What Causes Pain Behind The Kneecap
Pain behind the kneecap is usually caused by a problem with the cartilage that lines the back of the kneecap. It may be Runners Knee, where a problem with how the kneecap glides causes friction and pain behind the kneecap.
In teenagers, pain behind the kneecap is often caused by Chondromalacia Patella, a condition where there is thinning of the cartilage on the back of the kneecap.
E Reconsider Your Exercise Routine
It is a must for you to restructure your workout routine from when you first feel pain behind your knee.
In other words, itâs a dangerous call to put a possible injury through strenuous exercises. Doing so may bring irreversible damage to your knee in the long run.
Restructuring your routine means revising your workout intensity, duration, and frequency. It also means reconsidering the type of exercise and the time you do it.
Treatments For Pain In The Back Of Your Knee
Healthcare providers usually treat pain in the back of your knee based on the underlying cause of the pain or injury.
Rest, ice, compression, and elevation
If you have sudden, intense pain in the back of your knee, the doctor may recommend that you rest and apply ice to your knee. In some cases, your doctor may also ask you to elevate your leg while youre sitting down to help improve the blood flow in your leg.
Exercise and physical therapy
Some exercises can help build muscle and relieve pain in the back of your knee. It is important to work with your doctor or physical therapist to determine which exercises are right for you so you can avoid potential injury.
Lifestyle changes
Your doctor may ask you to make some lifestyle changes to help relieve pain in the back of your knee. This could include things like maintaining a healthy weight and avoiding activities like running or placing too much pressure on the knees.
Genicular nerve blocks
This medical treatment blocks pain signals between the knee and the brain, which offers relief from pain in the back of your knee. This is a nonsurgical option done by injecting an anesthetic into the affected area.
Peripheral nerve stimulation
This is a medical procedure where a surgeon puts electrodes and a battery pack near the nerves inside the knee. This creates an electrical current that tricks the body into turning off pain signals, which relieves pain in and around the knee.
Medication
Surgery
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Pain Behind Knee Is Most Commonly Not A Problem Behind Knee
Test yourself.
Stand up.
Keep your knees straight and touch your toes.
If doing this provokes pain behind your knee, you have a sciatic nerve problem, either coming from an entrapment along the sciatic nerves course or from the spine.
This post is not about sciatic nerve pain behind knee. Thats for another time.
Now, sit down.
Bend your knee, bringing your heel as close as you can to your butt cheek. If its really painful, you can use your handy dandy friend to help you perform this test. Notice in the below example, her knee flexion range of motion stops with her heel 4 finger-breadths away from her butt cheek.
If doing this provokes pain behind your knee, you have a wallet-stuck-in-your-knee-door.
Let me explain.
The wallet is medically speaking, a space-occupying-lesion. It is something that takes up space in the door hinge, not allowing it to fully close.
Most often, the wallet is a meniscus pathology, but it could also be osteoarthritis.
Follow A Healthy Diet
Chia seeds, walnuts, and foods loaded with omega-3 fatty acids are known to help subside inflammation. Also, the consumption of vegetables and fruits can provide your body with pain-reducing antioxidants.
Eating a diet enriched with such foods also helps you lose weight, consequently reducing the pressure on your knee joints.
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Posterior Cruciate Ligament Injury
The posterior cruciate ligament is the ACLs partner. Its another band of tissue that connects your thighbone to your shinbone and supports your knee. However, the PCL isnt as likely to get injured as the ACL.
You can injure the PCL if you take a hard blow to the front of your knee, such as in a car accident. Sometimes injuries occur from twisting the knee or missing a step while walking.
Stretching the ligament too far causes a strain. With enough pressure, the ligament can tear into two parts.
Along with pain, a PCL injury causes:
- swelling of the knee
- trouble walking
- weakness of the knee
Rest, ice, and elevation can help a PCL injury heal faster. You might need surgery if youve injured more than one ligament in your knee, have symptoms of instability, or you also have cartilage damage.
Back Of Knee Pain Treatment At Home Tested Home Remedies
Enough about the causes. Lets now discuss the solutions to this undesirable pain.
The solution lies in the diagnosis.
What is the cause of the pain?
Is it Arthritis, cramp or a tear in the meniscus.
We have discussed the symptoms of each cause above but if you are unsure still, then you have to consult your doctor.
He/she will ask you about the history of the pain, what is your routine and how often do you report this pain. You might need to have an X-ray or an ultrasound if the doctor deems it to be necessary.
We wont be discussing surgical methods or treatments for each cause, as you have medical websites and platforms for that.
Rather, we would suggest ways to get rid of them while staying at home.
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What’s The Outlook For Teenagers With Pain In Their Knees
Most knee pain in teenagers can be managed with simple treatments. However, many soft-tissue tears and bone breaks require surgery. Most teenagers recover without long-term problems if they follow the recover plan provided by their healthcare providers. Because there are many causes of knee pain, be sure to ask your healthcare provider for specific information on long-term prognosis for your teen’s knee condition.
Clinical Contributors To This Story
Yair Kissin, M.D. contributes to topics such as Orthopedic Surgery.
Whether youre jogging, squatting or even taking a long drive, knee pain can strike. Perhaps surprisingly, its not just vigorous movements that can produce pain in and around the knee, but also everyday happenings that require sitting for long periods with knees bent, like watching a movie or riding on an airplane.
Common activities that trigger knee pain include climbing stairs, running and certain sports that involve quick changes of direction, such as basketball, football and soccer, says Yair Kissin, M.D., vice chair of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center. A lot of people, regardless of age, want to maintain their high levels of activity, which is great. But sometimes they hurt themselves that way.
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Muscle Pain Behind The Knee: Tendinitis
Have you heard of the muscle biceps femoris? This muscle has two parts the long head, which is attached to the ischium , and the short head, which is attached to the femur. Both allow the knee to flex, but the longer muscle also helps the hip to extend. When knees are semi-flexed, the biceps femoris aids external rotation.
If you are a runner, it is possible that this muscle is damaged. This damage can cause pain and swelling in the area where the tendon inserts into the bone. If you feel pain when you bend your knee or when you have just exercised, you are possibly suffering from this tendinitis.
Hamstring Pain Behind Knee
Hello to all the sports playing individuals reading this.
Doesnt seem uncommon, right?
Hamstrings are the set of tendons present at the back of the thigs that attach the thigh muscles to the bone. It includes 3 muscles:
- Semimembranosus muscle
- Bicep femoris muscle
- Semitendinosus muscle
Now, if any of the above muscles are stretched above their optimal limit, you will incur hamstring strain. It could be during running, jumping, rolling, bending the knee, etc.
If your bicep femoris muscle is injured, then you are most likely to encounter pain behind knee.
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Ripped Knee Cartilage Material
One more sort of injury that can cause discomfort as well as swelling behind the knee is a cartilage material cells tear in the knee.
According to Dr. Benjamin Wedro on MedicineNet, knee cartilage rips prevail among athletes. Cartilage in the knee can easily tear creating discomfort if an individual unexpectedly turns and quits. It is also usual amongst weightlifters bowing as well as raising hefty items, basketball, as well as tennis gamers. Age can additionally place an individual in danger for knee cartilage material damages.
Doctors from the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons report that some of the common signs of cartilage material tear in the knee are knee discomfort, swelling around the knee joint, and also trouble moving the knee.
Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries
The anterior cruciate ligament is a band of tissue that runs through the front of the knee joint, connecting the bones and helping keep the knee joint stable.
ACL strains often happen due to sudden stops or changes in direction. Similarly to meniscus tears, a strain in the ACL may cause a popping sound, followed by pain and swelling.
A torn ACL is a well-known, serious injury, often side-lining an athlete for a long time. Torn ACLs usually require reconstructive surgery.
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How Is Knee Pain In Teens Treated
Treatments depend on the cause of your teens pain.
Pain from overuse and general knee pain management tips include:
- Apply ice to the knee. Ice, wrapped in a towel, relieves inflammation and swelling. Apply up to 20 minutes at a time.
- Take anti-inflammatories, such as ibuprofen , naproxen or aspirin, to reduce pain and swelling.
- Rest. Rest allows tissue to heal. Your teen should take some time off from the activity that caused the pain.
- Use compression around your knee if prescribed by your healthcare provider or physical therapist.
- Elevate the knee to reduce swelling. Keep the injured knee elevated above the level of the heart anytime your teen is sitting or icing their knee.
- Follow through with the physical therapy plan. Physical therapy can help relieve pain, reduce swelling, increase strength and flexibility, improve range of motion, increase speed and endurance and improve coordination and balance. Physical therapists teach strengthening and stretching exercises and can suggest braces, insoles or other orthotics as appropriate.
- Lose weight if overweight. Extra weight puts strain on the knee joint.
Osgood-Schlatter disease:
- Take anti-inflammatories to reduce pain.
- Apply ice to reduce pain and swelling.
- Commit to an exercise program.
- Relieve pain and discomfort through electrotherapy and/or hydrotherapy .
Sindling-Larsen Johansson syndrome:
- Soft tissue treatments, including myofascial release, trigger points, massage.
Ligament treatment:
How To Get Moving Every Day
In addition to physical therapy, its critical to incorporate regular exercise into your daily routine.
Joints are built to move, says Dr. Day. The evidence shows that people who are least active have more arthritis pain than people who do some form of exercise. Choose lower-impact activities, such as bicycling, swimming or exercising in a pool.
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What Are The Serious Or Chronic Causes Of Pain Behind Knee
While most of the time that ache behind the knees is a minor problem, the pain and swelling behind your knee may have a more serious or chronic cause. Some of these reasons include:
Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury
- Anterior Cruciate Ligament Definition: A band of muscle running through the front of your knee, connecting your thigh to your shin. This ligament helps stabilize your knee.
ACL injuries typically happen when you suddenly change direction while running or moving around. It can also happen after a bad jump or during a contact sport.
These types of injuries can be very painful and make it hard for you to walk and move your knee. You might even feel your knee pop when it happens.
Posterior Cruciate Ligament Injury
- Posterior Cruciate Ligament Definition: Another band of muscle running through the front of your knee that connects your thigh to your shin, just like your ACL
Your PCL and ACL work together to stabilize your knee when you move. While not as common as ACL injuries, you can get a PCL injury if you take a blow to your knee, like in a car accident. An injury can also happen from twisting your knee or missing a step while you walk.
Arthritis
Arthritis is a disease where the cartilage that supports your knee starts to wear out. This causes pain and limited mobility on your knees and other joints.
There are a few types of arthritis that can cause pain:
Deep Vein Thrombosis
Pain Behind The Knee: Causes And How To Treat Back Of Knee Pain
Jenny Hills, Nutritionist and Medical Writer Health
Pain behind the knee can have a serious impact on your daily activities. Sharp pain at the back of your knee can affect walking and cause discomfort when standing or walking up stairs. Pain and swelling behind the knee can also cause stiffness in your knee joint, inflammation, and possibly, a lump at the back of your knee.
There are many reasons for mild to severe pain behind the knee. For example, a ligament tear, a pulled muscle, fracture to a bone in your knee, or wear and tear can also cause varying degrees of pain behind the knee. The knee pain can cause you to limp, make it difficult to walk, or you may not be able to bend your knee at all.
Knowing how to treat pain behind the knee requires knowing what is causing it. However, usually, hot and cold treatments can help to restore mobility to your knee joint and ease the pain. In some cases, if the leg pain behind the knee is caused by blood clot or cyst, you need to get it checked out by a doctor.
In this article, you will learn about the various reasons why you could have pain at the back of your knee.
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Strengthen Your Knees To Avoid Or Lessen Pain
If youre experiencing pain behind your knees while running, it doesnt mean youre destined to stop exercising. There are many simple things you can do every day to reduce or completely avoid the pain. Here are six strategies to start with:
Knee pain can be an uncomfortable and disheartening effect of an exercise routine. However, working with a certified health coach or your physician can help you identify the source of pain before it becomes a bigger issue and take the right steps to ease or avoid the pain in the future.
What Causes Pain Behind The Knee: Baker’s Cyst
Baker’s cyst is a well-known knee injury. Bakers cyst is caused by an accumulation of synovial fluid in the knee and is generally concentrated in the bottom of hamstring. Thus, this fluid deposit forms a cyst in the area called Baker’s cyst.
This injury usually results due to swollen knees. This swelling produces pain and stiffness behind the knee. It will feel as if you have a small water balloon on the back of your knee. Sometimes it can also result in spread inflammation or bruising. Causes of Bakers cyst include:
- A ruptured cartilage of the meniscus
- a lesion of the cartilage
- rheumatoid arthritis
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Immediate First Aid For Knee Injuries
All acute knee injuries should be treated using the P.R.I.C.E. principles . You should apply the PRICE principles for at least the first 2 3 days.
- Protect knee from further damage. Rest to allow healing to take place
- Apply ice or cold therapy to reduce pain, swelling, and inflammation.
- If you have swelling then then apply compression and elevate your knee to allow tissue fluids to drain away.
- More on first aid for knee injuries
How To Treat Knee Inflammation
This article was co-authored by Jonathan Frank, MD. Dr. Jonathan Frank is an Orthopedic Surgeon based in Beverly Hills, California, specializing in sports medicine and joint preservation. Dr. Frank’s practice focuses on minimally invasive, arthroscopic surgery of the knee, shoulder, hip, and elbow. Dr. Frank holds an MD from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine. He completed an orthopedic residency at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and a fellowship in Orthopedic Sports Medicine and Hip Preservation at the Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colorado. He is a staff team physician for the US Ski and Snowboard Team. Dr. Frank is currently a scientific reviewer for top peer-reviewed scientific journals, and his research has been presented at regional, national, and international orthopedic conferences, winning several awards including the prestigious Mark Coventry and William A Grana awards.There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 65,708 times.
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Posterolateral Corner Of The Knee
One important area to understand pain behind the knee is the posterolateral corner of the knee . It consists of the popliteus muscle, popliteofibular ligament , and several ligaments that attach the fibula to the lateral femur. It basically stabilizes and controls the movement in the posterior knee, which reduces the risk of getting a PCL tear or injury.
The popliteus muscle originates from the lateral femoral condyle and inserts into the back of the tibia along the soleus line. Two of its main jobs are to unlock the knee to allow flexion and to pull back the lateral meniscus during knee flexion to prevent it from being sandwiched between the femur and tibia. When the knee is fully extended, the popliteus slightly laterally rotates the knee. During knee flexion, it medially rotates the knee.