lateral knee pain but not when walking. only when sitting or not moving it. what could it be?
i am a 24 year old female- i had arthroscopic knee surgery when i was 17. it was related to maltracking of the knee, chondromalacia and meniscus damage. i now have stiffness in the morning, when i bend my knee back it feels like the lateral part of my knee is stretching far or tight, i have aching pain just above my knee cap slightly to the lateral top of my knee. when i push on that part of my knee it hurts. it does not hurt much when i am walking. sometimes it hurts under my kneecap and sometimes behind or inside my knee but not often. it aches when i walk downstairs (shakes a little) and when i squat down it hurts to get put pressure on it when i get up. i have very strong OUTSIDE or lateral quad muscles, inside muscles-not so much. it usually hurts more when i am not moving it, for example sitting or keeping it in one place for too long. i went to the doctor and she did that movement test to see if it was ligament damage- she thinks it may be pcl/acl because it felt a "little" loose, with some meniscus damage. i am not a doctor (not nearly close!) but i beg to differ with her, hence my asking via online. do you think this would just be because of the chondromalacia or patellar tracking? possible itb band problem?
i am not asking for a diagnosis- just curious to know what another person would think with these symptoms. and again, it does not hurt all the time.
thanks so much!
Public Comments
1. movie theater knee2. I think that you have another tracking problem with the patella. Recent studies have shown that lateral releases just don't work in controlling the patella's movement pattern. So what I suggest to you is that you either return to your exercise program that you should have gotten post surgery or start one now. In saying that there is one factor that you have to understand. Working of the unaffected knee must be done before that of the injured one. Take for instance the simple isometric movement of quad setting. Assume a long sitting position with a towel roll under the unaffected knee. Have the muscles push down into the towel roll for about 5 seconds and then relax for a second or two. Repeat that until you have done 10. Rest for 1 minute then repeat that cycle twice more with that leg. Now do the injured leg exactly the same way 3 times. This routine of working the uninjured knee first is extremely important for multiple reasons. One it keeps the uninjured leg strong thereby reducing the chances of it falling victim to injury. It also helps to keep the neural pathway between the brain and the knee open. This helps with the biofeedback loop to the injured knee. Lastly, it takes advantage of a reflex in the body where the stronger muscle sends or transfers some strength to the weaker muscle. This will help you gain control as well as strength in the injured knee. This will make regaining control and strength of the patella easier for you.
