Grinding sound from knee!

Izo

This same problem has been bothering me as of late.. I am only 22 it doesn't hurt but the sound is really scary.

For me its only when the joint is extremly bent, for example if you squat all the way to the ground and come up you will here it on the begining of comming up.

This thread is the best info I have found yet, from Postie's post it seems like I have been asking for it. I play basketball, run, and recently got a new bike with a VERY low seat, was planning on getting it higher but I started to get used to it and have been riding on it for like 3 months to get to work.

On top of all those activities I first noticed it after a physical screening to join the Navy, they had us drop to our knees on a hard floor from standing then had us walk on our knees across the room, it hurt alot.

I noticed it after that when I got home. When I thought about it I thought maybe its always been like that cause I think its done that before when I did squats but I never really heard it so loud and never paid attention.

Since it doesn't hurt and I am leaving soon for the Navy I don't want to go to a doc since any medical problems could jepardize me being able to join.

Also my other knee has started to get sore and I am pretty sure it is from constantly riding with this low seat its really rough on the knees pedalling from this angle.

diane143

See a doctor! Do you hear it going up stairs? That's when I first noticed it. Never heard it nor did it bother me in step class cuz the music is loud.

I finished my left knee off by scraping rosin paper off my kitchen floor with no knee pads! Stupid!!! I had done floor work before and my knees would be sore for a few days after but this time the left knee didn't recover. The right knee then developed the same noise but no pain.

I now have $80 knee pads (I don't think my PT really got that I enjoy working on my house and I needed to find a way to do it, but she did like the pads).

I also found that knee extensions were bad but leg presses are OK. Of course I had been doing extensions at the gym as the noise was less. <sigh>

So you should really see a doctor to see how you can still stay active and what the issue really is. There are many knee issues. DH had a bad meniscus tear and a friend that rides with us is believed to have a small tear. He's starting PT this week.

Mine was patella related.

My doctor was awesome, told me he wouldn't let me have surgery even if I wanted it at this time <whew!> and said I was basically fixable, not to 100% but I could be made better than I was the day I saw him.

And I am!

Good luck!

Diane

Postie

Hi Izo.

One thing that is a very important piece of information you gave here is that "the sound is scary but it doesn't hurt". That grinding sound that you have is roughened cartilage on the inside of your kneecap. The exercise that you mentioned (full squat) is the motion that a person would MOST expect to hear their knees grind. Your observation that there was a day that you were "aware" of the sound is probably more accurate then saying it was the day it started. It happens over time and given the activities you choose, it makes sense that your knees have had some wear.

The sound doesn't necessarily mean that something is seriously wrong (pain on the other-hand, is a good indicator that things are going quite wrong). Rather, it means that your knees have received a lot of torsion from your activities and the cartilage is showing some wear. It's important to know what has been hurting your knees and then make a conscious effort to change that.

For example, if a person is wearing their cartilage out because of a bad bike position, then it is imperative that they change their bike position to the correct one. Many of the cyclists on this site rack up the km's in the 100's and 1000's which results in hundreds of thousands of pedal strokes. That is a really good way to make a mild "grinding sound" into a full blown "never experience life without knee pain" problem.

If you're getting fitness out of your bike, buy a bike that fits and fit it to the guidelines I specified earlier in this post.

(BTW - I have to post a small CORRECTION to my previous guideline. The plum line test for FORE-AFT position on the saddle should really be where the pedals are in the 3 o’clock position and NOT the 5 o’clock position. I pushed the wrong key and am SORRY! )

Otherwise, if your knees already creek, your asking for trouble. Although the right exercises and care can help strengthen stabilizers in the knees and hence reduce on-going damage and knee pain, cartilage damage is still largely irreversible. Hence, all the more reason to ensure you take the issue seriously early.

I have to envy the people that can run at full tilt to exhaustion, ride up a mountain at full effort, and play court sports until the sun sets without ever feeling anything other then lactic buildup.

However for the rest of us mortals, it pays to be careful.

Incorrect seat height, fore-aft position, and cleat position can permanently hurt your knees faster then Lance riding up L'Alpe d'Huez. So it's worth doing things right while you still control your destiny.

Carrera

I always get a flare-up of hip and knee pain in the Spring and I'm suffering badly from it at this moment of time. I always have a bit of hip pain but it gets 3 times as bad in Spring. It doesn't affect my cycling since the pain disappears as I exercise but reappears after sitting down for some time.
I'm seriously beginning to suspect I may have an allergy that causes some kind of acid build up in my joints and that maybe pollen is involved. I noticed that after jogging in a field I came up with a rash where the grass had contacted my legs - which would suggest allergic reaction. Needless to say I do suffer badly from hayfever but haven't had any nasal symptoms so far this year.
Why would a person's joint pains suddenly escalate in Spring? The only other factor I can come up with is humidity of weather. I'd be interested if anyone else has ever had seasonal flare-ups of joint problems.
I'm convinced allergy or food sensitivity can be a factor as I noticed such pain will disappear abroad (in some cases completely).