UKC

Might sound a bit daft but I was wondering if anyone has ever had knee pain from cross country skiing? Have just recently begun to get some mild discomfort on the front of my left knee which comes on after 1-2 hours of skiing but is worse in the 5-10 minutes after I finish a session, then it's gone again. Obviously can't consult a physio at the moment because they're not working....

In reply to Hannah V:

A multitude of causes. 

How's your technique, good and efficient or just learning. Weaker than desirable muscles might be causing extra stress and strain on the ligaments of the knee, as they work hard to hold your position. Fit of shoes, inner soles etc. Good foot position flat etc. not causing stress to travel up.  

As you no doubt know knees are fairly critical to skiing, they have to cope with a lot. If you just double pole do they still hurt after? Patellofemoral pain, or anterior knee pain is just as common with runners as skiers. 

In reply to Hannah V: sounds like patella tendonitis and yes I've had similar running and exactly as you describe from xc skiing

In reply to summo:

I guess it could be weak muscles or poor technique; I'm neither beginner nor pro and haven't had the pain when ski touring either. But we're 5 months into the ski season now so I'm a bit puzzled why I haven't had any pain earlier if its poor technique. Definitely some points to think about though and will see if google can help me out a bit more - thanks!

In reply to Hannah V:  Well are you doing more than you have in the past per week, or having a longer season?  If you look at all the reasons for patella tendonitis in runners all of those are equally applicable.  Lots of skiing on hard icy stuff - my skis don't always feel particularly cushioned (BCX 99's)?   Increased speedwork?

In reply to wbo2:

Yes, it seems like a mild case of patella tendonitis. Probably have done a lot more cross country skiing this season compared with previous years since there's been so much snow and stormy weather.... but next week looks like the XC skis will get swapped for ski touring. Hopefully the knee will be happier with that Thanks for the tips.

In reply to Hannah V:

you can still ski ?

(from France)

In reply to Hannah V:

I had some mild knee pain running, but I do quite a lot of XC skiing.  Or at least I did until they closed the parks a couple of days ago. It's strange that you get pain, XC skiing has always seems easy on the joints - easier than alpine and running.  Anyway, here's some good exercises that worked for me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2isuJzTLcc&list=PL68i1y4Q_U-jHYA-2OAgP...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Er7HFJ1AUBM&list=PL68i1y4Q_U-jHYA-2OAgP...

Basically it's one leg squats, band walks and glute bridges/curls.  Rolling your legs, especially IT band also provided some quick relief.

There's the obvious caveat that you should see a professional like a physio (which may be hard right now) rather than listening to some random scroat on the internet.

In reply to George Ormerod:

My favourite non skiing training for skiing. 

youtube.com/watch?v=jRXB5vEOmC8& 

In reply to George Ormerod:

Thanks for this...doing the exercises now...love the cats and dogs acting just like cats and dogs do.

i guess they don’t get runners knees...

In reply to Doug:

Yep. Norwegian rules are somewhat less strict than elsewhere..... but seem to be working