Most often, patients complain of pain in the knee itself, but complaints of pain behind the knee are not uncommon. Such pain causes significant discomfort and can seriously limit mobility.
Determining the cause of popliteal pain is quite difficult, because it can be caused by damage to the ligaments, tendons, nerve endings, lymph nodes or cartilage of the knee.
Let's look at the most common reasons that can cause pain behind the knee.
This diagnosis can be made if the patient has severe pain behind the knee, accompanied by swelling and a tumor-like compaction under the knee that is palpable on palpation. The human joint is covered on the inside with a special synovial membrane, which produces synovial fluid - the natural lubrication of the joint. In the case of a prolonged inflammatory process, the production of fluid increases, it accumulates in the intertendinous bursa, resulting in the formation of a compaction called a Becker cyst. At first, the patient feels only mild discomfort, which, as the disease progresses, turns into a constant aching pain under the knee at the back.
Unlike Baker's cyst, a meniscal cyst cannot be detected by palpation, but requires special examinations. The pain syndrome is especially pronounced when walking or bending the leg.
It is usually diagnosed when the onset of pain behind the knee was associated with a sudden movement or injury, but in some cases it can be the result of arthrosis. Quite often it requires surgical treatment.
Nagging pain behind the knee is often the result of inflammatory bursitis and tendinitis. The onset of symptoms is usually preceded by prolonged physical activity.
A fairly common occurrence when playing sports. The most common injury is sprains, but more serious injuries are also possible. Sprains are usually accompanied by sharp pain behind the knee with any movement, as well as when pressing on the damaged area.
It occurs as a result of infection through a wound, inflammation and an increase in the size of the popliteal lymph nodes.
Inflammation of the tibial nerve
A large nerve that runs along the bottom of the popliteal fossa and can become inflamed for a variety of reasons. In this case, sharp and intense pain behind the knee occurs when walking, bending the leg, or any other load, spreading along the leg all the way to the foot.
Popliteal artery aneurysm
A rather rare disease in which constant nagging and throbbing pain is felt. A small pulsating lump may be felt under the knee.
Pain caused by pinched or inflamed nerves of the lumbosacral region and radiating to the legs.
Since the causes of pain can be different, the treatment is significantly different:
Biceps femoris
From left to right: biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semimembrane muscles
The HAMMETRESS is formed by three muscles that run along the back of the thigh and under the knee. They are a common source of problems for both athletes and non-athletes. Most often due to damage to the hamstring, many people are unable to reach their toes when bending forward. A tight hamstring tends to flatten the normal curve of the lower back and stiffens the lower back muscles. This problem occurs in both adults and children.
You can check for yourself whether you have tight hamstrings. Lie on your back and stretch your legs. Then lift one leg as high as possible without bending your knees and keeping your lower back on the floor. The neck and shoulders should be relaxed. You need to raise your leg so that the toe is pointing towards the ceiling, but even an angle of 80° is quite normal. Anything less than this, as well as forced arching of the back and bent knees, indicate that you have tight hamstrings.
All three hamstring muscles—biceps, semitendinosus, and semimembranous—are attached to the ischial bones of the pelvis. The biceps femoris muscle is connected below to the head of the fibula. The semimembranous and semitendinosus muscles also pass through the knee joint and attach (one on top of the other) to the head of the tibia.
The muscles bend the leg at the knee and pull the heel towards the buttock. In addition, they straighten the hip (a movement that is especially important when climbing stairs) and help keep your back upright. The hamstring prevents you from falling forward while walking.
Compression of the hamstring often causes stress points to develop. So, the seat of a chair or car puts pressure on the back of the thigh, playing sports in which you have to run (football, basketball, rugby, etc.) - all this contributes to the appearance of stress points.
When stress points occur in the biceps femoris muscle, pain is felt at the back of the knee joint. When tension is present in the semitendinosus and semimembrane muscles, pain is felt in the lower buttocks and upper thighs. The pain may radiate down to the back of the thigh and ankle. When walking, the pain is so severe that it can lead to lameness. In a sitting position, discomfort also manifests itself - squeezing the hips with body weight increases the pain. It's no surprise that stress points in the hamstring are often mistaken for sciatica. The hamstring muscles are very close to the quadriceps complex, so the stress points present in the former also affect the latter. This often results in pain in the front of the knees and hips. The pain does not go away until the tightness of the hamstring and quadriceps complex is released.
The attachment of the hamstring muscles can be felt while sitting on a chair - their upper ends are attached to the sit bones. If you place your hands under your buttocks, palms up, and then move back and forth, you can feel the movement of your sit bones. To feel the lower attachments of the hamstring, grab the right knee with your right hand on the outside and with your left on the inside so that your fingertips are in the depression behind the knee joint in the so-called popliteal space. In this position, you can feel the biceps tendon with your right hand and the semitendinosus tendon with your left hand. The tendon of the semimembranous muscle passes under the semitendinosus muscle, so you cannot feel it.
You can work on stress points in the hamstring by sitting in a chair or table with your leg extended out to the side. Place a small, hard ball (such as a tennis ball) under your thigh in the softest spot (somewhere in the middle, but maybe a little to the right or left, depending on which muscle is affected). Compression will stretch tight bands of muscles and release tension points. Maintain this position until you are completely relaxed. Relax all points of tension. Stretching your muscles will also help you with this.
Stretch 1 can be done while sitting on the floor with your leg extended out to the side. You can do this with one leg or two legs at once. Without bending your knee, reach the base of your foot with your palm. Pull your thumb towards you (as shown in the picture). Maintain this position for 15-20 seconds.
1st hamstring stretch
Stretch 2: You can also stretch your muscles by placing your heel on a raised platform or on the seat of a chair. Make sure that the hip is not twisted and that the toes are pointed in one direction (as shown in the figure). Maintaining the angle between your thighs, lean forward slightly. If the position is performed correctly, you will feel a stretch. Maintain this position for 15-20 seconds. Repeat the stretch several times a day.
This article will tell you about the most common causes of pain in the back of the knee joint. We will consider in detail the traumatic origin of this type of pain and try to establish why they arise.
Have you often injured your knees? Not everyone can answer this question. From an early age, abrasions and scratches constantly magically appeared on our knees, but we did not pay attention to them. Especially if the pain was quickly passing. Over the years , knee pain can arise from old injuries or sudden injuries and overuse of the knees and develop into a more serious problem such as joint disease.
Injuries are the most common cause of knee pain. Since injuries can affect ligaments, tendons, cartilage discs, and joints, pain under the knee is directly related to the category of injury. In addition, complex injuries (dislocation, sprain, fracture, displacement) are accompanied not only by pain under the knee, but also by swelling of the knee and decreased mobility. Activities that involve repetitive motion or pressure on the knee can cause overuse injuries. Frequent climbing stairs, cycling, running, and jumping lead to irritation and inflammation of the knees. Therefore, knee overload most often occurs when playing sports, especially professional ones.
We often do not notice that at times the pain behind the knee begins to bother us, especially at night, since it is insignificant. We notice pain only when it begins to intensify and develops into a problem associated with discomfort when moving. There are quite a lot of different diseases associated with the knee joint. After all, during our activities, the joint becomes deformed, becomes inflamed, wears out, and swells.
The cause of pain behind the knee can only be determined by undergoing a medical examination. If the pain becomes constant, stiffness in movements appears, a feeling of pressure under the knee, then there is a possibility that a popliteal tumor has formed - a cyst. Sometimes its appearance occurs without subjective reasons. In the initial stage, the cyst is almost invisible and pain is not always a concern. If it reaches an impressive size, then this is a serious disease that requires treatment, since complications may arise (from thrombophlebitis to varicose veins). The accumulated fluid, squeezing the blood vessels, disrupts blood circulation. The sooner an examination is carried out to determine the root cause of the cyst, the easier the treatment will be and no surgical intervention will be required.
The knee joint is the most important part of the human musculoskeletal system. Freedom of movement and quality of life in general largely depend on his condition. Knee pain is often associated with diseases such as arthritis or osteoarthritis. Quite often, pain also occurs under the knees. Sometimes mild discomfort develops into significant pain, which significantly reduces the patient’s mobility.
Popliteal pain has one characteristic feature - it can be quite difficult to recognize. To understand why such sensations may occur, you need to understand the anatomy of the joint itself and the fossa located behind it. Often the appearance of pain has no connection specifically with the knee joint.
Consequently, pain in this area can be caused by a variety of factors that lead to damage to the listed structural elements. To detect pathology, it is extremely important to immediately contact a qualified specialist.
This pathology is usually characterized by severe pain and slight swelling of the fossa. The inner area of the joint is covered by the synovial membrane, which produces fluid. If inflammation of this membrane occurs, there is an excessive release of fluid, which leads to compression and swelling of this membrane.
With this disease, a compaction forms in the area of the posterior wall of the joint capsule, which causes pain. If you press on the cyst, its size decreases slightly. This formation is most noticeable with straight limbs. It can be problematic to identify this pathology at the beginning of its occurrence, since it is small in size and does not cause discomfort.
For the purpose of conservative treatment of the pathology, the doctor may prescribe injections of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, as well as glucocorticosteroids, which help eliminate inflammation. In addition, special pads can be used for the knees.
With this pathology, pain is observed at the back of the knee, which intensifies during movement and when trying to bend the leg. They cannot be noticed during an external examination, so a comprehensive study is required.
If pain occurs after a sudden movement or traumatic injury to the joint, the cause may be a tear in the posterior area of the meniscus. Sometimes such a problem is the result of arthrosis - a meniscus tear occurs due to the destruction of cartilage tissue. In this situation, pain cannot always be eliminated conservatively, and surgery is performed.
Often pain in the back or side of the knee occurs due to damage to the integrity of the ligaments and tendons. With increased loads, soft tissue damage often occurs, which causes discomfort.
Quite often the cause of pain is bursitis or tendonitis of an inflammatory nature. These pathologies are accompanied by pulling sensations that are the result of excess stress.
To get rid of this pathology, it is very important to consult a doctor at the beginning of its development. The specialist must provide the person with peace of mind. In addition, it will certainly limit the mobility of the joint - as a rule, a plaster cast is applied for this. To relieve inflammation, it is necessary to use hormonal drugs and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Optimal loads are considered the most important factor influencing rapid recovery.
With the development of this pathology, a nagging pain of a pulsating nature is observed. Upon palpation, a small compaction can be detected. The cause of this disease is a dissection of the artery, in which it begins to protrude outward. It is very important to get help from a surgeon immediately - delay can cause serious bleeding.
It is located at the bottom of the popliteal fossa. Sometimes, under the influence of various factors, inflammation can occur. If this happens, the person experiences severe pain while moving, as well as when bending the knee, and similar sensations are felt throughout the entire foot. Changes in tendon reflexes are often observed. The ankle muscles may also change their tone. In such a situation, surgery is indicated.
This disease is diagnosed very rarely, but sometimes it still leads to pain in the back of the knee. It can be quite difficult to identify this disease, since pathological changes cannot be detected during the examination.
Sometimes pathology is detected after the development of complications, which seriously threatens a person’s health and life. Therefore, it is so important to conduct an ultrasound examination of blood vessels at an early stage. If large blood clots are detected, surgery is indicated.
If there were infected wounds in the area of a person’s ankle that resulted in pain, the risk of developing an abscess increases.
The lymph nodes located under the knees become infected, which causes inflammation and an increase in their size. It is these processes that lead to sharp pain. If such a problem occurs, you need to contact a surgeon - with the help of an operation he will open the abscess.
All diagnostic procedures that are aimed at identifying the cause of pain in the knee joint are fairly standard. Diagnostics usually consists of the following measures:
Sometimes it becomes necessary to perform a puncture of the articular cavity. In general, the choice of certain diagnostic measures directly depends on the type of damage, and a comprehensive study is usually carried out.
The choice of treatment tactics is carried out based on the cause of pain. If the knee hurts after an injury, and the pain is severe, the person needs to be hospitalized. In this case, the leg should be immobilized and medications should be prescribed to relieve pain.
After this, a treatment method is chosen. This is influenced by the type and size of damage, possible risks, and the presence of chronic diseases. Very often, surgical intervention is performed - arthroscopy or endoprosthetics.
If pain is observed, but there was no traumatic injury, and the condition is not acute, treatment tactics are as follows:
Almost all pathologies that cause pain behind the knee can be completely cured at an early stage. The only exception is Baker's cyst - in this case it is necessary to perform puncturing or even undergo surgery.
In order to prevent pathologies of the knee joint, certain rules should be followed - this will avoid the appearance of pain.
Professional athletes must be able to correctly distribute the load on the joint. In addition, you need to adhere to a special diet, which includes foods that help strengthen ligaments and cartilage.
It is important to control body weight, because heavy weight leads to increased stress on the joints, causing their deformation. The consequence of this is pain.
If therapy for the knee joint has already ended, preventing recurrent pain involves taking rehabilitation measures. In particular, the joint must be developed, the knee must be supported with an elastic bandage, and medications that strengthen the ligaments and tendons must be taken. Medicines for strengthening blood vessels and bones are no less important.
All preventive measures to prevent pain in the legs consist of the following measures:
Pain under the knee can significantly impair a person’s quality of life. To prevent this from happening, it is important to prevent pathologies of the knee joints. If pain under the knee does appear, you need to understand that the cause may lie in a variety of diseases. Therefore, it is important to immediately consult a doctor who can diagnose the pathology. At an early stage of the disease, conservative therapy is usually sufficient, while in advanced situations surgical intervention may be necessary.
Pain behind the knee, the causes of which can be varied, is familiar to many people. Not only athletes and older people suffer from this disease. Pain behind the knee is quite common among the population, regardless of gender, age and specific activity. Since the knee joint is the most complex in the human musculoskeletal system, disruption of its normal functioning can be associated with many factors.
In order to qualitatively identify the reasons why pain appeared in the knee, below the knee and in the area of the posterior part of the joint, it is necessary to determine the characteristics of the sensations. Typically, pain under the knee is of the following nature:
In addition, the pain under the knee may always hurt, or the pain will appear periodically. There may be pain in one leg, or there may be pain behind the knee in both legs at the same time.
Depending on the nature of the sensations and their exact localization, it is possible to make an assumption about the presence of one reason or another. However, in order to make a diagnosis and begin treatment, it is imperative to undergo a comprehensive diagnosis, which most often includes x-rays, ultrasound of the joint and a blood test if an infection is suspected.
Severe and sharp pain in the popliteal region usually occurs due to injury. Such situations are very serious and require immediate medical attention. If the pain behind the knee begins after a bruise or a fall and discomfort occurs not only in the joint, but also in the tissues surrounding it, this is a sure sign of an injury. In this case, the joint itself quickly swells and a hematoma appears. If the cause is a fracture, the leg will most likely be immobilized and sensitivity will disappear.
In case of injury to the knee joint, the patient requires immediate medical attention. In the first minutes, you should put ice on the affected area, as well as apply a splint and a tight bandage. Without delay, you need to call an ambulance or go to the doctor yourself. If treatment is not carried out in time, which in some cases requires surgical intervention, the joint will completely lose its functionality.
Another reason for sharp and severe pain under the knee is damage to cartilage tissue. Such injury can occur during sudden movements, jumping or bending. Quite often, cartilage damage occurs in people who play sports professionally. The symptoms in this case are quite similar to the previous option and also require immediate first aid in the form of a cold compress and a visit to a specialist.
The main causes of aching pain are inflammation of the tissues of the knee joint. In this case, the symptom is permanent and can spread throughout the entire leg. In most cases, there is limited mobility of the leg. To prevent the disease from leading to complications, it is very important to diagnose it in time and carry out therapy. Aching pain in the knee often occurs due to a bruise with the subsequent development of a hematoma.
Nagging pain below the knee can have various causes, but most often it develops due to the formation of a cyst. It is called a Baker's cyst and is a benign neoplasm. Such a tumor under the knee is safe for the body, but if it ruptures, suppuration of the joint tissue occurs, which requires surgical intervention and can lead to partial loss of functionality of the joint.
If your leg is pulled and pain occurs when bending and straightening, you should immediately consult a doctor and undergo diagnostics. If the cyst is detected in the initial stages, it can be eliminated using a conservative method. But in an advanced state, it will most likely require surgical removal and long-term therapy.
Pulling and pain behind the knee will occur due to the presence of lumbar osteochondrosis. This is due to pinched nerves that transmit pain to the area below the knee. Another reason is varicose veins. It causes periodic nagging pains that do not cause much discomfort, but indicate the development of serious vascular pathology.
Acute pain in the knee joint often indicates an exacerbation of any of the above diseases that affect the joint. Another reason why the leg hurts under the knee and gives strong and acute pain may be the development of a purulent infectious process in the joint. In this case, the body temperature will increase significantly. To prevent the infection from leading to general intoxication of the body, you must immediately consult a doctor.
It is important to understand that acute pain always indicates a serious pathology, whether it is caused by injury, arthritis or another disorder. If other symptoms appear at the same time, for example, swelling or hematoma, you should under no circumstances delay visiting a doctor.
Only timely therapy can qualitatively eliminate the cause and symptoms and restore mobility and functionality to the knee joint.
If it hurts under the knee, then this symptom in itself does not indicate the cause of the discomfort. It requires mandatory diagnosis and consultation with a specialist. Under no circumstances should you take any measures to eliminate the symptom yourself. If you start to feel pain in the back of your knee, you should immediately consult a specialist. This could be a rheumatologist, traumatologist or surgeon. Only a doctor after an examination will be able to give effective recommendations and prescribe effective treatment.
You can make salads with low-fat dressings: vegetable oil or sour cream. It is better to exclude coffee, because it strongly leaches calcium from the human body.
Pain in the leg below the knee. The area of the pain symptom below the knee is quite specific in a diagnostic sense, in contrast to pain in the joint itself. The most common pain in the leg below the knee is associated with disease or injury.
If you have formed a habit, add milk or cream to your coffee drink. It is also undesirable to consume sour fruits and berries, as well as tomatoes, potatoes, sweet peppers, and onions. A prerequisite for a balanced diet is the cessation of alcohol and smoking. You should eat small portions every hour.
It is better not to eat at night so as not to overload the stomach. You can spend fasting days several times a month, for example, on fruits or vegetables. What foods will speed up the healing process? Carrot and beet juices, always freshly squeezed. Removes toxins and impurities. Citrus fruits, bananas, garlic, apples successfully fight inflammation. Rich broths, jellied meats, and jellied fish are good for cartilage, as are chondroprotectors. Traditional treatment Traditional methods therapy is carried out in combination with conservative treatment prescribed by a doctor.
Chicken yolk with a teaspoon of turpentine and a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar thoroughly sores the leg under the knee, rubbed into the knee at night. Wrap a woolen scarf around the sore spot for a more effective rubbing effect. After sleep, the skin is thoroughly washed from the mixture. One hundred grams of natural honey and three grams of mumiyo are thoroughly mixed until a homogeneous mass is rubbed into the knee joint.
To obtain the desired effect, procedures should be carried out for at least a week. Soak burdock leaves in hot water, soak the leg under the knee in vegetable oil, apply the burdock to the sore spot, wrap it in a bag and a woolen scarf on top. Which doctor should I contact? If the hole under your knee hurts, you should definitely visit a doctor. With these diseases, the pain under the knee is severe, and the temperature may rise locally. If the ankle area has been severely injured, and pain appears under the knee, this may indicate that the infection has entered the lymph nodes.
Then the pain will be sharp and swelling will occur. Diseases of blood vessels and nerves - thrombosis, aneurysm of the popliteal artery, inflammation of the nerve. With such diseases, the pain radiates to the foot; the leg hurts under the knee, usually when moving. Muscle tone and sensitivity of the skin of the leg may change. Such diseases are the most dangerous and often require urgent surgical intervention.
If you suspect a disease and the appearance of pain in your leg under the knee in the knee, you should immediately contact a specialist, the consequences can be serious. Which doctor should you contact? The choice of doctor depends on the symptoms accompanying the pain behind the knee and the nature of the pain. If the sensations appear after an injury, you should go to an orthopedic surgeon; if the pain is aching, radiates to other parts of the body, is accompanied by loss of sensitivity, circulatory disorders, its origin is unclear, it is better to go to a neurologist.
If you don’t have pain in your leg under the knee, which doctor treats knee pain, who should you contact first, then read about it in the article. After the examination, the doctor may pain your leg under the knee, depending on the problem found. Typically, any research includes the following procedures: After prescribing treatment, all recommendations should be followed. Why does a child have pain under the knee? In children, such pain is often normal. The pulling sensation is a consequence of growth, it just means that the child continues to grow at a fairly fast pace. Causes for concern. However, if the pain does not go away for a long time, the sensations are strong, other symptoms, tumors, and inflammation appear, this is a reason to consult a doctor.
The knee could have been injured. How to treat Treatment depends on the disease that causes the pain.
^ Why do my legs hurt under the knees? The peculiarity of popliteal pain is that its causes are not so easy to recognize at first glance. In order to understand why the leg hurts behind the knee, you need to understand the structure of the knee joint and popliteal joint.
The main areas of therapy can be divided into several groups. Taking anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving medications. They can be in the form of tablets or local injections - blockades. In cases with severe inflammation, the leg hurts under the knee using hormonal medications based on hydrocortisone. To relieve pain, painkillers based on ibuprofen, nimesulide, diclofenac, etc. are used. Limiting joint mobility with bandages and bandages. Such measures are not necessary in all cases; the usual restriction of physical activity is often sufficient. It hurts to step on when walking or bending. My leg hurts under the knee, and at the same time there is severe swelling of the joint. Visually, the leg is deformed in the knee area, acute pain is felt.
It hurts to go up and down, it hurts under the knee when walking.
Prevention of diseases is necessary Prevention is more important than treatment. It is better to carry out preventive rather than therapeutic procedures. Even if you are a professional athlete, give adequate stress to your joints when bending. Joint injuries occur during training and competitions. It is advisable to protect your knee during classes with an elastic bandage or wedge.
If the work involves one movement of the legs, the structure of the knee joint is gradually destroyed; regular breaks and warm-ups are introduced into the working mode. Constantly monitor your weight. Excess weight increases the load on the knee joints, leads to deformation, and nagging pain appears. If you hit your knee hard, try to reduce your physical activity. In three days the knee recovers.