Knee Problems and Riding

Some general comments on the comments;

Thanks for the replies and suggestions

This is more than just not being a princess and cowboying up and ride. After and all day ride OR standing too long at outdoor events, sitting all day in meetings, using a push mower or driving the SUV for 3 hours at a stretch, it swells up to about 40% over normal size.

Highway pegs will not work for me, I have tried them numerous times on many bikes, I don't know why but I am not comfortable with them and don't handle a bike well while using them.

I don't think the F700GS is the problem, I can ride it for 30 to 45 minutes before things become painful, which is longer than I can sit at my office desk or drive the lawn tractor w/o discomfort.

Cruisers are out, I have owned cruisers, test rode many more and it is just not going to happen. I would check out a C650 rather than go back to cruisers.

Regardless, I am not keen on trading a low mileage 2013 in and taking a big hit on it and a different bike will likely not change anything based on my experiences with other sitting positions. I really like my F700GS.



At 62 I have never had surgery or been in a hospital for more than a few hours, things like this have always been "other people's problems". I am not used to being laid up and it is making me irritable, it isn't just about the riding, it cuts into everything I like or need to do.

Rather than change bikes, I am more interested in getting over the problem and determining the best way to do it, whatever that looks like; surgery, therapy, exercise, losing blubber, etc. Consequently, I plan to gather as much information on the subject to determine the best way to get this fixed up.

Glen;

Call me! 905-892-7551

bogthebasher said:

In my case, I had ridden (daily documented) over 100,000 Km on a bicycle until both knees were totally shot from riding. I now can only ride a bicycle for short stints and can't do anything that puts too much load on the knees so have to 'spin' the pedals consistently and shift down much sooner on a hill.

A lot has to do with a person's physiology. I have not opted on any of the treatments so far offered and have symptoms described by the OP while riding a motorcycle. I have put highway pegs on my RT and do stand up through small towns, and periodically taking each foot totally off the pegs and flexing the knee joint while under way. Even these few things are enough for me to go much further between stops and makes things manageable. Not sure what options are available for the OPs bike such as lowering the foot pegs. If it does get really bad, then there are the surgery options others have spoke of.

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In my case, I found that riding 5 to 10 miles ever other day or so, is all it took to work out my knee pain. I would expect that riding at the level you mention above would not be considered therapy; more like overuse, which is what I was doing prior to my injury, running 10K and half marathons. So, IMHO, moderation is a key ingredient as the body ages, since joints and muscles don't rebound as easily as they age....

Glen B said:

Cruisers are out, I have owned cruisers, test rode many more and it is just not going to happen. I would check out a C650 rather than go back to cruisers.

Regardless, I am not keen on trading a low mileage 2013 in and taking a big hit on it and a different bike will likely not change anything based on my experiences with other sitting positions. I really like my F700GS.

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I have a friend with bad knees that almost gave up riding after his K75RT burned. I convinced him he should try a Maxi-Scooter before he gave up riding since he is just coming up on his 81st birthday. The C650 was out of the question because of the high seat height. He bought a used Burgman 650 for $3,500 and has been very pleased. He can ride 300 mile days with his bad knees and at his age.

My Knees Hurt Too

... and I get hip cramps. It's the way my body is built, not damage, thankfully. I lowered the pegs on my RT and that helps but does not eliminate it. Ibuprofen is a help on my current trip Toronto - Vancouver Island. Two twice a day helps. What helps more is frequent rest stops and a stretch. Funny, the were hurting at the top of the Snoqualmie Pass today, but then I ran into a "rolling slowdown" situation 1st gear for 30 minutes or so it seemed, and the concentration caused the pain to disapear entirely. But it came back...

Anyway, I am in Mississauga and my brother-in-law was treated at Trillium for a back problem. He was basically not functional due to pain, now he is functional and very pleased.

Do let us all know the outcome.

The meniscus is probably not a big deal- many minor tears are scope surgery, easily done. In fact so easy that you'll be tempted to get back to full duty too soon because pain is gone if its the primary cause. But you do need to keep the leg up for a week or more, not just a couple days
Even if its really badly messed up, its not the worst thing to deal with.

The arthritis is another subject. Many older folks have some and depending on severity it may or may not be contributing to your problem. Mostly treatment is drugs until the damage gets bad enough to justify replacement. Just looking at images and inferring how much it contributes to your problem may be very misleading.

We've just been through this with the SOs second knee. Too much tennis and golf over 60. Fixed with a simple meniscus clip. First guy was way off on his opinion as proven by eventual results.

Warning- unless you're dealing with sports docs who regularly treat teams, there is a very substantial chance of getting a bum opinion, placing too much blame on the arthritis. Strongly suggest a second opinion before any choice for surgery unless you've had surgery on the other knee and know what the possible choices mean from direct experience.

Be aware the blood clots in the lower leg (lower part of calf especially) are a common possible side effect of knee surgery that you may not be told about. If you have any surgery and get any swelling, hardness or pain there you will need lovenox injections ASAP - easily done at home, typical course is 5 days or so of twice per day. ERs are used to dealing with leg clots (travelers especially) and an ultrasound may be used for confirmation but is in fact not really needed- the symptoms tell the story though not everything about the possible severity.
There is a possibility of permanent lymphadema if clots are not dealt with immediately. Also a rarer possibility (compared to upper leg clots) that the clot will get loose and head for upper regions with all the consequences that could mean.

If you get a clot and have to deal with it, leg compression stockings can be found at medical supply places. Especially relevant if you need to fly within a few weeks of the surgery.

You will find that with today's fractured into a gazillion specialties medicine that your surgeon won't want to take any responsibility for the side effects of his cutting and probing and will simply refer you to your GP. This is common for all types of surgery. Not at all admirable but this is basically how it goes these days. YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN FOR FINDING CARE AND TREATMENT FOR ANY CONSEQUENCES OF SURGERY- don't forget it. I've just been through 2 surgeries for immediate life threatening matters and had this driven home by my own recent experiences.

Remember that medicine is a business like any other and surgeons are by nature pre disposed to cutting, You only get one chance to remove something so conservatism can be a good path. You can always go back.

Racer7

Thanks, you have provided lots on detailed information, with some very good questions to ask during a consultation.

I appreciate the time and thought that went into writing that post

I had a similar right knee problem and after 1-2 hrs of riding my 1996 1100 RT I would have sharp pains in my right knee. I sold the bike and bought a '96 Yamaha RoyalStar that solved the problem. I missed my pig so a number of dealers suggested the 1200 GSA since the seated position is more upright and there is a good distance from peg to seat. I sold the Royal Star and bought a 2011 1200 GSA. The Knee doesn't bother me at all now. Did 3800 mile trip last summer and no problems. I have also strengthened the knee by putting lots of bicycling miles. Hope yours has an easy solution! Good luck with it!

In 2010, I had two total knee replacements performed during the same surgery. I was riding six weeks later. In a few weeks I'll be leaving on a 12,000 (or so) mile trip. My surgeon does only hip and knee surgery (nearly all joint replacements), so he's pretty good! I've had absolutely no complications or problems, just 100% good results.

My left knee

Is also giving me problems because of arthritis, to the point where I don't trust it to support us two-up on a trip of any length. So we're driving to the rally
I control the pain while riding my 1150R with naproxen and rubbing the offending joint with Myoflex or Voltaren before I ride. It's still uncomfortable, especially when I have to stretch my legs, but endurable.
My routine now is check TPs, check lights, grease knee.
HTH
Tony

I met a fellow on the Cedar Point Ferry to Okracoke, NC, he was mid-70's and he was looking at my bike loaded with camping gear and said due to knee problems he had given up riding 3 years ago. He became so depressed that his friends were trying to get him into a trike or Can-Am. Finally he bought a Can-Am and fell in love with it. In the last year he said he had toured all around the US! He had his life back, so consider the options! You can make it work!

The real fix is knee replacement. Yesterday I decided it was time when I sat on half a dozen lighter bikes. Aiming for September. Will call the ortho doc in the AM. Been living on cortisone shots for 18 months. I don't trust the damn thing and I'm not ready to give up riding.

Lots of good advice in the posts here & I'll add my comments.

not happy getting laid up? - been there..... decades ago my successful running career was 'modified'. I got over that after much soul searching. Keep a positive attitude - look for those things you can do, not on what you can't. There is a plan to our lives - we just don't know what it is.

Keep limber. Meaning stretch. As the runner, I learned to stretch (no secret to it) and now I can tell when I've slacked off from the routine. Recently, the knees were 'talking' and the solution was to just stretch as the 'almost' 60 year old muscles simply tighten up. Stretching a couple of times a day really helps - at least me. Doesn't take time - do it when resting instead of just sitting. Mild life modification that's really easy.

Knee cartilage - once my doctor mentioned that consuming the cartilage from chicken bones was a simple way of adding replacement material that your body will use. You're eating the meat anyway (unless vegan) so it's easy. Also, glucosamine does work - if the issue is the meniscus of the knee.

But at the end of the day, there's no 'one' solution - you just get to explore (research) what works for you. Just a new 'opportunity' in your life journey. Good luck.