Knee pain is very common in cyclists. More often than not, the knee pain is caused because the way your knee is tracking is incorrect.

This can be because some muscles have become tighter than others – causing weakening and misalignment. Working on your flexibility can help you to avoid this.  However, poor bike fit can also be the cause, in which case, the fix is much quicker:

Pain at the front of the knee

This is called anterior knee pain, if felt on and around the knee cap. This can be an overuse injury – in which case, time off the bike is called for – as well as the age old RICE: rest, ice, compression and elevation.

Before you ban yourself from riding for a couple of weeks, however, check that your saddle is not too low, or too far forwards. Anterior knee pain can be caused by under extending your leg with each pedal stroke, putting pressure on the knee. Check out this guide on getting your saddle height right.

Pain behind the knee

This kind of knee pain is called posterior knee pain – it’s almost always caused by overextending as you pedal – and therefore the saddle being too high, or too far back. Try lowering your saddle, and see if this helps.

A clear marker of a saddle that is too high is a case of ‘rocking hips’ as you move from side to side to extend your legs, so ask a riding partner to keep an eye on your rear end (if they’re your partner, we’re sure they won’t mind!)

Avoiding injury – 9 stretches for cyclists