I went to the osteopath on Saturday for my first session. I had to strip to my pants while he walked around me and took notes. It sounds worse writing it down like this but I was made welcome and put at ease first. The first ‘diagnosis’ was that my posture was all wrong which was the primary cause of my knee problems. The cycling is not the issue but cycling has brought it to the fore earlier that it would otherwise have done.
When I stand I lock my knees so that they are over-extending. This is tightening the muscles and tendons around the patella. He thinks the clicking is because the patella is not able to float normally due to the muscles and tendons tightly clamping it.
The next bit was quite painful. I lay on the bed and he pressed down very hard onto each thigh muscle. He then proceeded to pull each leg and then move each kneecap around(very sinister). The idea of this was to ‘create space’ and too loosen the muscles/tendons.
I have another session next week. In the meantime I need to watch how I stand and to also spend 10 minutes stretching every day. I have been given a couple of simple stretches.
The good news is that he thinks I have caught it in time and can carry on cycling. Next week he will be looking at my back which is not very flexible, especially the lower half.