Knee complaints

Knee complaints are the most common (overuse) injuries in cycling. Pain complaints around and/or behind the kneecap are most commonly seen. The cause is not good 'tracking' of the kneecap. When the kneecap does not track, the kneecap does not move nicely through the groove in the thigh. This can cause pain locally or from tendons or ligaments that are put under too much tension.

The bicycle movement must be very precise. Due to the relatively high cadence  (90-110 revolutions per minute) a small 'deviation' can quickly lead to overload complaints. An 'incorrect' cycling position can be the cause, but also the foot sagging too much.

When cycling, there is a fixation of the foot on the pedal and a fixation on the saddle. If the foot 'sags' too much during the kicking movement, this will have consequences for the knee. This may be because you already have a 'sagged' foot when standing or that it 'sags' too much during movement. The knee rotates along with this and compensates for the 'crooked' foot position and starts to move from left to right. On the one hand, the kneecap does not 'track' nicely because of this. On the other hand, this results in an asymmetrical load on the muscles around the knee. This can easily cause overloads. Due to fatigue, the foot will sag a bit more, so that the complaints often arise during longer rides or when there is insufficient recovery time.

To get an indication of how your knee is moving, you can do a simple test. Stand in front of a mirror. Stand on one leg and bend your knee. Look in the mirror to see if your knee moves in, out or stays straight.

In order to be able to make the ideal movement, it is therefore important that the kick-out of the foot is stable and does not sink in too much. A sturdy shoe and the position of the foot plates on that shoe are very important for this. A custom made  cycling sole  can correct the foot sagging/sag.