|   my doctor told me to stop ss'ing............. | badknees
Jun 27, 2002 7:21 PM | | I have a recurrent problem with swelling in my knee joint (synovitis). My doctor is an avid cyclist and when he found out I rode a ss he went so far as to put all the blame for my knee condition on my poor, defenseless bike. He said something like "the knee is the most susceptible joint in the human body and it is silly to put it through the unnecessary stress that riding a singlespeed bike puts it through". Do you guys buy this? I'm thinking about changing doctors, but I have to admit that I never had a knee problem in my life up until I started ss'ing 3 years ago. |
| Too many variables
| TD
Jun 27, 2002 8:51 PM | | Is your bike setup correctly? Do you ride often enough? If you do not ride your bike often your knees may hurt or swell when you do hills or mash gear. Get a 2nd opinion. |
| Second opinion... | TwoWheelinTim
Jun 28, 2002 6:54 AM | | I concur with TD. It sounds like your doctor may have a biased opinion. Just 'cause he has the degree doesn't mean he knows it all. I recommend finding a doctor that specializes in sports medicine. If riding is the cause, a good doctor may be able to give you advice or recommend some kind of exercise that will help alleviate the problem. |
| bullshit... | bones
Jun 27, 2002 9:07 PM | | The knee is one of the most stable joints in the body. The shoulder is the most susceptible for injury.
Singlespeeding is pretty hard on the knees if you run too hard a gear. I recently changed to a 32:18 to accomodate the hills here in calgary. I have some pretty average knees and they hurt after a long geared ride but not a singlespeed ride. I would also suggest going to a pedal with a high degree of float such as the ATAC's. Singlespeeding involves quite a bit of torquing, you need the pedal float to take the stress off of the knee capsule.
Inquire about some specific knee stabilization exercises such as with a wobble-board. You'll be able to create a high degree of stability in your knee without giving up a passion.
cheers,
dr. brad. |
| bullshit...agreed, float, mileage, gears | General Coonskins
Jun 28, 2002 5:52 AM | | I think the knee is pretty susceptible to injury when it comes to leg injuries. That is just from experience on my part, no medical data used for that.
If you are running to big a gear on any bike you will notice overuse type problems. Try a little easier gear and try a little faster cadence. Hard to do some times on a SS but possible.
The opposite can be an issue as well. With all this talk about Lance Armstrong and a higher cadence wins the races. If you change quickly to a different style that can cause a problem. If you are spinning faster and staying seated I would take a hard look at your position on the bike. It can created problems as well.
The float is important as well, I had some knee issues earlier in the year when I ramped up my racing miles on my road bike. I had pedals that only had 7 deg of float. I tried some speedplays and the knee soreness went away a week later and has yet to come back.
Overtraining or increasing your mileage all of a sudden can do the same thing. It is summer and the longer riding days are here and for some that means going from 1hr or so rides to 3hr or more rides. That increase can have a effect on the body in general.
I have also crashed or knocked my knee on the stem and a sore one for a few days.
Caution Rant ahead: I am not a doctor and I would listen to yours. Did he just assume the SS because it is a SS? Did he examine the knee, ultra sound, xray, etc.... to come to this conclusion. You might consider seeing a different doctor or sports physiologist (sp?), someone that won't just give a off the shelf diagnosis and/or drugs to make it (you) go away. I have lost faith in the medical field with mine and my wife's recent dealings with most of them. It seam every doctor will give you a different opinion on what is wrong with you but very few of them will try to fix it and will just give you drugs to ease the pain. Okay end of rant.
The body is a funny thing and I have learned to listen to mine pretty good with the long miles I do. It is one of the key factors in keeping yourself healthy.
Good luck and keep riding,
Richard |
| same thing happened to me... | Timan
Jun 28, 2002 10:52 AM | | After riding gearies for a long while, started to SS. Loved it and overdid it at first. Experienced some knee pain. Rested knees for a bit and went back at it with an easier gear and a more gradual build up of miles. No problems after that except for- my road bike had the Look carbon pedals with little float. When I started to ride road more,knees began to act up a little. Now I have switched all my bikes to the WTB stealth pedal-problem went away. The only other time I have had any problems is when I ride a gearie. I think its because you are always moving forward and back on the saddle on climbs in order to maintain traction. This changes the riding position under load and the knees dont like this. I have found that SS climbing techniques are easier on my knees. Usually during a climb on a SS you stay seated in the same position and spin the gear until it becomes too difficult. At that point most of us stand and mash on up the hill. This position doesn't seem to strain the knee like a seated grind. Good luck and don't give up until you have tried some of the suggestions from other Ssers and a different doc. Finally, remember to give your knees a chance to recover if they are injured. |
| re: suggestion | Lumpy Phil
Jun 28, 2002 4:27 AM | | I had a knee that bugged me for a bit so I switched to a longer crank and rode platform pedals. My knee pain (which wasn't much) cleared up in about a month. I didn't change my riding style or length of rides, everything stayed the same.
Also check your saddle position. Moving it fore or aft makes a huge difference, not only on leg power but also knee strain. |
| re: my doctor told me to stop ss'ing............. | maySS
Jun 28, 2002 4:52 AM | | If your doc is not an orthopod I would go see one. Too much BS "science" in cycling, and too many worthless docs. |
| My Top Six List for Healthy Knees | Uglydog
Jun 28, 2002 6:56 AM | | 1. Get a new doctor, an orthopod is a good start.
2. Go to a pro-shop and get your "bike fit" checked.
3. Gotta have lots of float in the pedals. (I use ATACs)
4. Stretch before and after rides (GENTLY)
5. Warm up those legs before turning a 120 cadance, or climbing.
6. A bigger freewheel will also make the hills easier= less stress on knees.
good luck! |
| has your doctor ever ridden SS? I doubt it. | gonzostrike
Jun 28, 2002 7:17 AM | | you can hurt your knees on ANY bike if you always try to push too big a gear, or if you aren't well-fit on your bike.
SSs are just as friendly on the knees as a gearie.
I have had ACL reconstruction on both knees. I used to fear SS riding "because it's hard on the knees." What a crock of horse shyte that fear turned out to be... it's NOT hard on the knees if you set up and ride your bike correctly.
Make sure your ride fits you, and don't feel obliged to ride a 2x1 gear ratio -- I ride a 34x20 for the Northern Rockies. If I lived in FL or the midwest, I'd probably run 34x17 or 34x16.
you need to find a doctor that not only rides bikes, but also understands the different types. obviously, yours knows NOTHING about SS except urban legends and old wives' tales. |
| Two more suggestions | ECB
Jun 28, 2002 7:59 PM | | Ditto to what everyone above said, plus a couple of things that seemed to help me:
1) Experiment with the distance between your pedals (a.k.a. 'tread' or 'Q-factor'). Personally, going from a 110 to a 103 mm spindle did a lot to alleviate my discomfort.
2) If your rides involve a lot of stop-and-starting (as my commute does), you may need to gear down a little. Pulling away from a dead halt is, I have found, just as power-intensive as pedaling uphill. In both situations, one struggles against the massiveness of the rider/bike combo.
Hope these suggestions help.
One if by land,
ECB |
| maybe he thought you meant Fixed Gear riding | DAS
Jun 29, 2002 7:35 PM | | I've found that riding a Fixed Gear and riding a Beach Cruiser (with Coaster brake) is harder on the knee because of the reverse pedaling action.
Otherwise, i've never had any pain from pedaling forward...big gears or small. |
| it depends... | Ivan
Jun 29, 2002 10:08 PM | | did the doctor say what kind of synovitis you have? (synovitis is just a general term for inflammation of the synovium) You may want to have an x-ray or mri done to see what is going on in there (i.e. there may be some mechanical wear going on that can be treated arthroscopically). If it is one knee and not both, you may have a fairly rare condition called synovial chondromatosis, or simply an inflammed synovial membrane which should respond to an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory like advil (ibuprofen) or possibly a cortisone injection. I would see a orthopedist specializing in knees. If you live in southern CA or want to come out to CA, I can recommend one of the top guys around. |
| say what? | bones
Jun 30, 2002 10:25 PM | | Had to chime in on this gem of a response. Alright Ivan, let's take a look at your reasoning here because I'm curious about your giant leaps of thought.
"if it is one knee and not both, you may have a fairly rare condition called synovial chondromatosis" - Huh? Where'd you get that one from. Ivan, take a history brother, unilateral knee pain would indicate alot of things, certainly more common than what you've suggested.
"should respond to an over-the-counter...advil, or a cortisone injection" - hardly the conservative approach, have we forgotten that if it is inflammation, there must be a cause for it, that almost always indicates a biomechanics problem. Should we solve the biomechanics issue or just let this fellow turn his knees into Joe Namath's, and assume the huge risk factors of regular NSAID use?
"Xray and MRI just to see what's going on"? Hardly an indication to perform those procedures. Hoping to find something to pin it on are we? Keep in mind diagnostics are for confirmation not exploration. But what the hell, let's spend 5 grand on the MRI and light him up with radiation, just to have a look.
scary,
b. |
| A simple plan | Special Tool
Jul 1, 2002 4:30 AM | | Take 3 weeks off from any riding or strenuous leg work. Take Advil or Naprosyn regularly for 2-3 weeks during this off time (stop if you have stomach upset) to reduce the inflammation until you're pain-free, then ease back into riding with easier gearing and platform pedals. |
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