Sinecure Posted January 16, 2008 Report Share Posted January 16, 2008 Me: 5'10", 190lbs, 30" inseam, Head Stratos Pro, 19.5" stance width, typical angles 50-55 rear, 55-60 front, TD2 si, Front boot set more upright, rear boot with more forward lean, zero canting in boots, 6 degree base plate on rear foot set to nearly all heel lift, 3 degree base plate front set to nearly all toe lift. I've had a total of 3 knee arthroscopies. Latest MRI on rt knee shows relatively little cartilage, but mostly intact ACL. I wear a Donjoy on the right and CTI2 on the left (rear). I've been experiencing some lateral (outside) pain in my forward (right) knee lately. To be more precise, its more like lateral, anterior (a little to the front on the outside of my knee). Looking for suggestions on how I might alleviate the pain by adjusting things with my boots/bindings. I have all sorts of base plates I could experiment with, and even one of those Bomber shock absorbing thingies that I don't use because its more work than its worth. I find I notice the pain more when I'm not riding (lift line, after riding) than when I'm actually carving turns. I suspect this is because I'm not focused on the pain when I'm riding, rather than because its not hurting - but I could be wrong. I also notice lateral meniscus pain in my left knee when I ski, but not so much when I board. The other pain point is on the outside (lateral) of my left (rear) calf near the top of my boot cuff. Its like the cuff is digging in too much. What do you think I should do? Set up for some outward canting? It seems counter-intuitive to set myself up to be bow-legged, but I'm wondering what others have tried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncermak Posted January 16, 2008 Report Share Posted January 16, 2008 The knee pain on the lift line probably can be attributed to the twisting on the knee when the rear foot is out of the binding. to alleviate that, you could run steeperangles, but that would then place more stree on the knee when riding. As for the calf pain, you may have low calfs (I do). If you cant handle the pain, you could bring our doot to a good bootfitter they should be able to make some changes. Another though is to put some wedge under your heel (in the boot). this will lift your calf up a little, and alleviate some of the pain. Of course, that also then serves to limit your Range of Motion of your ankles. I guess the only answer is to quit riding, and send your boards to me in Massachusetts so you won;t be tempted to use them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinecure Posted January 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 I don't get the pain from the lift line. I just notice more when I'm stopped than when I'm actually carving. So I notice it when I'm in the line, or inside the lodge, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjl Posted January 17, 2008 Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 Hey, I think I remember your riding style, but you'll have to remind me again; you ride facing the nose, so your front foot is is rotated inward (i.e. your hips are facing even more forward than your front foot) while you ride, correct? Steepening the angle of your front foot might help with the riding and the lift line, and getting a narrower board would lessen the pressure on the side of the boot cuff (decreasing the compression of the lateral corner of your knee in a heelside carve) in a hard carve as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buell Posted January 17, 2008 Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 Sinecure, I have almost the same knee pain when carving due to my injury last February. My front leg muscles are not fully developed yet from my two surgeries this year and I am hoping as they get stronger, my knee pain will diminish. I am also missing a chunk of cartilage on the outside of my knee. I generally feel it on the lift as well, though I occasionally notice it when riding if I go through a bumpy section of trail. Because of the banging and stress on the knee from riding, my muscles are tensing up in an effort to protect the knee joint. I notice the resulting discomfort most when I am on the lift and after riding. Sometimes I can shift the board around and help the discomfort on the lift. It seems if my front foot is facing in, as it tends to do when riding the lift, the pain will be worse than if I can get it in a more natural position. After riding I massage around the knee and have learned where the tension is in the muscles. One of the worst areas goes down the outside of my calf. Another area is on the front of the calf, from the tibia to the outside of my leg, right below the knee. The third tense area is the back of the knee leading down into the upper calf. The longer I ride, the more tense these areas get and the more discomfort I have. Massaging these areas really helps relieve some pain. When I first started riding this year, I was in a lot of pain and could only ride about 3 hours every other day. I realized how much lateral pressure is on the knee joint in a heelside turn when running higher angles. These pressures want to pull the Tibia and Femur apart as you position yourself to place the board on edge. The effects of this pressure is exacerbated by having weak muscles around the knee joint. My solution, besides continuing to build the muscle, was to run lower angles (wider boards). I normally ride a 19.5 width at 53/50 and on my 21.5 wide board I was able to ride about 48/45. Early in the season, it was even to the point that I would ride softies to get my angles down into the low thirties. This helped tremendously some days. Some days, I got to practice quiting early. ;) I have no idea if this will have any bearing on your situation, but those are my experiences. I wish you luck. Buell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photodad2001 Posted January 17, 2008 Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 This may or may not be helpful, but.... I've got 2 bad knees and experience pain post-riding aslo. My doctor (who knows nothing about snowboarding, but a lot about painful knees) told me to try putting some Dr. Scholls in my boots. I noticed a difference. I'd also turn your angles out more. Spread your feet out as wide as your stance and keep your feet parallel and see how low you can bend at the knees before you feel discomfort, then angle your feet out and try again. Find what feels best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skatha Posted January 17, 2008 Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 I am missing my medial meniscus in my rt knee completely..... Higher angles hurt more and the cant is extremely important-I can't tell you a number but I'd definitely look into a lot of playing to find what hurts least.... Also, don't trust your knee braces to actually do anything except make you look tough. The only brace actually recommended as a preventative for injury is the brace for post PCL tears that prohibits you from fully extending your leg. You need to rehab quads and hamstrings and keep 'em strong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdifan_2003 Posted January 17, 2008 Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 Just throwing some more info to the topic. I am just recovering from medial meniscus surgery in the summer. Calf pain - could be shin splints, as well as something wrong with he boots. Besides the sock, what else is inside the boot - something like tights or else? the point is if you stick too much things inside the boot and try to tie it down, you might be impeding the blood supply/return from the calves - hence pain. For the shins splints - stretching + icing will do it. Next - lateral knee pain in general. Could be lateral meniscus, colateral ligament or both. If the pain persists, probably an MRI is coming up . Pains and aches apperenly come with these sports. If we don't want to deal with them, I guess we all have to start playing chess . Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackDan Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 OK, let me just state that I think Bomber bindings are great, and I think Fin is great and all the best. I used to own some. Get Cateks. The Cateks have the ability to really dial in the binding angles (fore/aft, left/right) that allow you reduce the stress points in your knees. Been there done that. My knees have seen one surgery for ACL replacement and meniscus clean up, and one recently for microfracture surgery to fix microfractures in the bone and a OCD or OCL (osteochondrl lesion). Cateks allowed me to dial in a lower stress riding position than any other binding.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trikerdad Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 I have the same problem due to a crushed tibia plateau on the outside (lateral) of my front leg. No cartilage left after 2 major surgeries and 3 arthroscopies. MORE AND/OR BETTER PAIN MEDS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinecure Posted January 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 Thanks guys. I think I'm going to try increasing the angle on my front foot a bit and see if that helps the knee issue. It will bring my toes/heels inboard slightly from the edge, but I don't really care about that. I'm also going to ride a narrower board tomorrow I think. Today I didn't have the outside pain on the shin. Pain meds are good. Cateks are too complicated for my tastes. I'm a set-it-forget-it kind of guy. The knee braces would make me look tough if I wore them on the outside of my pants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photodad2001 Posted January 21, 2008 Report Share Posted January 21, 2008 You need to rehab quads and hamstrings and keep 'em strong Strengthening your legs is very important. I had a near season ending crash on the hill yesterday and I'm sure besides divine intervention, the fact that my legs are as strong now as they were back when I was in college saved my ass. I got my nose twisted behind me because I was too busy watching my daughter ride. She had a good laugh, but the last time I went down like that I was out for almost 2 months. I've been doing strength training in the water swimming laps with fins and a kickboard. I stay away from jogging, but do rollerblade about twice a week. Stretching is also vital. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr D Posted January 21, 2008 Report Share Posted January 21, 2008 I have yet to find a post surgical knee that didn't need some alignment. I would recomend searching for an ACTIVATOR Chiropractor in your area and getting the knee checked. simple easy noninvasive. the adjustment is done with a small springloaded instrument generally painlessly. http://activator.com/qualified_doctors.asp I would follow that with a 4-6 inch piece of Kinesiotape wrapped from the inside of the quad around under the kneecap to the outside of the quad. you can wear it for up to 5 days but just on riding days is probably sufficient if it doesn't bother you otherwise. http://kinesiotaping.com/content.asp?CustComKey=13660&CategoryKey=13661&pn=Page&DomName=kinesiotaping.com there are actually two pieces of tape in this picture but the U shaped one is the important one. It is applied with the leg bent at 90 degrees and the tape tightens as you extend the leg. the tape is very stretchy and isn't noticeable or uncomfortable to wear. It simply takes a little strain off the joint and the associated muscles. It also improves lymph flow which can be helpful if you get a lot of fluid build up in the knee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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