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What Causes Stiffness And Pain Behind Right Knee In Upper Calf?
Question: I’m writing about stiffness and pain behind my right knee. I often feel it in the upper calf and lower hamstring as well. It’s frequent but intermittent. The stiffness and pain limit range of motion, particularly the length of my stride. The pain tends to be sharp/burning and ranges from mild to moderate.
Standing and walking can exacerbate the symptoms or bring them on. I don’t do a lot of walking these days, but once the problem starts it doesn’t take much to aggravate it. Riding my stationary bike doesn’t seem to cause much of a problem, though I typically only ride it for 5-7 minutes, 2-3 times/day.
This problem started around July 4th of this year. I’m not sure why. Due to buttocks and right thigh pain I was experiencing at that time, I was walking stiffly, awkwardly and with a shortened stride. Maybe that was the cause.
To give some of my medical history, I’ve been walking with an abnormal gait/limp since March 2014. The main problem has been stiffness of my right quadriceps muscles. The right leg is also weaker than left, at least in part because I’ve been favoring the right leg the whole time.
I’ve never had a significant injury to either knee, but I think the abnormal gait has negatively impacted the overall function of my right leg.
When I last saw my orthopedist in mid-July 2015, I mentioned the pain and stiffness behind the right knee. As part of his response, he said I don’t have any significant knee joint problems. He based that conclusion on the right knee x-rays and MRI we did earlier this year and his hands on evaluation of my right knee. He said I should work with my physical therapist on the pain behind the knee and stiffness and weakness of the right quadriceps.
I’ve been doing so since mid-July. The physical therapist has said that stretching the calf and hamstrings should help eliminate the problem. I've been doing so as often as I can (up to 3 times daily per their instructions), but so far it keeps coming back. I’m going to talk to the therapist about this again when we meet on 9/15.
In the meantime, do you have any thoughts about what could be causing this problem and how we should treat it?
Standing and walking can exacerbate the symptoms or bring them on. I don’t do a lot of walking these days, but once the problem starts it doesn’t take much to aggravate it. Riding my stationary bike doesn’t seem to cause much of a problem, though I typically only ride it for 5-7 minutes, 2-3 times/day.
This problem started around July 4th of this year. I’m not sure why. Due to buttocks and right thigh pain I was experiencing at that time, I was walking stiffly, awkwardly and with a shortened stride. Maybe that was the cause.
To give some of my medical history, I’ve been walking with an abnormal gait/limp since March 2014. The main problem has been stiffness of my right quadriceps muscles. The right leg is also weaker than left, at least in part because I’ve been favoring the right leg the whole time.
I’ve never had a significant injury to either knee, but I think the abnormal gait has negatively impacted the overall function of my right leg.
When I last saw my orthopedist in mid-July 2015, I mentioned the pain and stiffness behind the right knee. As part of his response, he said I don’t have any significant knee joint problems. He based that conclusion on the right knee x-rays and MRI we did earlier this year and his hands on evaluation of my right knee. He said I should work with my physical therapist on the pain behind the knee and stiffness and weakness of the right quadriceps.
I’ve been doing so since mid-July. The physical therapist has said that stretching the calf and hamstrings should help eliminate the problem. I've been doing so as often as I can (up to 3 times daily per their instructions), but so far it keeps coming back. I’m going to talk to the therapist about this again when we meet on 9/15.
In the meantime, do you have any thoughts about what could be causing this problem and how we should treat it?
Brief Answer:
Tight hamstrings and quadriceps
Detailed Answer:
hi,
thanks for your question.
if your orthopaedist has examined your knee, taken X-rays and an MRI scan the. it is unlikely that you have a significant knee problem.
from your symptoms and your physiotherapist report it seems to me that your have ongoing hamstring tightness and weakness in your quadriceps muscle. unless you stretch and excercises at home fore 15-20 minutes twice a day it is unlikely to improve.
best wishes
Tight hamstrings and quadriceps
Detailed Answer:
hi,
thanks for your question.
if your orthopaedist has examined your knee, taken X-rays and an MRI scan the. it is unlikely that you have a significant knee problem.
from your symptoms and your physiotherapist report it seems to me that your have ongoing hamstring tightness and weakness in your quadriceps muscle. unless you stretch and excercises at home fore 15-20 minutes twice a day it is unlikely to improve.
best wishes
Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Raju A.T
Answered by
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