Wayne Nguyen is an inline speedskater and medical doctor.  While Dr. Nguyen is a valid doctor, the content of this page is for informational purposes only.  The content of this page is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health or medical provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this page.  The web author and sponsor claim no responsibility for the content. See page bottom.

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"I ruptured my medial collateral ligaments and have had both knees surgically repaired. I truly understand the mechanics of the knee – my question was that with the speed skating stroke, is there strain that occurs at the medial joint of the knee. In hockey the normal stroke is fairly short in comparison to the speed skating style, so I was wondering if the stroke used puts strain on the medial knee."

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The short answer to your question is that the level of pain you may or may not feel on the inside of your knees at your medial joint line will depend largely upon your skating form.

The speed skating motion and the forces it exerts on the inside part of the knee can put a lot strain on the structures that comprise the knee joint.

Depending on one's form and or form defect one or many of these components of the knee will be stressed more then the others resulting in overuse with the final common pathway of pain at the knee.

If a skater has faulty form and most commonly over pronates this will put a large stretching force on the ligament that crosses the inner part of the knee called the medial collateral ligament.  One can think of the medial collateral ligament like a thick rubber band like structure that spans the outer portion of the inner knee in an up and down orientation.  Below is a cartoon depiction of the medial collateral ligament of the right knee.

 The pictures below will demonstrate the concept above. 

Picture 1 above (normal stroke): note the position and the alignment of the lower leg in relation to the thigh. I can draw a straight line from my thigh through my knee joint down to the middle part of my lower leg.  At this position the inside ligament of the knee the medial collateral ligament is not being overstretched.

Picture 2 (stroke out with exaggerated Pronation):

This photo demonstrates a skating stroke with over pronation of the skate which ultimately puts stress on the knee joint resulting in stretching of the medial collateral ligament located on the inner side of the knee.

So in summary the speed skating motion does have the potential to cause pain at the medial/inner part of the knee joint if a skater were to continuously over pronate during their stroke.  With proper skating form and practice this can be overcome, hence avoiding the continuous stretching at the knee joint that can lead to pain.