Lateral Knee Pain – more medial than ITB FS
I suddenly developed lateral knee pain about 2 weeks ago. I was running along fine, pain-free, then suddently at 7.0 miles I started having progressively worse pain on my lateral knee, but more along the joint line. I have noted no swelling. I now am unable to run more than maybe 1.0 mile before pain and have intermittent pain when walking. Sometimes I go a full day without pain when walking. Cycling is pain-free, even in heavier gears at higher cadences. My sports med. dr. was unable to diagnose anything. I didn’t have a pain response to any testing he did. Anybody have any response to this? Help!!! I have registered for at least 6 tris this summer, along with distance running events up to 25K. Very depressed. Ahhhhhh!!! Thanks for your help.
4 comments
Leeloo
Thank you again for your reply. I saw my PT the other day who did diagnose ITB FS. My pain has started to feel more like ITB, for usre. Yuk. Suffered from this in my other leg a little over a year ago. It took forever to get over. Actually, it is interesting that you mentioned pelvic tilt. I do have an anterior tilt on my left side and hip drop on that side as well (when running). This was diagnosed when I had 2 bulging disks and back pain within the last year. My PT checked that out this last appt. and indeed it is off again. She hasn’t messed with that yet because my back has been actually been feeling good. She will watch me run next week and determine if the tilt is contributing to this ITB FS episode. I eventually got the tilt resolved before, but it has sneaked back again, evidentally. What do you recommend to permanently fix this problem? Will be seeing my massage therapist in a few days and have her work around the knee – big time. Thank you again for your advice. I do appreciate it.
dsa-therapy
Hi Leeloo
Sorry I didn’t get back to you earlier. ITB crosses over lateral knee joint, so could be causing joint line pain. You should also get your pelvis alignment checked out – tilts or tortions can cause unexplainable knee pain. You should be able to exercise safely within your pain perametres. You should also get treatment from your massage therapist to release tight muscle structures around the joint to relieve any friction between the femur and the tibia.
Leeloo
Thank you so much for your response. No pain was elicited in any area by my sports doctor, including along lateral epicondyle, nor laxity in the joint. Without a MRI, how can we tell if the joint line pain is cartilage damage? Would this be more suggestive of microtrauma or a tear? Other? I read somewhere that ITBFS pain can sometimes refer to the joint line. Is this true? I was only able to run 1 mile without pain this a.m., ran 2 on Sat. I hate this up and down very difficult to deal with. When I ran this a.m., the pain in the joint line came on first, getting but gradually but quickly (within .25 mile) more severe, then I felt a sensation of it being more difficult, tight, in extending knee through. BTW, I was running on the treadmill at the onset of pain – have been doing most of my training on the treadmill while awaiting better conditions for outdoor running. I had my massage therapist check out my knee last week. She elicited pain along the joint line. It was nasty. Have not noted any patellar abnormality or any vastus pain. Which bursa would this location of pain (along lateral joint line, near patellat) suggest? No uneven sole wear on my shoes. Have already been to sports podiatrist. Is it bad to ride my bike if there is no pain during activity?? Could it be hurting the area, even if it doesnt hurt at the time?? Thank you for any additional input.
dsa-therapy
hi there,
knee pain you describe could be a couple of things. it sounds like the structures of your knee are stable so from the info you give most obvious would runners knee syndrome – Iliotibial band ITB is rubbing across lateral epicondyle, you could have developed a muscle imbalance – is your vastus lateralis (outside thigh muscle) over tight or sensitive, or does your patella look to be out of line? cadence on the road or uneven terrain will affect your gait cycle so the stress your knee undergoes will change daily. pain along the joint line can indicate cartilage damage or maybe bursititis. you may see improvement by getting treatment from a manual therapy practitioner and you will need to be advised on proprioceptive exercises also. ankle and foot problems can refer pain to the knees so have a look at your shoes – do the soles wear out evenly – if there are differences on either shoe – a visit to a sports podiatrist would be adviseable also.
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