Cyling with wobble knees

[Andrew Dixon]

I have a client who cycles with wobbly knees. His legs seem to move in random lines rather thatn up and down. If i put him in front of a mirror he can correct it until the resistance reaches a point then it goes all wobbly again.

Is this a glute issue? He's had a knee scope in Jan and that knee is the worst for wobble.

Cheers

[UConnJulie]

Yes, sounds like a glute and motor control issue. Keep having him do it in front of the mirror. Incorporate lots of glute activation stuff in his warm up, and lots of single limb exercises in his program.

[Andrew Dixon]

Cheers, thats what I've been doing. I'll keep at it.

[Kaiser]

A non-expert's view here (albeit one who teaches spin and is an avid cyclist): make sure his saddle is adjusted properly, for height, tilt, and fore/aft. At the bottom of the pedal stroke, he should only have 5-15 degrees of flexion at the right height, and with his pedals parallel to the ground, his tibial tuberosity should be directly over the pedal spindle. If he is too low, this gives him the opportunity to allow his knees to wander. At the right saddle height, you can help minimize this. FWIW, most people set the saddle too low, and this gives them the opportunity for knee wobble if they have the limitation Julie talked about above. Take away that opportunity and it will help stop enabling the wobble.

A second part of the equation could be the type of surgery he had and how it affects his alignment with the pedals. For example, in my case, I am missing my lateral meniscii in both legs, which throws off my entire leg alignment for each one. I correct somewhat with custom orthotics in my bike shoes, and also with different pedal and cleat combinations. A knowledgeable bike coach or very good local bike shop can get more information about that to you.