One-Legged-Cycling - Injury Risk?

ebola

Much to my frustration I've developped a pain in my left knee (last friday 7/11/03, seems much better today (12/11/03) but it's still not fully recovered & I want to know what to avoid in future.
I've stayed off the bike & excercise for the past 4 days except monday when I inadvertantly made it flare up again by trying cycling & a cross-trainer again - it felt ok that morning.

The exact symptoms are:-

(i) The limb objects to any significant force or weight being placed down on it / through it (e.g. climbing stairs)

(ii) It feels stiff when being turned through a particular angle, i.e. if locked it wants to stay locked.


This is the first time i've had any sort of joint problem, i've been cycling for over 4 months & used to walk fairly long distances daily before that for many years, again no problems..

I guess I should see a doctor and have fewer days like this one;
On the day in question there are several things that could have contributed to my current predicament:- It's not hard to see why i'm now limping around:-

[1] morning - 1-legged cycling in highest gear into the wind. I do this occasionally but this particular instance was probably my longest,hardest session. This was on the way to the gym..

[2] A long-ish ( at least 1 hr total) Cross-Trainer session in the gym
My friends assure me this is a zero-impact activity !
This was my second time on this. ( I want to add a full body aerobic excercise to my routine, and discovered i'm never reaching HR max on the bike etc etc )
Getting back on this machine now is a non starter wheras I could cycle easy on monday.

[3]. ( the no-brainer! ) In the evening whilst drunk & carrying someone else I damaged my toe by (maybe even fractured? it's red & swollen). The toe pain masked out the knee pain on sat/sun, and it's the main reason I've been limping around funily since. (indendant of that I think the knee could take regular walking).
This still tingles and I can't place any weight on it. It does not prevent me cycling in itself. However I wonder if the limping around is straining the knee in a strange way, worsening it.


Parts [1] & [3] are most suspect since they're inherently asymetrical, but i'm sure [2] didn't help.


My question is, does the leg-strengthening excercise of 1-legged cycling inherently pose extra joint risks that normal cycling does not ? The major difference I can see is you pull much harder on the upstroke. ( which a lot of people think is a waste of time anyway )

eortiz

I have done some one-leg pedalling and it will definitely add more load than just pedalling with two legs. In my opinion, I only do a one-leg training to learn and maintain circular pedal strokes. I also don't think that the upstroke is a waste of time, just my opinion. I have learned to use the upstroke to give my hamstring some rest specially on a hill climb. It also improved my sprinting since I feel like I'm running up a stair case on the pedals.

Go have your knees checked by a doctor. Give it a rest and listen to your body. It gives you symptoms for your to listen to it. Good luck on your knees.

lumpy

ebola,

You better get that knee checked out. Push to see a specialist if you can. Tell them you may have hurt your meniscus.

I think one legged cycling poses greater joint risks and stress, especially to the ligaments. You have to pick an easy gear and work on techinique and not grunting.

Good luck,
Tim

ebola

thanks

It appears I need to see a doctor ASAP as from what I can gather my toe is most likely fractured. Even day to day walking may be a bad idea.

The knee itself appears to be a lot better today, I'm guessing its going to be fine eventually, but i'm limping to avoid putting weight on my toe anyway.. the rest will continue until I know otherwise.