I’m just wondering if this might be a common injury among unicyclists.
My knee has been giving me trouble for about 4 weeks now, ever since landing badly on a few times while trying to crankspin, I would flick my legs out and land in a bit of a squatting position, my left leg landed like this a bit twisted and started to hurt a bit but I kept practicing (foolishly).
It cleared up for a week and I was able to ride around for a day with no trouble but now I can’t seem to put any pressure on it if it is bent, it really hurts and makes getting up from a sitting position, walking up stairs, landing from a jump (as in, that motion you make to cushion your fall) and most importantly, riding my unicycle a real problem. I’ll be visiting the doctor tomorrow to get some advice.
As I said before, I’m curious if this has been a problem for anyone else because I’m sure many of you have landed awkwardly also. If so, how did you deal with it, how long did it take to clear up? etc etc.
I actually mildly tore my MCL stepping off badly. it was a bit of a squat and a slide on one leg. The knee actually popped out of joint a bit. I’d torn it pretty badly about 15 years ago so I knew instantly what I’d done.
I’ve been riding with a knee brace after taking a few weeks off. I got a nice one from my doc that has stops so I don’t hyper-extend, and double hinges on the inside/outside of my knee. it’s been working great.
Going to the Doc is definitely the right move. good luck!
For what it’s worth, I think you should go and see a physio who will give you some exercises to help repair/strengthen your knee ligaments. (That’s what it sounds like if getting up from a chair is painful).
Then you can save the reset of us some money by telling us what exercises work!!
Possibly a google with knee ligament damage would give you the info too. I used the net to fix my achilles, but that’s only because I’m 20 years out of date…
Go easy on any injured parts until they are 100%. Or you’ll make them worse.
Plenty of info on the net for garden variety knee complaints (Overuse/muscle imbalance). Traumatic injuries require more careful diagnostic.
Two most common complaints are ‘runners knee’ and ‘jumpers knee’
I find just googling something like ‘pain under knee cap cycling’ or ‘pain behind knee cycling’ gives me plenty of hits. As I learn the more technical terms I start googling on those. Ready for some rehab throw in ‘stretches’ and/or ‘exercise’ on the type of knee injury you are working on.
Get it checked out. I have a fourth knee surgery scheduled on June 22 as a result of torn ACL ski racing on February 6th. I had torn the ACL on the other knee in a sky diving competition in 1969 but didn’t get it repaired until 1997. That knee is in need of a TKR (Total Knee Replacement) but the doctor advises holding off as long as I can as they don’t last forever. Ironically an ad just came on the tv for www.rediscoveryourgo.com - knee replacements that last 30 years. Hey, I’m 63 - how long do I need the replacement to last???
Long term knee problems can lead to severe arthritis. Trust me, you don’t want to experience this. I repeat, get it checked out.
This is my first post on this forum as i m new to unicycle. And I am pretty glad to find this thread. I have suffered a knee cap dislocation a few weeks back and still in the process of recovering.
I would like to ask will that hinder my ability to learn how to ride a unicycle ?
And anyone else has the same experience as me ? As i was told by the doctor that if i were to land my feet on any weird angle, it will pop my knee cap again… so kind of worried but i m determined to learn how to unicycle!
Welcome to the Forum. Always happy to meet a new rider here.
I wouldn’t think it would hinder your ability as long as you keep up on knee stability exercises. I have a friend who dislocated both knees a while back and a few weeks ago he was throwing a Frisbee with abandon (running around and long and hard throws). But I don’t personally have an experience with dislocated knee caps. I saw it happen once and wouldn’t mind if I never saw it again.
Thinking about it, I had another friend while not having a dislocated knee cap had some other kind of knee instability where it would just collapse and he would fall down. Every Winter he snow skied it into shape, and every Summer after a couple of months of Basketball and Tennis it would start collapsing again.
The right exercises will help a lot. The wrong ones won’t help. Have you been given any knee stabilizing exercises to do?
When you say a “Doctor” what kind of Doctor was it? A general practitioner or someone like a Orthopedic Dr or Sports Physiologist? Are you getting/doing any kind of physical therapy for your knee? I’m a great believer in physical therapy. It has helped me more than once when I thought an injury was permanent.
Thanks for the valuable input. I am visiting an Orthopedic and doing physiotherapy for my recovery. Not that diligent to do exercises recommended by my therapist when I am at home though :p.
High speed UPD. Planted my right foot. I’ve been diagnosed with an avulsion fracture. My orthopedist says it’s when tendons and ligaments tear off small chips of bone. Nothing they can do. Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevate. R.I.C.E. Three to six weeks (or whenever it feels 100% getting off the can) which is much better than the ACL/MCL surgery I thought I was in for. I’ve got to learn to roll or fall without twisting my knee. Can’t wait to start physical therapy! My goal is to recover in time to train for Memorial Day (Hike, Bike, and Paddle) ride.
