Here are my top 7 best ways to prevent cycling knee pain. Cycling knee pain causes pain to millions of cyclists, and even causes many to quit cycling, whether temporarily or permanently. This is of course part of a vicious cycle of bad health, because scientists have proven that exercise is so good for you that exercise can even be called a miracle cure for most of the diseases that can make our lives miserable and eventually kill us. And cycling in particular has even been proven to be good for our brain health – cycling makes your brain grow!
The bottom line is: it is essential to prevent or at least control cycling knee pain, so that the rest of your body can continue to experience the amazing health benefits of cycling. Don’t let two tiny things (your knees) spoil it for the rest of you!
Tip #1 to prevent cycling knee pain: Stretch after every ride
Consider stretching before, after, and even during bike ridesStretching is absolutely essential. And stretch on the days you don’t ride, too. Stretching is your number 1 tool to prevent cycling knee pain. Click here for a post that features a simple yet amazingly effective five-minute stretching program. I do it every single day, and it is actually preventing me from having knee pain at all these days.
If you already have pain, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Our post, The Ultimate Guide to Stretches for Cyclists for Pain and Injury Prevention, presents the best stretches for cyclists for all the most common cycling-related aches and pains. Which includes knee pain, of course. The stretches are organized into lists based on body parts and specific pains and injuries. Bookmark that post to refer back to every time that too much time in the saddle comes with a painful price, such as aching knees, or shooting pains below the knee. By the way, if you do happen to have shooting pains below the knee, that is most likely a common cyclist condition called Patellar Tendinitis , which you can read about here: Four Steps to Prevent and Recover from Cyclist’s Knee (Patellar Tendinitis).
Tip #2 to prevent cycling knee pain: Make sure you are moving correctly
Book an appointment with a physiotherapist and make sure that your walking, cycling and sitting knee and feet positions are correct. I found out in this way that I tend to splay my knees and feet slightly outwards (like a duck) – when I am sitting, walking, and cycling. The result was nagging knee pain that went on for years. I corrected this with off-the-shelf orthotics, plus consciously remembering to keep my knees and feet straight, whether sitting, cycling or walking.
It makes an enormous difference, yet it’s such a little thing. Something similar to that might be causing your knee pain. If you are having persistent knee pain, it could be enormously helpful to consult with a physiotherapist.
Tip #3 to prevent cycling knee pain: Get stronger
Book an appointment with a personal trainer and get him/her to create a program for you that specifically aims to increase your strength so as to avoid cycling knee pain. For example, cyclists have notoriously weak hip flexors, and strengthening these can help prevent knee pain. Hip flexors are small but crucial muscles, located at the front of your hips, that play a major role in driving your pedal stroke, especially during the upward phase. When they’re weak or underactive, your body starts compensating—and that’s where problems begin.
The hip flexors consist of a large number of small muscles. Usually it is weakness in the two most important of these, the psoas major and the iliacus muscle (the inner hip muscles) that cause problems for cyclists. Drawing done by Beth oharaWeak hip flexors can lead to knee pain, particularly in the front of the knee (patellar tendonitis – more information here). Poor hip flexor activation can alter the alignment of your legs and affect how force is distributed across your joints. Over time, this imbalance increases wear and tear, especially during climbs or sprints.
Patellar tendonitis can cause excruciating pain – fortunately, it can be avoided or curedIf you don’t have access to a personal trainer, consider buying one of the excellent books on the subject, such as Strength and Conditioning for Cyclists.
The book above takes a different approach, in which you first assess your own weaknesses, and then devise a plan that will specifically help you, personally. Using that program, I identified that I needed to work on upper body strength (quite common in cyclists), and also have to be sure to include plenty of stretches for my psoas major and iliacus muscles.
Also, here is a video in which Saqib, a top sports physiotherapist, shows you the three key exercises to target and strengthen your knees so as to prevent or treat cycling knee pain.
Related Post: Video: 3 Exercises for Cycling Knee Pain
Tip #4 to prevent cycling knee pain: Ice often
Ice often, especially after long rides. Try to reduce inflammation before it becomes a problem, rather than battling to cure it once it becomes a chronic condition. Follow a cycle of 15 minutes of icing, 30 minutes off, 15 minutes of icing … longer than 15 minutes is counter-productive. Take care not to burn your skin. A quality product, such as the one below, will help.
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Tip #5 to prevent cycling knee pain: Wear the right shoes
Wear dedicated cycling shoes. You can go for clipless shoes for cyclists, such as these Pearl Izumi Men’s Cycling Shoes.
However, you don’t have to get shoes that clip into your pedals if you don’t want to spend the money, or clipping in makes you uncomfortable – or makes you fall over!
You don’t have to clip into your pedals if that makes you uncomfortable – or makes you fall over!Cycling shoes just need to have a rigid sole. For example, Five Ten makes excellent shoes that look like sneakers but grip the pedal very well, plus have the rigid soles you need to prevent cycling knee pain. Read my review of Five Ten cycling shoes here.
Related Post: Our Miraculous, Cheap Cure for Cycling Knee Pain
Tip #6 to prevent cycling knee pain: Make sure your bike fits YOU
To avoid knee pain, it is absolutely ESSENTIAL to get your saddle positioned just right – see our post, How to Find the Right Height, Setback and Tilt for Your Bike SaddleIt is essential to make sure your bike fits. Trust me, a bike that does not fit your body is certain to end up causing you pain of all kinds – most notably, cycling knee pain. Take a look at this table that shows the causes of cycling knee pain – notice how the most simple little problems with bike fit can cause serious problems. In particular, the wrong saddle height will get you every time. Which is why we researched and wrote an in-depth post called How to Find the Right Height, Setback and Tilt for Your Bike Saddle.
There are all kinds of cycling knee injuries that can be caused simply by an ill-fitting bike. Source: CPT Chad Asplund, MD, Knee Pain and Bicycling: Fitting Concepts for Clinicians; The Physician and Sports Medicine, 32(4).Either pay for a professional bike fitting, or use an AI app such as MyVeloFit, or do it yourself. Here is a book that shows you exactly how to do your own bike fitting: Bike Fit: Optimise your bike position for high performance and injury avoidance.
Related Post: Stretches and Exercises for Cyclist’s Knee (Patellar Tendinitis)
Tip #7 to prevent cycling knee pain: Jump on it!
Do NOT ignore cycling knee pain when it starts – it will just get worse. (I know this from bitter experience.) If you start getting knee pain, deal with it immediately. If you have the means, a visit to a physiotherapist is always a good start. If you cannot do that, work through all of the six points above, right away. Just starting a stretching program will make a world of difference in relieving cycling knee pain.
If all this fails and you still get cycling knee pain, click here for my cheap, miraculously-effective cure for cycling knee pain. And if you have been forced to resort to knee replacement surgery, see our popular post: 5 Doctor’s Tips to Start Cycling Again after Knee Replacement Surgery.
Good luck with dealing with cycling knee pain. We hope you feel better soon, and get back to enjoying your cycling!
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