bad knees and smoking.

[balltounge]

hey all just joined. i have been riding bikes since i was old enough to walk , am now 33 . i have been doin alot of serious trainig rescentlyy and have notived that an old knee injury is causing me discomfort when i ride , so i have stopped for about 2 weeks now only cycling 12kms a day. and this lack of cycling has drivin me into this bad depression , and plus i smoke and am trying to give it up but to no avail. does anyone else get bad knees at all??

[AKO]

Hey balltounge. I also suffer knee pain known as Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome. It was dignosed easily enough with an xray and is managed (not cured) by strapping the knee cap across (to the inside) and softening the leg muscles with a foam roller.

The physio I saw said it's quite common amongst cyclists (especially older ones, I'm 39) as the cavity between the knee cap and femur deteriorates and the outer leg muscles pull the knee to the outside (as it's the outer muscles that do the bulk of the work whilst pedalling).

I don't kmow if this is what's causing your pain but a visit to your doctor would be advisable.

As an interim I don't think flogging yourself with the foam roller will do any harm but I would hold off on any other treatment until it's been properly diagnosed.

This is probably the easiest to understand description of Patellofemoral pain I've found.
http://physioworks.com.au/injuries-cond ... n-syndrome" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[fat and old]

A fellow (well, I used to ) smoking cyclist!

Not a doctor, don't know anything at all about knee pain except that after I had a bike fit mine (low level) subsided. What took it away altogether (plus the neck, shoulder, chest and arm pains) was stopping smoking. Was quite dramatic actually.....so much so that I took up smoking after 6 months for a week to see if there was a difference, and almost all my old pains came back. Weird, but it worked for me. I think my body was working in concert with my brain to show me what an idiot I was

Maybe try that. Couldn't hurt

[mick243]

could depend on whats wrong with your knees, but generally cycling is easier on your knees than other forms of excercise like running - my knee specialist forbid me from running and strongly encouraged cycling.

improper bike fit and bad shoe/pedal interface fit will hurt your knees, as can poor pedaling form.

smoking will hurt your cycling performance, you get depressed when you cant cycle - quit smoking and you'll feel better and cycle better!

[Nobody]

In addition to above, I recommend having a hard look at improving your diet. Improving my diet improved my knee recovery time after rides.

Also even if you don't want to get a bike fit, I suggest you at least try to educate yourself in regard to bike fit. There is a lot more to it than just saddle height.
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