# Outside knee pain late on century ride



## dr.mediocre (May 7, 2008)

I rode my first century this past weekend. On our weekly group rides I usually only do 30 miles per trip but have done a few 60 mile rides as well. On the century ride this weekend I felt great through mile 70 then started getting some extreme pain on the outside of my right knee. I have never had any knee pain before so this was a big concern. It hurt with any power stroke and I had t olimit myself to spinnig and no power-climbing. I managed to turn off and ride the 5 mile shortcut back to the starting point but can hardly walk today. 

A few facts: I was not winded or tired when the pain started, I stayed hydrated and The ride was awesome up until the 70 mile point then the pain started and within 1 mile was full bore agony. If I pulled my knee in tight I could bear the pain. Knee is extremely stiff today and hurts like crap.

What could the issue be here? How can I avoid it in the future? Have you ever been in a Turkish Prison? What should I do for it now? Should I do a recovery ride and see if it works itself out? 


Thanks in advance, you guys are awesome.


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## russotto (Oct 3, 2005)

Knee pain can be any number of things and there's pretty much no way to tell which without getting an actual examination.


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## kentbrockman (Aug 12, 2007)

Sounds like IT Band. Do a search for ITBS, there are loads of posts about this. I've had IT issues for years and have yet to find a permanent solutions. This includes a recent Topaz procedure surgery on my left side.

Good luck.


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## btinder (Aug 25, 2007)

Get in for an examination quick, better safe than sorry. In the meantime, I have a stretche for you that may help:

1) IT band stretch (this one has worked wonders for me): http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stretching/SM00043&slide=6

Basically, ITB syndrome is when your IT band (that tight, sinuous band of tendons that runs straight down the outer side of your quads) is too tight. It's not a huge issue, but it can be annoying. What you want to do is loosen it up again. 

Of course, you may not have this. But, even if you don't, the stretch can't hurt, can it?


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## dr.mediocre (May 7, 2008)

Thanks for the quick replies. After reading these posts I did some reading on ITBS and that definitely sounds like what I am experiencing. Thanks for the link for the stretching exercise. I will try that for a while and see how it feels next ride. The good news is the pain is much better this evening and the Ibuprofen knocks it out 95%. 

Thanks again. You guys are great.


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## Cyclo-phile (Sep 22, 2005)

I had very similar pain in a similar situation. I upped my mileage from 40 miles per ride to a metric century on a whim. Around mile 60 I started getting severe pain in my left knee from a 90 deg. bend to roughly 45 degrees. My doctor diagnosed it as ITBS. I had a flair-up from upping my mileage too quickly. I spent several weeks working with a PT on deep stretching and now try to keep my IT bands stretched better than I did in the past. Proper stretching after warming up helps a lot.


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## dr.mediocre (May 7, 2008)

Cyclo-phile said:


> I had very similar pain in a similar situation. I upped my mileage from 40 miles per ride to a metric century on a whim. Around mile 60 I started getting severe pain in my left knee from a 90 deg. bend to roughly 45 degrees. My doctor diagnosed it as ITBS. I had a flair-up from upping my mileage too quickly. I spent several weeks working with a PT on deep stretching and now try to keep my IT bands stretched better than I did in the past. Proper stretching after warming up helps a lot.


Thanks for the information. My son broke his foot last week so we had to take him to the orthopedic surgeon. While I was there I had him take a look at my knee. He agreed that ITBS was the most likely culprit.


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## brujenn (Nov 26, 2007)

I had knee pain with similar mile conditions. Is/was your pain like the pain of a hyperextension? That's how I describe mine. It wasn't terrible for me, and I could manage it @ 50% or so, but the real trick for me was raising my seat a bit.


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## moab63 (Aug 7, 2006)

*Follow link for some great*

I hope it helps.

http://www.cptips.com/knee.htm


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## dr.mediocre (May 7, 2008)

Thanks for the link. I'm studying it right now.


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## El Caballito (Oct 31, 2004)

dr.mediocre said:


> Thanks for the link. I'm studying it right now.


just curious to know if your knee pain when away and what have you done for your knee? i have started to experience similar discomfort on climbs or when riding at a fast tempo for extended periods of time. this was the case yesterday at about the 35mile mark on a gradual climb. 

I've tried staying off the bike for a week, stretching, and even lowered my seat just a bit. I'm thinking about getting a bike fit, but my only problem with that is I have ridden my bike for a year without any discomfort until now.


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## capt_phun (Jun 14, 2004)

The cptips is great. ITB is usually from 
a)either seat to high
b) seat too far back (which makes you reach at farthest point of downstroke), or 
c) cleats making your toes point inward towards bike.

those are the usual suspects. As noted stretching helps as does a foam roller to roll band on.


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## El Caballito (Oct 31, 2004)

capt_phun said:


> The cptips is great. ITB is usually from
> a)either seat to high
> b) seat too far back (which makes you reach at farthest point of downstroke), or
> c) cleats making your toes point inward towards bike.
> ...


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## Ibashii (Oct 23, 2002)

I did the foam roller treatment for ITBS for a while during my competitive running days...it was pretty helpful. I still get pain on the bike every now and then but it comes and goes, and rarely interferes with my training. IMO, you have upped your mileage too quickly, which is something that is even more likely to bring on ITBS symptoms than the fit issues mentioned above (all legitimate, but a quick mileage hike can bring on ITBS no matter how good your fit is).

When I was a runner this ruined my training, and was a big part of the reason I started riding. Quick treatment, reasonable training buildups and diligent PT are the keys to keeping ITBS from screwing up your sporting life.


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## jevagirl (Oct 14, 2008)

According to my Doc, IT band problems can be directly related to muscular imbalance. Integrating exercises into your life that will balance out your quads, hamstrings, and glutes appropriately can fix the problem (in addition to the stretching, foam roller, and bike adjustments previously mentioned).


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## Doggity (Mar 10, 2006)

Yup, ITBS. Classically, you gets it when you add too many miles at one time, like you did on your century ride. I did the same thing. Beware, beware, beware, once you've got it, it's very hard to ever fully get rid of it. JevaGirl's post about muscle imbalance is probably spot on...my PT said I was going to get it regardless, sooner or later. I never HAVE 'gotten rid of it'. I manage it by doing the same stretches you've already looked at, NOT adding miles too fast, and, a lot of roadies won't like this, DITCHING the fockin' clip in pedals. I now ride a 29'er (yep, a mountain bike) with plats, and I don't GET the pain anymore. Why, because, I can stretch my leg, adjust my foot position, move it around, everything you CANT DO when you're clipped in. As my PT explained it,"The human body was NOT designed to do _the exact same motion _thousands of times like a robot, something will break." Something did. I pitched those stoopid clip in pedals as far as I could, and have been pain free since.


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