Knee pain

zhongyan · 2012-05-15, 09:36 AM

Hi,

I've had my 20" unicycle for around 2 weeks now, and for the last 7 days I've had sharp pains in both of my knees causing myself difficulty climbing stairs and nearly impossible for me to unicycle. I've never had the kind of pain before. Just wondering if any of you people have also experienced this or have any advice.

Thank You

zeus661 · 2012-05-15, 11:33 AM

Could it be how you position your feet on the pedals? I have never had knee pain from riding, in fact it makes mine feel better.

jbtilley · 2012-05-15, 11:51 AM

Yeah, I have a weak meniscus disc that has torn a few times (not unicycle related). Unicycling has actually helped in that it has strengthened surrounding muscles making the knee feel much better.

Where does it hurt? I know that when I started back on the unicycle it would hurt directly above my kneecap. Two things fixed that: 1) resting and allowing the muscles in that area to get stronger with time and 2) raising the seat. The muscles above my knee will still occasionally hurt a bit if the seat was too low during the ride.

4umfreak · 2012-05-15, 01:51 PM

Yes, I had similar knee pain shortly after learning to ride. Take it easy for a while and come back to it gently. Your knees probably aren't used to the kind of abuse that unicycling can dish out.

For what it's worth, my knees are fine now and never bother me, even on long-ish rides.

unigy · 2012-05-15, 02:55 PM

When I first learned how to ride, my knees hurt really bad. I fixed this by raising the seat.

giocologgi · 2012-05-15, 03:29 PM

Quote:

When I first learned how to ride, my knees hurt really bad. I fixed this by raising the seat

Wow, my hint would be "try to lower your seat"...
I had the same problem years ago, while riding for hours with my big backpack, and I felt better lowering the saddle a little. Then I put an elastic band, quite thight, around the knee, and it was fine.
I'm not a knee surgeon, but I'm a thoracic surgeon...
But the best hints are the most logical: I think that you have to rest for some days, then start slowly, after a good warmup... Go little by little! If the body says to you:"i feel bad", well, Listen to it!
PS: now I ride a lot, with NO pain at all, even after days of massive riding!

Good luck
Nic

Alan Hogan · 2012-05-15, 04:07 PM

I had really bad knee pain in my right knee for about 8 months before it cleared ...... 3 days after it cleared my left knee started hurting in exactly the same way!!!

for now its volterol gel, Ibuprofen and a knee strap whenever I ride over 15 miles..... I think knees just need to build up their strength

mbalmer · 2012-05-15, 07:28 PM

In the beginning I panicked that my hurting knees would end my unicycling. I took it easy, took days off of riding here and there, and added a brake for downhills. Eventually the knees cleared up and (knock on wood) haven't been a problem since. My elbows actually are more of a problem. Figure that one out.

Alan Hogan · 2012-05-15, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbalmer

In the beginning I panicked that my hurting knees would end my unicycling. I took it easy, took days off of riding here and there, and added a brake for downhills.

I find high speed downhill the hardest thing for my knees..... I normally ride either G29 or G36 so I shift in to low gear to cut the strain down

2012-05-15, 09:36 AM	#1
zhongyan zhong Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 3	Knee pain Hi, I've had my 20" unicycle for around 2 weeks now, and for the last 7 days I've had sharp pains in both of my knees causing myself difficulty climbing stairs and nearly impossible for me to unicycle. I've never had the kind of pain before. Just wondering if any of you people have also experienced this or have any advice. Thank You

2012-05-15, 01:51 PM	#4
4umfreak Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Location: Victoria, BC, Canada Age: 41 Posts: 644	Yes, I had similar knee pain shortly after learning to ride. Take it easy for a while and come back to it gently. Your knees probably aren't used to the kind of abuse that unicycling can dish out. For what it's worth, my knees are fine now and never bother me, even on long-ish rides. __________________ - 4umfreak █ 4u2c.it █ a simple, fun and free Url shortener with publishing to Facebook and Twitter. █ Geagle Search Engine █ a unicyclist.com inspired search engine. (kh longneak vs shortbeak)

2012-05-15, 04:07 PM	#7
Alan Hogan The Highland unicyclist Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Kirkhill, Inverness, Scotland Age: 36 Posts: 393	I had really bad knee pain in my right knee for about 8 months before it cleared ...... 3 days after it cleared my left knee started hurting in exactly the same way!!! for now its volterol gel, Ibuprofen and a knee strap whenever I ride over 15 miles..... I think knees just need to build up their strength __________________ Unicycling in the Scottish Highlands http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/Highland.Unicyclist

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2012-05-15, 11:33 AM	#2
zeus661 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Toledo, Ohio Age: 51 Posts: 61	Could it be how you position your feet on the pedals? I have never had knee pain from riding, in fact it makes mine feel better.

2012-05-15, 11:51 AM	#3
jbtilley Muni Foot Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: North Carolina Posts: 555	Yeah, I have a weak meniscus disc that has torn a few times (not unicycle related). Unicycling has actually helped in that it has strengthened surrounding muscles making the knee feel much better. Where does it hurt? I know that when I started back on the unicycle it would hurt directly above my kneecap. Two things fixed that: 1) resting and allowing the muscles in that area to get stronger with time and 2) raising the seat. The muscles above my knee will still occasionally hurt a bit if the seat was too low during the ride.

2012-05-15, 02:55 PM	#5
unigy Registered User Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Orange County, California Posts: 38	When I first learned how to ride, my knees hurt really bad. I fixed this by raising the seat.

2012-05-15, 07:28 PM	#8
mbalmer Is it June yet? Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: San Jose, CA Age: 53 Posts: 1,105	In the beginning I panicked that my hurting knees would end my unicycling. I took it easy, took days off of riding here and there, and added a brake for downhills. Eventually the knees cleared up and (knock on wood) haven't been a problem since. My elbows actually are more of a problem. Figure that one out.

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