Dr. Allan Horowitz, published newspaper article, Richmond Hill Liberal, Copyright November 30, 1988
Question:
I have recently taken up bicycle riding. I ride about five miles a day, usually through parks and along Bathurst Street, and have been riding for about two months.
I love it and it’s great exercise, but there is one drawback. My left knee is throbbing at the end of the day. I can hardly sleep because it is so painful.
I went to my doctor and she advised me to keep up the good work and let my knee become accustomed to the riding. She said it would get stronger with time.
I didn’t want to give up riding so I listened to her, however, now I need your help, because I am starting to take too many painkillers. Is there anything that I can do for my knee to stop the terrible pain? If you have any answers could you please let me know.
Sonia
Aurora
Answer:
Before I answer Sonia’s question, I must first apologize to her for my delay in answering. The date on her letter was Aug. 12, but I just got around to answering her in today’s column.
I remind readers that if they have any acute health problem which might require urgent attention, they should seek professional help and not wait for my response.
I do get around to every letter written to me, but I can’t guarantee when I will answer. Even then I can’t guarantee when The Liberal will print the response.
Now just in case Sonia is still having her knee pain, and assuming she has not yet had it diagnosed, I will try to help.
Your letter says that you are starting to take too many painkillers. My personal opinion and my opinion as a professional who is called upon to treat many problems of this sort, is that if you have to take even one painkiller for a pain, you should want to know first what exactly is causing the pain.
SOMETHING’S WRONG
When you have to take medication over an extended period of time for one problem, it is obvious something is wrong and it should be properly investigated.
Your doctor may have been correct when she first saw your knee, but I don’t think her answer is still valid. It is true five miles a day on a bike for someone who is not accustomed to that exercise is quite a bit.
However, a severe pain in only one knee, which prevents you from sleeping, and which requires you to take pills, is not just leg weakness. There could be an old injury which is flaring up when you over-use your knee.
You don’t say how old you are but the knee could be a bit arthritic. There could be many things wrong with the knee, some easily corrected, some not.
X-rays and thorough examinations by some wise doctor or chiropractor should reveal the cause of the pain. If the pain is only coming after riding your bicycle, and not after any other forms of exercise, it obviously has to do with the movement of riding and it could be that a few adjustments are needed on your bike.
Make sure the seat is a comfortable one, and has some padding. Make sure that when you fully extend your legs on the downstroke of peddling, your knee has a very slight bend to it. A 15-degree bend is usually suggested.
WARM-UP
You should also do a warm-up before even getting on the bike, which should consist of some calf, thigh (front and back), ankle and lower back stretches.
When you first start riding, make sure you start off slowly with very little tension, and then gradually increase the speed and tension as the blood begins to flow through your muscles.
If these suggestions do not help your knee pain, you should stop riding immediately and have your knee examined again. If all tests on your knee are negative, it may just be that you will have to decrease the weekly and daily distance you ride, or you might have to take a one-or two-day break between sessions of riding to allow the tissues around the knee to rest, and to allow any inflammation to settle down.
If you have been riding for a few months on a daily basis and your knee still hurts each time, I doubt that it is just because the knee is weak. There must be something else wrong and I think it should be checked into.