Baker's cyst/knee pain?
02-13-21, 02:00 PM
#1
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Baker's cyst/knee pain?
Anyone have any experience with this?
My wife's knee "gave out" while riding up hill and is having some serious pain and stability problems. Four or five hours at the doctor, and the diagnosis is "baker's cyst", which is essentially an accumulation of sinovial fluid at the back of the knee. However, it doesn't seem to account for the level of pain and instability of the joint. If you know anything about it, is this consistent with the diagnosis?
My wife's knee "gave out" while riding up hill and is having some serious pain and stability problems. Four or five hours at the doctor, and the diagnosis is "baker's cyst", which is essentially an accumulation of sinovial fluid at the back of the knee. However, it doesn't seem to account for the level of pain and instability of the joint. If you know anything about it, is this consistent with the diagnosis?
02-26-21, 09:37 PM
#2
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It does account for it, but it doesn't that it is all that is wrong. If the doctor, a qualified ortho person, did any scans than they are right. If they did basic stability tests then you still don't know. I had a baker's cyst but ALSO had to have my meniscus repaired. All symptoms COULD have been covered with the baker's cyst, but an MRI told the entire story.
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02-27-21, 07:14 PM
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Thanks very much for the advice!
Are you doing ok now? Can you ride?
Are you doing ok now? Can you ride?
02-27-21, 08:44 PM
#4
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Yes, I can ride just fine. I've had two cleanouts on this knee and each has gotten me a few years more. Not sure how many more cleanings I'll get before the countdown to replacement.
Though I train and box amateur, I don't skip rope. The boxing movements do require a certain amount of bouncing-type movements, but I minimize that as much as possible and just take my beating and go home. I'm going to be using the bike as a replacement for some of he work I'd normally do to get ready for a fight. I can't do that 100%, but I'm going to do as much as I can and just deal with the rest.
Though I train and box amateur, I don't skip rope. The boxing movements do require a certain amount of bouncing-type movements, but I minimize that as much as possible and just take my beating and go home. I'm going to be using the bike as a replacement for some of he work I'd normally do to get ready for a fight. I can't do that 100%, but I'm going to do as much as I can and just deal with the rest.
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02-28-21, 10:23 PM
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Joint instability can be aggravated by pain. We'll compensate by adopting ergonomically poor postures and motions to reduce the pain. That's okay for escaping emergencies, but bad pookie long term.
Ideally she'd want supervised physical therapy but that's inadvisable and possibly impossible now due to the pandemic. However there are some very good PT tutorials on YouTube. I consult several channels often, since I haven't been able to attend my PT clinic for the past year.
Unless there's joint damage that makes full rest and/or immobility the best choice, she might consider switching to some regular low impact, low stress exercises -- nothing more physically stressful than spinning on an indoor trainer, in addition to appropriate PT exercises to work range of motion, etc.
Another trick is to video exercises, cycling, walking, etc., and study the motions for caution flags. I've done that often for cycling and just did the same for Sunday's running session outdoors. I took one of my video cameras, did a one mile warmup walk to a quiet, flat road and set up the camera to check my running form approaching the camera, going away, and passing several times in both directions.
For the first time I noticed my right ankle collapses slightly with one pair of running shoes. While I'm not feeling any problems from that now, eventually it will lead to joint problems. My shoe sole wear pattern is good, indicating I'm a neutral runner with some heel strike, but not as much as I'd estimated; and mostly good form with expected wear on the forefoot and outer sole, with slight pronation. It's possible the slight ankle collapse was due to changing my ortho support insoles, or running on the roadside with a slight camber. So I'll restore the original ortho insoles, and repeat the test on flat terrain.
I've done this a couple of times a year with cycling, particularly when I make significant changes to bike fit, get a new/different bike, saddle, handlebar, etc. Analyzing the video has helped me spot problems and resolve minor ergo issues.
And FWIW, at my age (63 now) I figure on 4-6 weeks for full recovery from minor injuries such as strained muscles, joints, etc. I'm very impatient and often disregard my own advice. But I know from some supervised PT sessions that I feel discouraged if I don't get results in two or three weeks, but fare better after 6-8 weeks with careful PT sessions and sticking with the program. It's difficult because in my mind I'm still in my 20s and fool myself into thinking I can rebound in a week or two.
Ideally she'd want supervised physical therapy but that's inadvisable and possibly impossible now due to the pandemic. However there are some very good PT tutorials on YouTube. I consult several channels often, since I haven't been able to attend my PT clinic for the past year.
Unless there's joint damage that makes full rest and/or immobility the best choice, she might consider switching to some regular low impact, low stress exercises -- nothing more physically stressful than spinning on an indoor trainer, in addition to appropriate PT exercises to work range of motion, etc.
Another trick is to video exercises, cycling, walking, etc., and study the motions for caution flags. I've done that often for cycling and just did the same for Sunday's running session outdoors. I took one of my video cameras, did a one mile warmup walk to a quiet, flat road and set up the camera to check my running form approaching the camera, going away, and passing several times in both directions.
For the first time I noticed my right ankle collapses slightly with one pair of running shoes. While I'm not feeling any problems from that now, eventually it will lead to joint problems. My shoe sole wear pattern is good, indicating I'm a neutral runner with some heel strike, but not as much as I'd estimated; and mostly good form with expected wear on the forefoot and outer sole, with slight pronation. It's possible the slight ankle collapse was due to changing my ortho support insoles, or running on the roadside with a slight camber. So I'll restore the original ortho insoles, and repeat the test on flat terrain.
I've done this a couple of times a year with cycling, particularly when I make significant changes to bike fit, get a new/different bike, saddle, handlebar, etc. Analyzing the video has helped me spot problems and resolve minor ergo issues.
And FWIW, at my age (63 now) I figure on 4-6 weeks for full recovery from minor injuries such as strained muscles, joints, etc. I'm very impatient and often disregard my own advice. But I know from some supervised PT sessions that I feel discouraged if I don't get results in two or three weeks, but fare better after 6-8 weeks with careful PT sessions and sticking with the program. It's difficult because in my mind I'm still in my 20s and fool myself into thinking I can rebound in a week or two.
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03-02-21, 05:36 AM
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Thanks for that. If only my body was as immature as I am socially.
03-15-21, 05:12 PM
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This is quite the cyst ...
Originally Posted by MRI
1. Extensive radial tear at posterior root attachment of medial
meniscus. Intrasubstance degeneration of body and posterior horn
of medial meniscus.
2. Minimal free edge fraying at body of lateral meniscus.
3. Full-thickness chondral defect in medial femoral condyle
measuring 1.0 x 1.3 cm.
4. Mild subchondral bone edema in medial tibial plateau and to a
lesser extent medial femoral condyle, may represent stress
reaction versus contusion.
5. Moderate patellofemoral compartment chondromalacia as
described.
6. Intact cruciate and collateral ligaments.
meniscus. Intrasubstance degeneration of body and posterior horn
of medial meniscus.
2. Minimal free edge fraying at body of lateral meniscus.
3. Full-thickness chondral defect in medial femoral condyle
measuring 1.0 x 1.3 cm.
4. Mild subchondral bone edema in medial tibial plateau and to a
lesser extent medial femoral condyle, may represent stress
reaction versus contusion.
5. Moderate patellofemoral compartment chondromalacia as
described.
6. Intact cruciate and collateral ligaments.
06-16-21, 09:00 PM
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About 8 years ago I had persistent pain behind the knee and in the uppermost calf. It turned out to be a Baker's cyst, but it didn't present in any way like you've described. no intense pain and no joint instability. Just nagging pain behind the knee. In the end, the cyst burst on its own and i was done with it.
There was also some chondromalacia, but it was minor and not really problem.
Doesn't sound comparable to your wife's experience or problem.
There was also some chondromalacia, but it was minor and not really problem.
Doesn't sound comparable to your wife's experience or problem.
