It hurts when your own body stops you from doing something you love. The majority of pros know how they can fix knee pain which is pretty common. There may not be something seriously wrong with your knees. So, we will cover the causes of anterior knee pain due to cycling and how you can fix it. According to a study published on Cycling Weekly, 94% of the 116 professional cyclists experienced some overuse injury. And, out of 116 respondents, 23% had knee pain.
Professional riders have to bear much greater training load. However, they have osteopaths and physiotherapists available on a regular basis. Still, there are 23% of them experiencing knee pain at least once. So, if this is your first Scott Spark and you have just started, you will also experience knee pain or some other similar issue.
Following are the five knee related issues cyclists are likely to experience:
- Anterior knee pain
- Posterior knee pain
- Medial and lateral knee pain
- Knee pain due to weakness in the core
- ‘Spring knee’ pain
The knee joint is one of the complicated joints
The knee is a hinge between the ankle and hip. If the pain is localized to the knee, there are multiple structures involved in this. However, you should look at the lower back, hip and ankle as well.
Anterior knee pain
This is a pain at the front of the knee of the cyclist. This occurs when quads or fibrous tissues alongside the outer leg are tightened. Your Scott Genius, Scott Spark or whichever cycle you are using, you need to make some adjustments in it. Overuse can also cause this pain. Look at the knee cap, patella in medical terms. Patella glides over the joint. Sometimes, it feels like it clicks. We, cyclists stroke quads downwards. This puts pressure on the knee and pulls the knee cap in the wrong way. This causes pain.
If you notice that your knees are going out while paddling, your Scott Spark is not correctly adjusted, especially the saddle. You are overusing your quads. Your knees are in the wrong position while cycling.
How to fix Anterior knee pain
Start with your Scott Spark. Check your bike fit. The saddle of your bike is too far forward and too low. You need more power down that way. You are pushing with a lot of force. The crank of your Scott Spark is too low creating an incorrect angle. Repeated unclipping leads to strain and causes anterior knee pain.
Tightness due to heavy mileage or improper bike fit can be fixed with exercise. Stretching and foam rolling will do the job. Massage will also help in releasing the tension. Massage should be followed by gentle foam rolling.
Foam rolling the quads, IT band and the inside of the thigh can also provide relief from tightness. Kinesio tapes help in increasing the flow of blood to the injured area. Correctly used tapes can push and keep the patella into its correct position. However, using tape is not a long term solution. It takes a correct bike fit to prevent Anterior knee pain due to cycling.
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