Knee pain and shoes, oops!

[gt6267a]

My mtn bike shoes are toast and replacements are on the way via our good friend, sometimes enemy, UPS. My problem is that my riding buddies wanted to go out yesterday. The shoes are falling apart at the seam, literally, so, I slapped on some glue and pop rivets and hit the trails with them. Well, the glue and rivets were no match for my whack biking and came undone.

The main problem when this happens is that these little plastic flaps smack the crank arms. It is super annoying. Trying to quiet things down, I pedaled with my heels further out than usual. MISTAKE!

Now, the outside of my left knee is very very tight. When sitting around or even walking, I would not call it sore, just tight. If, while sitting in a chair with my foot on the ground, I push my left leg to the right it does not hurt. If I push my left leg to the left, then I would describe it as sore or pain and not just tight.

Feeling my knees, I don’t notice any great swelling, though maybe a very slight difference between them. I took 600mg of advil just in case.

Anyone have thoughts on the best way to treat something like this? Just take a few days off the bike? Are there specific exercises that might help? Other ideas ...

Thanks and regards,
Keith

[Tailwinds]

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[Tailwinds]

Could be your IT band if it is more lateral to your kneecap. Have you tried ice? I would do that, and also rest the knee -- imho. You can also find some IT band stretches on Google or here on the forum.

[chrisroph]

rest, ice, stretching, some it band massage or foam roller treatment, new shoes!

[gt6267a]

new shoes are on the way! according to the ups tracker they are in louisville, ky. i am now wishing the words, "hey guys, i am going to skip this one." had poured out of my head. it was only one ride. oddly, my legs felt fantastic on the ride. it was after the ride and this morning that the problems have come to light.

the injury happened yesterday. when do i start the stretching and such? is there a little healing period where i just ice and rest?

[chrisroph]

Ice and stretch right away.

This also got me to thinking that the foot/insole/shoe/pedal interface is the most important system on a bicycle and it has tremendous system to system variation. For example, time impacts are different from time equipes which are different from spds which are different from speedplays etc. And, moving your cleats 3 mm fore or aft can have a tremendous impact on your efficiency, comfort and ability to stay injury free. Moreover, carnacs are different from shimano shoes which are different from r7s. My old orthotics are different than the ones I had made 2 years ago, which are different than the specialized insoles some people use.

I spend hours upon hours dialing in this interface and have on many occasions jettisoned perfectly good pedals/shoes/insole because they were not quite right.

Best of luck with your injury and your new shoes. Spend lots of time setting them up.