Suggest Treatment For Soft Painless Lump On The Knee

Posted on Sat, 4 Apr 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sat, 4 Apr 2015 Answered on

Mon, 27 Apr 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : I have a somewhat soft painless lump just below my knee in the front. It disappears by evening if I walk frequently or run during the day, but comes back overnight. It is quite large when there, about the size of a Ping pong ball when at it's largest. If I sit too much during the day it gets and stays large. Absolutely painless though. It appeared suddenly about a year ago. I had no injury that caused it.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Naveen Kumar Sharma (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
It is prepatellar bursitis

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
I have studied your case. This condition is called as prepatellar bursitis. In this condition there is collection of fluid in the sack just below knee joint. We all have these sacks called bursa to act like shock absorber but when there is pathology that these sacks become large.
You do not need to do any thing if there is no symptoms. If you want to get rid of it than following options are there.
1.Injection of steroid after fluid aspiration through needle.
2. Excision of this by surgery.
There is no harm if this is left alone. Some time there can be infection and it can become painful. In that case you may need to take antibiotics and pain killer.
I hope this answer will be useful for you. Let me know if there is any other followup questions.
thanks

Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar