Need help with exercise bike and knee issues

LeanneM

LeanneM

Cathlete
Hi everyone,

I've been dealing with a problematic knee the last couple of months, and haven't been able to do my usual cardio at all :(, so I'm trying to look into other alternatives.

I'm waiting to hear back from the Orthopedist with my MRI results, but, when I met with him before Christmas, he said that it sounded like a torn meniscus, and might require surgery.

In the meantime, I've been reading things on-line, and it sounds like swimming and biking are good cardio alternatives for people with torn menisci, knee replacements, and other problems relating to the knee. The thought of swimming doesn't appeal to me, so I've been looking into picking up a used exercise bike.

When the Orthopedist calls me, I will, of course, definitely ask him if it is even alright for me to use an exercise bike, but, in the meantime, I thought I would ask the educated folks here for some opinions. (I'm getting tired of waiting to find out what's going on!:confused:)



Do you think that an upright bike like this would be alright for a problematic knee?




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Or would something like the one below be better? Recumbent bikes just seem so boring to me . . . . (Of course, I'm hoping that Coach Sean can help liven it up! ;))


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Thanks in advance for any help that anyone can offer! Like I said, I will definitely check with the Dr. before buying anything, but, to kill time, I've been researching and reading reviews of various bikes on-line, and thought I'd pick my fellow Cathletes' brains. :)
 
As a long time sore-knee-sufferer (tore my ACL and broke my leg skiing in 1993, tore more stuff in 1999, had an ACL reconstruction in 1999) I have done lots and lots of cycling, including road cycling, stationary bikes both upright and recumbent, and Spinning classes. I always find it helps reduce pain and loosen things up. I personally would go with the upright bike as I find the angle more natural, and this is what has been recommended to me by my surgeon, physiotherapist and now my chiropractor. Best to ask your medical professional(s) what they recommend though.

Stebby
 
Thanks so much, Stebby! It's great to get some early feedback. I hope that your knee issues have been better lately!

I'd actually been hoping to talk my hubby into getting a spin bike, but that's not likely . . . .;)
 
As someone w/ 20+ years of nursing wonky knees, ITA w/ the upright bike choice. I don't know why but the recumbant bikes put a weird torque on the knee joint, at least it has for me. I think it's the "angled downward while pushing away" part of the stroke that makes it so stressful. I'm sorry to hear about your knees and hope they heal quickly.
 
I agree with the upright bike. I had a torn meniscus and while waiting to see if it would heal I used the upright bike. The only problem I had was getting on/off. I had to get on it the opposite side I normally do so I would not rotate the knee outward.

Good luck. I waited a year for my knee to heal and then finally had the surgery.
 
I agree with the upright bike. I am a spin instructor and I wanted to let you know one important thing to look for if you do start biking. A lot of people don't pay any attention to their knee and leg placement while they go through a pedal stroke and it can cause knee problems. When you are biking make sure your leg/knees point straight forward instead of splaying outward. It is very common for people's legs/knees to point outward instead of straight ahead and it is common for those people to have sore knees. Like with any exercise proper form is critical to prevent any further injury.
 
NRG Woman said:
I agree with the upright bike. I am a spin instructor and I wanted to let you know one important thing to look for if you do start biking. A lot of people don't pay any attention to their knee and leg placement while they go through a pedal stroke and it can cause knee problems. When you are biking make sure your leg/knees point straight forward instead of splaying outward. It is very common for people's legs/knees to point outward instead of straight ahead and it is common for those people to have sore knees. Like with any exercise proper form is critical to prevent any further injury.
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And as an avid cyclist, may I add that seat height is critical, too. Make sure you have only a very slight bend in your leg when you foot is at the bottom of the pedal stroke. Sit on the bike, keep your foot flat and test to see the bend in your knee.

I do think one major advantage spin bikes have is the ability to wear clip-in shoes. That allows you to use the full pedal stroke (the up motion as well) so that you are working your legs more evenly. My calves actually get sore if I really concentrate on both the push and pull motion.
 
Thank you all so much for the great responses and cycling tips! I really, really appreciate it! While waiting for the Dr. to get in touch, I'll research the upright bikes a bit more.

I used to regularly go to spinning classes, and they are one of the things I miss most about working out at home. Maybe I can still talk DH into getting a spin bike. ;)
 
parkercp said:
Good luck. I waited a year for my knee to heal and then finally had the surgery.
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Parkercp, has your knee been better? Hope so! Mine has been bugging me for over a year also, but has gotten worse since October, when it made an odd noise one day when I was doing lunges. The Orthopedist told me that he's booking two months out for surgery, so it'll be awhile before I get it fixed, if it is actually a meniscus tear . . . .
 
If you have any kind of anomaly in your anatomy (such as a twist in your bones) that cause your feet / knee to align just a bit off, you might find toe clips to be uncomfortable. I have a slight twist in the femur (a birth defect more or less) that causes my left foot to tend to rotate outwards. If I clip my toes in for spin (which I've only done a few times because of this issue), it causes my knee to point more inwards and results in more knee pain.

Your PT should be able to see any alignment issues. It wasn't until I went to a third PT (I've been several times in the past 20 years for my knee) that he finally really listened to me and looked closely at the bone and joint angles and saw what I thought was there - a slight twist in the femur... which makes some of my other PT's comments ("Walk with your feet straight!!!") totally useless because doing so causes more injuries / problems.
 
Biking w/ a bad knee? OW!OW!OW! When I had a torn meniscus, my Ortho said I could continue to bike and swim, but no impact. Let me tell you - riding a bike and the kicking motion in swimming hurt more than ANYTHING Cathe ever tried to make me do. I must have been a weird case though, walking, biking and swimming all hurt like crazy, where I could do step and kickbox, it just hurt after, but not during. I think I was just strange. I'm all fixed up now, but catch me on the wrong day and it still hurts like mad to ride a real bike uphill, but everything else is fine. I think I'm just defective:confused::confused:

Nan
 
Nan, no, you're not defective -- just extra special! :) That is really interesting that the biking and riding hurt your knee more than step and kickbox. I wish I could say the same, but any kind of pressure is painful, and I've been limping for a few weeks now. I miss doing my Cathe workouts something awful. :(

Gibbee, that's great, though, that at least your last PT was finally able to get to the root of the problem.
 
Leanne, sorry to hear about your knee problems. I tore my meniscus (amongst many other issues) two years ago. Before my surgery and for about a month after my surgery I used the recumbent bike at the gym. I had the problem that someone else had here where I couldn't actually get on an upright bike without a huge amount of discomfort so I picked the recumbent bike.

About a month after my surgery I switched to a spinning bike and have been using it ever since. Like others before me have said, your seat position is very important on an upright bike and it if isn't correct it can hurt your knees.

Also, everyone is different so it's kind of hard to recommend something for your case. Is it possible to join a gym for a month or two and try out their upright and recumbent bikes? That way you can see what you like better. This is just my personal preference but if you are going to get an upright bike, I would totally go for a spinning bike. You will love it and get a great workout.
 
Thanks so much for your input, Karen! I had searched the Cathe forums awhile back for knee injuries, and came across some of your old posts, which were really helpful to read. Getting a three-month gym membership sounds like a good idea so I can try out the bikes! What kind of spinning bike do you have?
 
The ortho just called with wonderful news: it's not a torn meniscus, probably just a bad case of tendinitis! Woo hoo! That means that I won't need surgery. He's referring me to PT, and told me that using a stationary bike (either recumbent or upright) would be perfect, as long as I raise the seat a bit higher.

Thanks to everyone for all the support and great info! :D
 
Yay Leanne! That is wonderful news. I am glad that you are getting referred to a PT too so that you can recover. Happy cycling!!
 
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