Knee issues and binding settings
So Ozgirl suggested I post here ( she is in all honest writing this post!)
So I spent 15 days on snow in Whistler (in the beginning of Feb) without any problems and have been here in Niseko riding for 4 days and my knee is swollen and hurting. I am wondering if it is something to do with my set up. Oz is making me go get footbeds tonight in the first instance.
In Whistler there wasn’t much powder and my stance was as wide as it could go 15 front and 15 back.
When I got here I changed it to the back foot being as far as it could go back and the same with my front foot. So both are as far back as they can go and still on 15, 15.
I am riding a Libtech Skatebanana, 156. Burton Triad Bindings.
Thanks heaps for any thoughts!
And Oz is a rad skier!
Well I can see that she definitely wrote the last sentence!!!!!
Though I can’t offer any insight into ya problem, welcome to Boardworld, Waldo!!!!! 
Hey Waldo
There is definitely nothing wrong with riding 15 15. I ride 15 15 right now. And for a long time I used to ride 18 18 with no problems.
There is a theory from sports scientists that there is a number that the combined settings shouldn’t exceed.
Your setup for example: 15 + 15 = 30 That’s just fine man.
Usually they say don’t exceed 45. Some people say don’t exceed 35, that’s why I backed mine back to 15 15 cause I had a knee injury (unrelated flipping stupidity) and I wanted to be sure.
You will never have any problem with +15 -15. In fact that is the standard park rat stance 
How wide your stance is, however, is a different story. I’m like you and ride as wide as I can too. But your board might be long enough to let you stand ‘too wide’. This can be bad for your knee. But I don’t know how tall you are, how wide you are for you’re height and how wide the widest bolt wholes are on your board.
*So leave your stance angle - Play around with the width of your stance and see if it makes a difference - And also consider if you have that swollen knee just from falling on it. Let me know how it goes.
Peace
I had 18/-18 in Whis on my new setup and also at it’s widest stance!!!!!
I also have a early onset arthritis in my right knee!!!!!
Yet I had no probs at all!!!!!
If ya have had no injury, maybe it is early onset arthritic condition?????
Have ya been eatin shellfish and drinkin acidic drinks (red wine etc) while ya been in Japow????? It could very well be gout?????
Its oz again, he is a slim dude but 192 cm about 75kg. We are not doing any park stuff heaps of pow. (sorry!)
3 years ago he had a loose patella.
Is it his back knee? (Rear knee when standing on the snowboard)
Cause if your riding lots of pow (especially in japan… bastards) that’s like doing squats all damn day. And when your knee is in that worn out condition it is also putting pressure on it from a lot of different angles.
People associate powder with a big soft safe cloud that will catch you when u fall (and it does , and we love it) but some of the worst injuries I’ve had have been in powder. Including my favourite dislocating knee. Which chose to dislocate… AS I WAS STARTING A DROP! 
scary times.
So yeah, could be all burned out from the pow and starting to get damaged.
IF SO, ice it, take an anti inflamatory, and get your man a steak (protein to rebuild the muscle) if he’s kinda slim and has a loose patella, he probably doesn’t have a lot of muscle to protect his knees. Ice and protein and (sorry waldo) no beer! Alcohol slows healing, as unAustralian as that is to say.
Hope your having fun over there guys!
I’ve always found a narrower stance favourable for powder riding. There’s no need to have a super wide stance in pow. It puts more pressure through your legs, you fatigue quicker, and it basically makes riding harder.
Bring that stance width in a bit for sure. Even set the stance back an inch or two if it’s super deep (stance setback: move both bindings towards the tail). This should relieve a lot of pressure off the legs. EDIT: OK, you’ve already done this, but maybe the stance is still too wide, so bring the back binding in towards the nose a notch or two. Also, it couldn’t hurt to play with the angles. If you’re riding heaps of deep snow, let’s be honest, you’re not going to be riding switch as often; he could set up the angles to be more directional (the setback is already directional, so why not the angles). I would play around with increasing the front angle (maybe 18 or 21) and decrease the back angle a bit (or considerably). We often forget directional angles have advantages for powder and freeriding (just look at Terje’s stance if you don’t believe me: he rides +21,+6).
Anyway, follow Andy’s advice and ice, stretch, do whatever needs to be done to make the knee feel a bit better. Riding super deep pow is very different to riding park and groomers. Play around with the stance. In general, I’d go for narrow(er), set back, and more directional angles. Personally I don’t really change my angles for pow these days (I ride 15,-15) but we’re trying to solve the problem of his sore knee, so change is probably good.
Just don’t ever set your angle on your back foot to 0 degrees (like a lot of rental stores do). It doesn’t allow for lateral pressure caused by falling down on your tail or nose. If the knee can’t bend in positive or negative degrees you have a bigger chance or doing damage.
Or so I’m told by sport scientists.
no beer! Alcohol slows healing, as unAustralian as that is to say.
Hope your having fun over there guys!
opps a little too late andy!
Last night was very very messy!
He did adjust his stance and settings like you suggested rider thanks. Then tried to use a branch as a rail and hit another tree! 
and (sorry waldo) no beer! Alcohol slows healing, as unAustralian as that is to say.
Wash ya mouth out, Andy!!!!! 
Sorry miz 
Certain rules like that are put on hold during the shred week
That’s ok, mate!!!!! I thought that I was at the Shred!!!!!
It’s a given that talkin about Grandma’s undies takes precedence over any injury that is/will be sustained at the event, with alcohol for medicinal use bein somewhat mandatory!!!!!
Cheers guys last 2 days haven’t had any knee problems….. But in saying that not much pow either!!!! So hopefully when it come my new stance will b sweet!! ( brag the back foot forward and changed it to 15 front foot and 12 back foot! And yes I did hit a tree but oz girl did a massive cartwheel today hahaahahaah
I hope ya caught that cartwheel on video?????
Great to hear about the knee, Wally!!!!!
Hey Waldo
I suffer from similar problems with a sore and swollen rear knee often after riding deep days and have experimented with many different stances. I also change them according to what I am going to ride. I work in the sports industry and have spoken with some of my colleagues about this one. It is hard to know exactly without examining your knee but they are of the same opinion as myself. The problem that you are more than likely suffering from, and what I suffer from, is known as Patellofemoral pain syndrome (kneecap pain). The pain is usually the result of the kneecap not tracking smoothly through the groove in the underlying bone when the leg is being bent and straightened. In normal situations it is often a combination of factors that may result in the kneecap not tracking smoothly. Tightness of the outside thigh muscles (which pull the kneecap outwards) is often accompanied by weakness of the inner thigh muscle. This results in the kneecap being pulled towards the outside of the leg.
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Riding in a duck stance can do the same thing. If your are bending at the knee joint and not keeping your femur in line with your knee cap this will cause the aggravation. This occurs when your are forcing your femur to move to the centre of the board, such as when riding pow, slashing, landing stomps etc… Think about if you are going to do a squat exercise at the gym. You don’t stand in a duck stance of 15/15 or 18/18. You stand generally with your feet straight or better still, slightly turned out, but nothing like duck. Doing so would load up the knee joint and not allow the knee cap to track properly.
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I have played around with my stances over many years and have slowing gone from riding 15/-15, to 15/-9, to 12/-9, to 12/-3, to now +12/+3. This stance is not for everyone, and your stance is an individual thing. But as mentioned previously, to address knee pain you may have to look at other stances. I too also ride narrower stances in pow. Also, as far as riding a “0” rear leg stance, I know that Xavier De Le Rue rides a 0/18 stance at 23inches (see Free Ride World Tour site) and as mentioned Terje rides positive stances as well. I have ridden at “0” rear and experienced not problems, but I prefer a more of a positive stance now as indicated. I find this good in pow as it turns your upper body from facing more of a side profile to more of a forward profile. But that is how I like to ride. Again a personal preference thing,.
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As also previously mentioned, best treatment: ice your knee after riding, take a couple of anti-inflammatory medication and get yourself on a good stretch program. The key to stretching is that you have to do it all the time. Don’t just wait till your feeling sore and sorry. Doing it regularly (twice a day) will assist massively in reducing injuries. I always stretch when I am watching the idiot box of a night time. Some strength work is also advisable, again, all the time, not just two weeks before you go away. Remember though, if you tear something, be careful with anti-inflammatory meds as they can promote bleeding which is what you definitely don’t want.
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Hope this helps
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