How Can I Know If I Have Sciatica
Sciatica is linked to certain conditions including pregnancy, osteoarthritis, degenerative disc disease, and herniated or bulging discs. Doctors who suspect their patients have sciatica may ask their patients to perform some exercises or undergo x-rays and similar tests.
Physicians will also ask questions several questions including:
- Where do you feel discomfort?
- What is the pain like?
- How often are you uncomfortable?
- How long does the pain last?
- What triggers the discomfort and what helps it go away?
- Do you sit for a long period of time?
- Do you do any lifting or strenuous physical activities for your job?
- Do you have an active lifestyle?
Posterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries
The posterior cruciate ligament plays a similar role to the ACL, though it is less likely to become injured than the ACL.
PCL injuries may happen during traumatic events, such as falling directly onto the knee from a height or being in a vehicle accident. With enough force, the ligament may tear completely.
PCL injuries cause symptoms such as:
- knee pain
- stiffness in the knee if bending
- difficulty walking
- swelling in the knee
Completely resting the knee may help a PCL strain heal. However, a severe PCL injury may require surgery.
Burning Pain In The Back Of The Knee
Pain behind your knee could come from any of a handful of causes. You may have an overuse injury similar to what causes runners knee.
You could also have something more severe like a ligament tear. If you tear a ligament or cartilage, you will most likely have pain no matter what you do, even if you stop the activity. You will also have swelling shortly after you injure your knee.
You could also have a Bakers cyst. A Bakers cyst is an accumulation of fluid in the bursa behind your knee. You may have pain, or you may just have swelling.
The burning pain behind your knee could be your only symptom. Best of all, a Bakers cyst isnt a debilitating diagnosis. You can get the fluid drained and then return to normal activities.
If you suspect a cartilage or ligament tear, begin with cold therapy. This could include a sleeve with an ice pack that you slide over your knee and keep on the knee for fifteen minutes at a time.
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How Do You Know If You Have A Blood Clot Behind Your Knee
A blood clot in the veins of your lower leg is called a deep vein thrombosis or DVT. You may have a blood clot behind your knee if you have one-sided leg swelling, pain, warmth, and redness below the knee. Sometimes these clots can occur on both sides at once, but this is uncommon. Some blood clots in the legs, however, do not present with any symptoms. A DVT requires immediate treatment to reduce the risk of embolizing to the lungs.
How To Fix Anterior Knee Pain
So what can we do about pain at the front of the knee? First its a good idea to check your bike fit. Monger-Godfrey says: often arises from the saddle being too low and too far forward. Often racers feel they get more power down that way, with their teeth on the bars but that means theyre sitting on top of the knee and pushing a lot of force through it.
Cranks that are loo long can also create a similar incorrect angle, and overly tight cleats can cause strain from repeated unclipping.
When it comes to treating the tightness be it a result of improper bike fit or simply originating from heavy mileage – it’s all about foam rolling and stretching. Monger-Godfrey comments: Stretch the muscle that is the issue, loosen off the buttocks with massage and that will release some of the tension, then foam roll gently.
George adds his tips, saying: Foam roll the quads, the inside of the thigh and IT band. All rolling needs to be done slowly. Sometimes people go up and down like its a rolling pin – but that just flushes over the fibres, and doesnt get into it this needs to be one long smooth and progressive push through the fibres to add a bit of length into the muscle.
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Common Causes Of Pain Behind Knee
Where do we start with making an accurate diagnosis? Generally, most doctors use a methodological process to confirm or rule out causes. Firstly, we perform a thorough assessment to test the joints, ligaments, and tendons that pass across the back of the knee. Then, we consider imaging to confirm our thinking. X-rays often pick up major arthritis in the knee. MRI can detect soft tissue problems such as tendonitis or muscle tear. Occasionally, we perform other tests such as blood, ultrasound, or nerve studies depending on the presentation.
Generally, the more common causes of pain behind the knee include:
What You Need To Know
- The most common causes of knee pain are related to aging, injury or repeated stress on the knee.
- Common knee problems include sprained or strained ligaments, cartilage tears, tendonitis and arthritis.
- Diagnosing a knee injury or problem includes a medical examination and usually the use of a diagnostic procedure such as an x-ray, MRI, CT scan or arthroscopy.
- Both non-operative and surgical treatment options are available to treat knee pain and problems depending on the type and severity of the condition.
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Swelling Behind The Knee
Reviewed by: KPE Medical Review Board
There are a number of different causes of swelling behind the knee.
The most common is a Bakers Cyst where there is inflammation of the popliteal bursa at the back of the knee.
Sometimes there is back of knee swelling and pain, other times there is a lump behind the knee but no pain associated with it. It might be that only one knee is swollen, or there may be swelling behind both knees.
Most times when the back of the knee is swollen, it can be treated with a combination of rest, regular ice, compression bandages, exercises and physical therapy, but some case may require knee surgery.
Brief Anatomy Of The Knee
The knee is a vulnerable joint that bears a great deal of stress from everyday activities, such as lifting and kneeling, and from high-impact activities, such as jogging and aerobics.
The knee is formed by the following parts:
-
Tibia. This is the shin bone or larger bone of the lower leg.
-
Femur. This is the thighbone or upper leg bone.
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Patella. This is the kneecap.
Each bone end is covered with a layer of cartilage that absorbs shock and protects the knee. Basically, the knee is 2 long leg bones held together by muscles, ligaments, and tendons.
There are 2 groups of muscles involved in the knee, including the quadriceps muscles , which straighten the legs, and the hamstring muscles , which bend the leg at the knee.
Tendons are tough cords of tissue that connect muscles to bones. Ligaments are elastic bands of tissue that connect bone to bone. Some ligaments on the knee provide stability and protection of the joints, while other ligaments limit forward and backward movement of the tibia .
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Your Hips Or Quadriceps Feel Weak
Your quads are a group of muscles located at the front of your thigh. The three vastus muscles and rectus femoris make your thighs, one of the most powerful parts of the body, as they allow you to extend your knees and move your hips.
On the other hand, each hip is a ball-and-socket joint responsible for bearing most of your bodys weight. The hips have many ligament attachments for stability and muscular attachments to help control the motion of your leg and knee joints. The rectus femoris muscle crosses over from the quads and connects to the hip so if a problem occurs with the quad muscles, your hips will be affected.
Now, the parts of the human body are connected like a chain. Even if you didnt experience an injury or a major trauma to your hips and quadriceps, you may suddenly feel like youre unable to move them at full strength. This is a condition that may be caused by a spinal problem since the nerves that control the motor functions of the quads are located between the vertebrae of the lumbar spine.
If those nerves become irritated or get pinched by the vertebrae, the movement of your hips and quads will be affected. Weakness in these areas will cause the knee joints to work harder and wear out faster, which explains the knee pain you might be feeling.
Osteoarthritis And Pain In The Back Of The Knee
Osteoarthritis is a widespread cause of pain behind your knee. Some of you might also note that you have a loss of motion and can not fully bend the knee. The pain from arthritis can be due to inflammation of the structures behind the knee. That irritates the lining or inside of the knee joint and makes the joint stiff and painful.
If osteoarthritis is causing pain in the back of the knee you might note that the pain can refer up the back of the thigh, or down into the calf. Many of you with arthritic knee pain will benefit from wearing a compression sleeve or brace. You will also find that gentle stretching, an ice pack, or a warm compress can help calm arthritic pain.
If the pain does not improve over a few days, consider seeing your doctor to look into why the back of your knee hurts.
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Causes Of Pain Behind The Knee
Pain behind the knee can be simple or difficult to diagnose, depending upon the cause. Here are some of the most common causes of posterior knee pain:
Baker’s cyst
A lump-like swelling behind the knee is characteristic of Baker’s cyst, making it fairly easy to diagnose. This type of cyst is also called a popliteal cyst because it is located in the popliteal fossa, a small hollow at the back of the knee.
It forms when synovial fluid gathers at the back of the knee. Injury or stress from arthritis can trigger the accumulation of fluid.
Different forms of arthritis
Arthritis is the generic name given to diseases that affect the joint. Arthritis can cause pain anywhere in the knee joint, including the back.
Knee pain is most often associated with osteoarthritis, the type that is related to aging or overuse. Knee pain can also occur with rheumatoid arthritis, but it will occur in both knees at once.
Gout is a type of arthritis that first attacks the big toe, but later attacks may strike the knees. Septic or infectious arthritis is caused by an infection that lodges in a joint, usually a knee.
Infection
Besides infection in the knee joint , posterior knee pain could result from several other infections, including:
- Infection in the bone
- Infection of one of the fluid-filled sacs called bursae
These infections have different causes and symptoms, although pain, redness, heat, and swelling are typical of most infections.
Injury
Tumor
Deep vein thrombosis
How Acl Reconstruction Is Performed
Youll be prepped for the surgery by changing into a hospital gown and having an intravenous line placed in your arm. The IV will allow the surgical team to administer medications, anesthesia, or sedatives.
Once the sample tissue is selected, its either surgically removed from your body or prepared from a cadaver. The tendon is then outfitted with bone plugs, or anchor points, to graft the tendon into the knee.
During surgery, a small incision is made in the front of the knee for an arthroscope a thin tube outfitted with a fiber optic camera and surgical tools. This allows your surgeon to see inside your knee during the procedure.
The surgeon will first remove your torn ACL and clean the area. They will then drill small holes into your tibia and femur so the bone plugs can be attached with posts, screws, staples, or washers.
Following the attachment of the new ligament, the surgeon will test your knees range of motion and tension to ensure the graft is secure. Finally, the opening will be stitched, the wound dressed, and your knee will be stabilized with a brace. The length of the surgery will vary depending on the experience of the surgeon and if additional procedures are performed , among other factors.
Typically, you can go home the day of your surgery.
Because ACL reconstruction is a surgical procedure, it carries certain risks, including:
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Anterior Knee Pain: Pain At The Front Of The Knee
Pain at the front of the knee is very common, and its proper name is anterior knee pain. Usually, its caused by tightness in the quads or the fibrous tissue that runs alongside the outer leg the Iliotibial band pulling on the patella . This can be down to bike fit, or tightness as a result of a lack of maintenance or overuse.
Monger-Godfrey explains: The main thing to look at is the patella . Everyone talks about patella tracking, or malfunction of the patella, basically the way the knee cap glides over the joint. Often people will say the patella gets stuck, feels like it clicks or gives way.
The patella doesnt get itself into trouble on its own Monger-Godfrey says: If you took the quadriceps away from the knee it would basically fall offif one side is tight, it pulls the patella in the wrong way, so it doesnt track smoothly and can cause pain. Cyclists use the quads most in the downward stroke, so thats a lot of pressure on the knee.”
Tight quads affect the pedalling action, and can be seen visually in advanced cases in a pattern we could refer to as ‘Kermit the Frog Syndrome’.
Jimmy George at V02 Cycling says: “Some cyclists have quads and IT bands that seem to be made of steel. I often see people pedalling with their knees going out during bike fits. Even though their cleats are straight. The quads are so overused that the muscle is short and the only way they can get the leg to pedal right is to pull them out.”
Pain Behind The Knee When Walking Or Running
The cause of pain at the back of the leg behind the knee could be hamstring tendonitis. This is caused by the tendons of the hamstring becoming inflamed, often due to overuse of the hamstring muscles, but the pain will subside after rest and first aid centred on the RICE method .
If you notice a sudden sharp pain in the back of the thigh when undergoing vigorous exercise this may be due to a pull, partial tear or tear of the hamstring, and is due to overloading the muscle. This type of injury is most often treated by a doctor. A similar pain in the calf may be due to gastrocnemius tendonitis.
A tenderness behind the knee, felt when rotating the leg inwards in the act of walking could denote an injury to the popliteus muscle. A cold pack applied for 10 minutes every hour for the first day after injury can alleviate the symptoms.
All the muscles at the back of the leg can be subject to cramp. This is a common condition and occurs when a muscle goes into spasm. The symptoms are a tightening of the muscle accompanied by pain. Amongst other causes, it could be due to dehydration, muscle fatigue or a restriction of the blood supply to the affected muscles. Cramp is not serious and can be relieved by relaxing, massaging and stretching the affected muscle.
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Knee Cysts And Bursal Injury
Injury to bursae is usually the result repetitive motions and will elicit pain and tenderness. Cystic lesions of the knee can be caused from a diverse group of entities from benign etiologies to complications of arthritis, infection, and malignancy. The classic cystic lesion causing posterior knee pain is the Bakers cyst. A Bakers cyst is caused either by a herniation of the synovial membrane through the posterior capsule or by an escape of fluid through an anatomic bursa next to semimembranosus or gastrocnemius. Fluid seeps in to the popliteal bursa, located at the back of the knee causing it to swell. It often feels like a squashy orange. A Bakers Cyst typically causes pain behind the knee when bending the knee as the bursa gets squashed.
These include popliteal artery entrapment syndrome, aneurysms, and deep venous thrombosis .
There is minimal literature available on neurological causes of posterior knee pain as there are few case reports, randomized control trials, or meta-analyses that discuss the neurological causes of posterior knee pain. However, referred pain has been implicated as a cause of posterior knee pain. The patellofemoral joint and lumbar spine may both refer pain to the posterior knee. Pain can also be caused by entrapment of nerves in the popliteal fossa.
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.
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What Does It Mean If I Have Pain Behind My Knee While Running
Medical Perspectives | Lifestyle & Wellness | | OptimizePMD | Wellness
Whether youve just started a couch-to-5K running program or youre a seasoned marathoner, youre probably no stranger to aches and pains in your legs and knees as you grow muscle and improve your stamina. But how do you know if the pain is normal or part of a bigger issue? Ahat does it mean if you have pain behind your knee when you run?
Watch this video from Greenville health coach Aaron Benator and read on to find out.