into the 4 weeks did this happen?
 

clarkenstein

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
have knee pain? i'd suggest going to a doctor or physical therapist.

based on what i'm hearing, sounds like you knead (oh... i kill me) a PT if you have knee pain that you measure as 'bad' versus a 'good hurt'.

i know a great PT in riverdale at the new jersey center for physical therapy* - ask for gary. i just went through 2 months of PT with gary at njcpt for both of my knees - i'm absolutely thrilled with my results. let's put it this way - i couldn't run more than a quarter mile or finish a longish ride at a place like chimney rock without severe knee pain prior to seeing a PT. after the my visits and following the exercise/stretching routines they gave me, i recently ran 2 miles at a 7:15 clip without any issue.

oh sorry... i didn't see the 'slight' in the knee pain description...

*i'm in no way connected to njcpt other than i am a recent patient.
 
Last edited:

TonyC

Active Member
I'm riding in regular sneakers and toe straps right now so it's not misaligned cleats.

Are you sure?

I had pain only in my right knee below the cap. I adjusted clete back so the foot is more on the ball of the foot and guess what, no pain.

Now only if I can pin point the creaking noise.. HS?,Post?,EBB? Probably a skewer. It's freaking annoying...
 

Nimrod

New Member
Okay the boys covered all the possible causes, so now I'll tell you how to live with it till you get it addressed.

Qualifications? Currently I have a torn rotator cuff and bone spurs (fell on my stupid road bike = an expert) and it got to the point that even sleeping hurts. Yes, been doing the doctor, pt thing.....

Freaking Ice the sucker 2 or 3 times a day for 15-20 minutes.

Works wonders, serious, huge difference, feels tons better
 

RNG1

Well-Known Member
It sounds like you have some decent advice above. All I know is if I posted this Norm would not have given such nice info he would have said
"just don't sit or stand after a ride". Dude you're slipping.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
It sounds like you have some decent advice above. All I know is if I posted this Norm would not have given such nice info he would have said
"just don't sit or stand after a ride". Dude you're slipping.

I try to lure people in with kindness initially. That guy has only been here like a week and he's been in the middle of that 6 Mile Shit Storm Drama so I figure he's gotta be about to bolt already.
 

vlkslvr

Active Member
have knee pain? i'd suggest going to a doctor or physical therapist.

based on what i'm hearing, sounds like you knead (oh... i kill me) a PT if you have knee pain that you measure as 'bad' versus a 'good hurt'.

i know a great PT in riverdale at the new jersey center for physical therapy* - ask for gary. i just went through 2 months of PT with gary at njcpt for both of my knees - i'm absolutely thrilled with my results. let's put it this way - i couldn't run more than a quarter mile or finish a longish ride at a place like chimney rock without severe knee pain prior to seeing a PT. after the my visits and following the exercise/stretching routines they gave me, i recently ran 2 miles at a 7:15 clip without any issue.

oh sorry... i didn't see the 'slight' in the knee pain description...

*i'm in no way connected to njcpt other than i am a recent patient.

I appreciate the concern and I wouldn't hesitate to hit up a PT if I thought it was needed but at this point I don't think it's necessary.

The pain probably started after a week or so when I got into riding more than a few miles at a moderate pace. I did my fastest longest ride this weekend ( The saturday 6MR group ride) and the pain is considerably less than other weeks so I think a lot of it has to do with conditioning.

As I said there is no pain while riding/running/walking, only when squatting to sit. it's not an intense pain and feels more like a muscle soreness after a hard ride than a joint issue. The pain is of a moderate level, certainly something I can tolerate but also uncomfortable.

I am going to try proper stretching, I always stretch when I run but never stretch when I ride. It's something I should get into as it's just a good habit. Also I should probably admit that I'm not as young as I used to be (turning 31 in a few weeks) and since it's been 10+ years since I've ridden my body is going to react differently than it should.

I've been riding 6mr almost exclusively the past 2+ weeks and have been making it out there about 3 times a week, 2 times at an hour each and than once a week 2 hours. I've been staying mostly in the middle ring with a few stabs at granny gears and a few times on the big ring. On steeper ascents I stand.

Not once have I felt knee pain on the bike (other than when I fall and hit them on the top tube or a rock :p) and as I said before there is no swelling nor inflamation.

Thanks for giving it some though and I'll keep you updated as I ride more and start stretching.
 

vlkslvr

Active Member
I try to lure people in with kindness initially. That guy has only been here like a week and he's been in the middle of that 6 Mile Shit Storm Drama so I figure he's gotta be about to bolt already.

Haha not at all man. In fact I'm riding there again tomorrow so I can learn a few more sections for the next group ride. I'm just about ready to branch out to some of the other trails in NJ and hope to have some of the fine people on this board show me the way (or get me horribly lost, whatever they prefer really).

I am loving this riding thing all over again after a long hiatus.
 

keithsly

New Member
Sensation is similar to hurting muscles after a hard ride but it's at the top of the knee. No swelling and no grinding or weird noises. If I don't ride for a few days I'm ok so I don't think it's anything major. I've been riding for about 4 weeks now and the pain is less in intensity and duration after each ride.

Pretty sure it's a setup/ position issue but would love to hear any and all suggestions.


Before your next ride .... Go get 4 bags of Shop Rite frozen corn...

After your next ride..... Elevate both legs on your couch arm lay flat on your back and ice both knees for 30 ~ 40 minutes in duration. Then off for 30 ~ 40 minutes. Then ice again for 30 ~ 40 minutes... If you have ace bandges use them to wrap the corn to your knees....

Go 2 rounds and it should help... As your building back up your strength.. This is simular to runners taking ice baths to reduce inflamation and reduce recovery time... Hot showers feel great but don't help with recovery and reduction of inflamation... Not saying to take a cold shower or not take a hot shower but make sure you ice yourself for about an hour after your rides and you should see improvement !!

I like the corn idea as you can mark them as ICE and they are more effective then actual ice as they can melt and be refrozen ... and reused !!
 
Last edited:

vlkslvr

Active Member
Last ride

Interested as to what happened on the last ride ??

Went out and pedaled easy at 6MR for a little over an hour with a friend who is just getting into it. Tried stretching before and a little bit after. Seems to have helped out.

Still getting a slight discomfort when sitting but it's much much better than what it has been from other rides.


I am going to try pushing my saddle forward a little bit, I think it's a little far back, especially with the longish stem that's on there.

I'm also going to upgrade to a real riding shoe and a set of clipless pedals within the next week or so and see how that goes.
 

Wobbegong

Well-Known Member
Went out and pedaled easy at 6MR for a little over an hour with a friend who is just getting into it. Tried stretching before and a little bit after. Seems to have helped out.

Still getting a slight discomfort when sitting but it's much much better than what it has been from other rides.


I am going to try pushing my saddle forward a little bit, I think it's a little far back, especially with the longish stem that's on there.

I'm also going to upgrade to a real riding shoe and a set of clipless pedals within the next week or so and see how that goes.

Saddle position shouldn't change because of your stem lenth. The saddle should be set up to give you proper position with relation to your pedals (proper leg extension, position of knee over pedal, ect.). Once thats correct, then reach can be adjusted by stem length/angle. You might want to consider getting a bike fit from a pro. Jason at Halters did all this good stuff for me on my road bike, I can ride all day on that bike and feel fantastic.
 
Top Bottom