
It’s at this point that inflammation can occur, which is then irritated each time the knee is bent. It’s a structure that has a habit of tightening up over time and pulling the patella off centre if your vastus medialis oblique muscles aren’t strong enough to counteract.īecause of where it sits, as the knee is repeatedly bent and straightened, it moves back and forth over the knobbly end of the thigh bone just above the knee, cushioned by a fluid-filled bursa. The iliotibial band is a thick fibrous strap of tissue that runs all the way down the lateral thigh, from the pelvis to just below the knee. GettyĪnother painful condition that’s very closely related to patellar compression syndrome is called ‘iliotibial band syndrome’. Running down the outside of the leg, the iliotibial band is prone to become tight and knotty. It’s also worth pointing out that cycling isn’t the only time we bend our knees and stress the patello-femoral joint.Ĭrouching down to pick something up and tackling stairs are more obvious activities, but sitting at a desk with feet underneath the chair (or in a cinema seat) for prolonged periods will produce the same effect. Particularly resistant cases can be tackled by a sports physio, who can work specifically on mobilising the tight lateral tissues around the patella. There’s not much point in taping up the patella because the forces generated when cycling are too great and the taping just won’t hold.

It’s slow and can feel pointless initially, but persist with loosening the lateral side then strengthening the medial side, and in a couple of weeks you’ll feel a difference. After a week or so of regular stretching and self-massage, work on building up the vastus medialis oblique muscle to balance out the stabilising forces on the patella.


It should respond to ice, anti-inflammatories and physiotherapy, with or without strapping. If this area is persistently sore to the touch it’s definitely worth seeking medical help. The large quadricep muscles attach to the shin bone via the patella, so the forces of pedalling are transmitted across the patello-femoral joint whenever we bend our knees, essentially squashing it back against the thigh bone.Īlthough more common in explosive sports, the part of the tendon attaching the patella to the bony prominence below the kneecap can become inflamed (patellar tendonitis). Pain at the front of the knee – on and around the knee-cap (patella) – is the most common presentation of cycling overuse injuries, in part due to the anatomy of this area. Pain under the knee cap is known as runner’s knee and can plague cyclists as well.
