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Hi
I started riding again last year after a long time without a bike. Now I tend to ride two or three times a week on single tracks.
I just wondered if any one thought standing and riding is much more stressful on the knees than sitting?
I have sporadic knee pain and try to counteract this with stretching (and rest when it flares up).
Just trying to identify what triggers the pain, other than over doing it!
Thanks,
Most knee pain is caused by knee instability and/or tightness in the surrounding muscles/ligaments, usually the hips.
I have a damaged ankle with metalwork in it and the restrictions from it sometimes put strain on my knee. Likewise hip tightness can cause me knee pain. If I stop the hips and/or ankle from getting tight then the knee is fine. If not the patella mistracks and it gets bad pretty quickly.
My back/hips were feeling really tight yesterday, it was totally messing with riding berms. I stopped a few times on my ride to do this simple exercise and it helped a lot:
http://www.bikejames.com/strength/improve-your-cornering-speed-and-balance-with-the-stick-windmill/
Plenty of sticks in the woods!