Surgical options and biking

[Guest guest]

> > I have the opposite problem. Biking hurts my knees

> > more than walking because the repetitive bending of my

> > knees is when my cp rubs and hurts. I know others on

> > here have talked about biking which suprised me a

> > little. Maybe it's just because I'm fairly tall and

> > therefore have more bend in my knees when I bike.

, it might help if you try shorter than normal cranks. I am

guilty of using longer cranks and bigger gears, and am trying to spin

the cranks a little more. There should be a " happy medium " (75-90

rpm) where the rpm's aren't too great, and neither is the force on

the pedal stroke. Using a shorter than usual (165-170 mm) cranks

might help you spin just a little and will decrease the bend in your

knee at the top of the stroke. A good bike shop can help with this,

and you might even find some used cranks cheap. E-mail me if you

have questions.

I'll try to keep you all abreast of how this lateral release works

out. I've found a few cases where cyclists have had good results. I

hope I am one of them.

Joe B.

the bolanbiker

[Guest guest]

i am surprised that people say they can ride a bike too ... i do not drive and

rode bike for years everywhere and thats one of the reasons i first went to

doctor as i could not ride anymore...i really really miss my bike

;( i can't continually bend my knee or put pressure on it or it snaps and

cracks and grinds and thats when the big time pain comes ??? i am being told i

have to live with it and nothing they can do to help except total knee

replacement when older? does anyone know why they can't do arthroscope etc.. on

some people and can on others?

Joe Bolan <bolanbiker@...> wrote:

> > I have the opposite problem. Biking hurts my knees

> > more than walking because the repetitive bending of my

> > knees is when my cp rubs and hurts. I know others on

> > here have talked about biking which suprised me a

> > little. Maybe it's just because I'm fairly tall and

> > therefore have more bend in my knees when I bike.

, it might help if you try shorter than normal cranks. I am

guilty of using longer cranks and bigger gears, and am trying to spin

the cranks a little more. There should be a " happy medium " (75-90

rpm) where the rpm's aren't too great, and neither is the force on

the pedal stroke. Using a shorter than usual (165-170 mm) cranks

might help you spin just a little and will decrease the bend in your

knee at the top of the stroke. A good bike shop can help with this,

and you might even find some used cranks cheap. E-mail me if you

have questions.

I'll try to keep you all abreast of how this lateral release works

out. I've found a few cases where cyclists have had good results. I

hope I am one of them.

Joe B.

the bolanbiker

---------------------------------

[Guest guest]

There's a membrane that goes from the kneecap down the side (one on each side,

so there's a lateral retinaculum (LR) and a medial retinaculum) & attaches to

various tissues (including the IT band). If the retinaculum is tight, it'll

pull the kneecap over & make it rub against the femur. I have a theory that a

tight IT band will pull on the LR and so a tight IT band can cause CP over time.

But I'm a layperson & it's just my theory. Anyway, with a lateral release (also

called a LR) the surgeon goes through the knee (arthroscopically) and makes a

horizontal slit in the retinaculum, reducing the lateral pull on the kneecap.

I had a LR done in '95. My symptom was IT band pain, not CP (hadn't progressed

to CP yet). It worked great! I went from hardly being able to shuffle to being

able to run, and I'm not a runner. I was fine (zero pain) for 4 years till I

got a new job that caused my IT band to get tight again (it's also possible that

the LR grew back together some, scarred together at the edges -- but a 4-year

lag sounds more to me like something had caused the IT band to get tight again).

Don't feel bad about asking me more questions. I'm not an expert, I've just

been through several mills. There are other people here who know more than I

do. There's actually a doctor here, but I think he's just observing.

Ann

Re: Surgical options and biking

i am surprised that people say they can ride a bike too ... i do not drive

and rode bike for years everywhere and thats one of the reasons i first went to

doctor as i could not ride anymore...i really really miss my bike

;( i can't continually bend my knee or put pressure on it or it snaps

and cracks and grinds and thats when the big time pain comes ??? i am being

told i have to live with it and nothing they can do to help except total knee

replacement when older? does anyone know why they can't do arthroscope etc.. on

some people and can on others?

Joe Bolan <bolanbiker@...> wrote:

> > I have the opposite problem. Biking hurts my knees

> > more than walking because the repetitive bending of my

> > knees is when my cp rubs and hurts. I know others on

> > here have talked about biking which suprised me a

> > little. Maybe it's just because I'm fairly tall and

> > therefore have more bend in my knees when I bike.

, it might help if you try shorter than normal cranks. I am

guilty of using longer cranks and bigger gears, and am trying to spin

the cranks a little more. There should be a " happy medium " (75-90

rpm) where the rpm's aren't too great, and neither is the force on

the pedal stroke. Using a shorter than usual (165-170 mm) cranks

might help you spin just a little and will decrease the bend in your

knee at the top of the stroke. A good bike shop can help with this,

and you might even find some used cranks cheap. E-mail me if you

have questions.

I'll try to keep you all abreast of how this lateral release works

out. I've found a few cases where cyclists have had good results. I

hope I am one of them.

Joe B.

the bolanbiker

---------------------------------

[Guest guest]

thx for telling me about that ... and yes i did read about that ... i think they

should do an arthroscope on me even if its just to look and see what they could

possibly do ... i think they r making me do the PT first to see if that helps

which it does help to get stronger of course but it will not take the problem

away ... PT said there is a muscle on inside of leg near my knee that is tiny

that needs to be strong to hold the knee in place... if there is a doctor on

this site HELPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP ...... lol

PT helped me the last 4 times that I went as I have had this problem for years

now and it just gets worse each time and this time not getting better as the

cartlidge is now deteriorating and Arthritis is setting in ...

ruby2zdy@... wrote:

There's a membrane that goes from the kneecap down the side (one on each side,

so there's a lateral retinaculum (LR) and a medial retinaculum) & attaches to

various tissues (including the IT band). If the retinaculum is tight, it'll

pull the kneecap over & make it rub against the femur. I have a theory that a

tight IT band will pull on the LR and so a tight IT band can cause CP over time.

But I'm a layperson & it's just my theory. Anyway, with a lateral release (also

called a LR) the surgeon goes through the knee (arthroscopically) and makes a

horizontal slit in the retinaculum, reducing the lateral pull on the kneecap.

I had a LR done in '95. My symptom was IT band pain, not CP (hadn't progressed

to CP yet). It worked great! I went from hardly being able to shuffle to being

able to run, and I'm not a runner. I was fine (zero pain) for 4 years till I

got a new job that caused my IT band to get tight again (it's also possible that

the LR grew back together some, scarred together at the edges -- but a 4-year

lag sounds more to me like something had caused the IT band to get tight again).

Don't feel bad about asking me more questions. I'm not an expert, I've just

been through several mills. There are other people here who know more than I

do. There's actually a doctor here, but I think he's just observing.

Ann

Re: Surgical options and biking

i am surprised that people say they can ride a bike too ... i do not drive

and rode bike for years everywhere and thats one of the reasons i first went to

doctor as i could not ride anymore...i really really miss my bike

;( i can't continually bend my knee or put pressure on it or it snaps

and cracks and grinds and thats when the big time pain comes ??? i am being

told i have to live with it and nothing they can do to help except total knee

replacement when older? does anyone know why they can't do arthroscope etc.. on

some people and can on others?

Joe Bolan <bolanbiker@...> wrote:

> > I have the opposite problem. Biking hurts my knees

> > more than walking because the repetitive bending of my

> > knees is when my cp rubs and hurts. I know others on

> > here have talked about biking which suprised me a

> > little. Maybe it's just because I'm fairly tall and

> > therefore have more bend in my knees when I bike.

, it might help if you try shorter than normal cranks. I am

guilty of using longer cranks and bigger gears, and am trying to spin

the cranks a little more. There should be a " happy medium " (75-90

rpm) where the rpm's aren't too great, and neither is the force on

the pedal stroke. Using a shorter than usual (165-170 mm) cranks

might help you spin just a little and will decrease the bend in your

knee at the top of the stroke. A good bike shop can help with this,

and you might even find some used cranks cheap. E-mail me if you

have questions.

I'll try to keep you all abreast of how this lateral release works

out. I've found a few cases where cyclists have had good results. I

hope I am one of them.

Joe B.

the bolanbiker

---------------------------------