Warning, warning, warning: I will be bitching about my knees for a few paragraphs.
People ask me what part of my knees hurt. Well. Let’s see, where should I start?
When I’m biking, right below my left knee on the back of my calf hurts (no my saddle isn’t too low). Sometimes the front of both knees hurt.
When I run the outsides of my knees hurt, sometimes the front, too.
When I went hiking yesterday, the bottom of my right knee hurt on every uphill.
So essentially, it’s both, it’s all over, and it FUCKING SUCKS.
I foam roll. I ice. I rest. I’ve been rolfed, I’ve been electrocuted, massaged, I’ve done about a million different PT exercises.
And…still hurts. I’m worried that there is some serious damage in there, and I think it’s time to pull out the big guns. Or at least the biggest guns my insurance will pay for (assuming I don’t get kicked off my insurance for having a “preexisting condition” –if you have group insurance, thank your lucky stars).
OK, now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, to the second topic of the day, Precision Nutrition. I’m finally actually going to be following the plan over the next three weeks to see how it goes. The hardest part will be laying off the sauce, for sure. Although if I can just envision the number I saw on the scale this morning when someone asks me if I want a drink, I think I can power through.
K – sorry to hear about your knees. My right knee started hurting again recently. Along with ice, ibuprofen and massage, my remedy is to drink more water, reduce cafeine intake and to truly rest – no running, no cycling, no hiking – for at least two weeks, if not longer. That regimen has worked for me over the past 10+ years.
Yeah I have a doc appt tomorrow, we’ll see what he says. I imagine i might get an MRI or something to see if there’s any damage.
2 weeks of inactivity!? I would die…well, as long as I could do yoga I would be alright I suppose. Now would certainly be the time. ugh. I’ve already been mostly off the bike for 3 weeks, if I stay off I’m going to have a hell of a time coming back to it. blarg. oh well, whatever will fix it, I will do!
K – With the knee issue on the bike, I went through a couple phases of knee problems. First was when I started pushing big gears for the first time (back in college). My saddle was too low and I got some major pain on the front of my knee right below my kneecap.
The second time was when I got my track bike and was riding it on my commute. The _back_ of my knees were hurting so bad they were actually black and blue. This time, my saddle was way too high and I was putting a lot of force to the pedals with my toes pointed.
I guess my point is you might think about _lowering_ your saddle slightly and see what happens if your knee pain is behind the knee in the connecting tendons.