Whether you see cycling as an exercise or fun or both, when you are loving it, you can’t stop yourself when one of your mates invite you for a wild mountain ride. However, you have to express your inability to join because of the knee pain due to the yesterday’s ride. It still hurts. You can prevent and treat knee pain due to cycling if you are aware of the type of knee pain.
If it is anterior knee pain, it hurts at the front of the knee. If it is posterior knee pain, it hurts at the back of the knee. There are quadriceps involved in anterior knee pain. When it comes to posterior knee pain, it has something to do with the hamstrings.
How can a cyclist fix posterior pain? Always remember a rule of thumb in bike fitting, if it is anterior pain, the saddle is too low and if is posterior knee pain, the saddle is too high.
So, first of all, adjust the height of the saddle. Maybe it will fix everything and you will be able to join your cycling mates on Open bikes. This is the easiest solution. However, let’s learn more about posterior pain due to cycling.
This pain in the back of your knee is occurring due to overextension. See, as the saddle is too high, your muscles are getting very tight. Your knee is unable to cope with flexation of this degree. In simple words, it is overloaded. You are getting pain in hamstrings because you are pulling hamstrings. The site of pain is the site where the muscle is inserting around the knee. This height of the saddle can also cause pain in the lower back as it is made to work hard.
The majority of beginner cyclists think that they are not using hamstrings while riding on their Open Bikes. However, we all are using hamstrings in the pull-up stroke. When you are putting too much pressure on the hamstrings, you are actually pulling on the pelvis. With quads trying to counterbalance this, hip movement due to this action of quads is resulting into a leg length discrepancy. This is also putting pressure on your knees.
You are also pulling out the popliteus, a muscle across the back of your knee. This muscle is under stress when you are paddling with the saddle too high.
How to Fix Posterior Knee Pain?
Start with fixing saddle height. Most likely, it is too high and too far back. This will prevent posterior knee pain. When it comes to treatment, icing for five minutes will help. Foam rolling the hamstrings, glutes and calves will also provide relief from pain.
Dear beginners, never forget the rule of thumb while adjusting the saddle height of your Open Bikes.
If you are looking forward to buying your first open bike, do read Open Cycles review for buying the right one for you.
