What Causes Severe Pain In Left Knee, Stiffness And Numbness In Calf Muscle?

Posted on Thu, 24 Apr 2014

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

Thu, 24 Apr 2014 Answered on

Wed, 14 May 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : I am having severe pain in left knee, including inner right side, back of knee, pain going down stairs, stiffness, numbness in calf and very sore muscle in calf. a friend rolled over on knee a week ago, i tripped on an uneven XXXXXXX and turned around and caught myself before I fell over a cart. Since those things happened, if I stop suddenly, walk too much, sit too much, it becomes almost unbearable to walk. The only time it does not hurt is when I first get out of bed after resting it for hours. But then gradually throughout the day the pain returns. Sometimes it is so severe it takes my breath away and I have to stop and lean on the wall for support for a bit before continuing.

Answered by Dr. Albana Sejdini (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Possible injury to knee joint/leg bones...

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

I have gone through your medical history and feel sorry for the situation you are in.

The symptoms you are having is due to the injury during the falling you experienced, most probably injury of the knee joint involving local bones and nerves.

I suggest to get your knee examined by an orthopedist and neurologist for neurological tests. Knee X-ray might be useful in identifying possible damages.

Depending on these examinations, further treatment will be prescribed. Meanwhile, I advise to:
- keep your knee at rest, without moving too much around
- apply warm compresses to reduce pain
- local analgesic creams are also a must
- take oral analgesic to reduce pain
- massaging the affected area can also help; however, this can be possible only after talking to orthopedist and neurologist.

Hope it was of help! Let me know if you have further questions!
Wish fast recovery!
Dr.Albana

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