What is stabbing me in the knee??

[owlice]

If I kneel on my left knee, I get a horrible "hot poker" stabbing pain on the outside of my knee. The first time it happened, I had knelt -- on my left knee -- on my bed, felt something poking me, and tore apart the (already messy) bed to try to find whatever had poked me. It felt like a hot, pointed rock, or something similar that isn't quite sharp enough to easily pierce the skin (but would with enough pressure).

There was nothing there; whatever is wrong is internal. This is reproducible, as I have to my dismay discovered. Obviously, I need to get this checked out and will make an appointment with my doctor, but until then, what is this?!?! Anyone have any ideas?

[owlice]

Ooooo, Google to the rescue! Probably tendonitis. What a weird pain, though, for tendonitis!

Now to figure out a way to get the feral cat out from under my bed without kneeling so I can go to sleep!

[roadie gal]

Do you feel like something is inside the knee? There are a bunch of things that can cause this pain. If you feel a catch or like there's something in the knee it could be a piece of rough cartilage that's bent or irritated or even loose in the joint. If it feels outside of the knee, it could be tendonitis or an irritated ligament. Definitely go see the doc. There are too many possibilities and the treatments would be different for each of those causes.

[zoom-zoom]

ITBS (http://alexreisner.com/itband)?

[owlice]

I think zoom-zoom's found it! There is soreness to the touch all along my thigh that is compatible with the placement of the iliotibial band. Dang!

Well, it's not as though I'm going anywhere soon, so it's easy to rest it!

And yes, I'll go to the doctor... assuming the snow stops someday, but right now, it looks like endless winter out there.

[salsabike]

That exact same thing happened to me a few years ago. It WAS just tendonitis. You'd think the high degree of pain would imply a terrible serious problem but it didn't at all. It's good to have your doc check it, but take heart in knowing it may not at all mean an awful thing. My doc, a major athlete herself, said, "So don't kneel on that place on your knee, then..." :rolleyes:

[ny biker]

I think zoom-zoom's found it! There is soreness to the touch all along my thigh that is compatible with the placement of the iliotibial band. Dang!

Well, it's not as though I'm going anywhere soon, so it's easy to rest it!

And yes, I'll go to the doctor... assuming the snow stops someday, but right now, it looks like endless winter out there.

In the meantime, try icing it. Or just go outside and bury it in snow...

[owlice]

nybiker, bury it?? I'd just have to try walking (or rather, wading) through the snow to ice the knee!!

salsabike, good to know, though I'm sorry that you know this pain through personal experience. What a weird sensation it was!!

[zoom-zoom]

The folks I know who have dealt with ITBS absolutely SWEAR by using a foam roller every day...several times/day.

[moderncyclista]

I know that sometimes cyclists can injure the tendons around the knee. I read this - although I can't find the book - in Bicycling Magazines - Greatest tips book **searches frantically** I'm not quoting directly - but I remember the best you can do for it is to Rest, Ice, and Repeat. I hold an art degree though - so - listening to me for medical advice is probably iffy at best. :D

[OakLeaf]

See the doctor, but MAKE SURE you get a referral to a physical therapist, assuming it's not a surgical issue.

A foam roller (and a foam ball, and a spiky inflatable ball, and a Stick...) is a good thing to have and use regularly regardless of whether that's your specific problem right now. Odds are that working out trigger points and adhesions will be pretty darn painful all by itself... but it'll prevent worse problems down the road. Roll first, stretch second.

[NbyNW]

I had ITBS/runners knee/jumpers knee many years ago. I also had stabbing pains and my knee would just randomly give out, didn't matter if I was running or walking or just standing around.

If this is indeed your problem, yes to all the above -- foam roller, any IT stretches you can find (you can do this standing up or lying down on your side, like on the edge of a bed or couch), and ice. In my case I also have a tendency for my patella to track improperly (chondramalacia) so I was also told to do exercises to strengthen the inner quads.

I've recently discovered Yamuna body rolling which uses a ball instead of a roller, and I get good results without it being as excruciatingly painful as the foam roller.

Oh, and I just re-read your original post and you said this happened when you were kneeling? You may want to google knee bursitis as well. I don't have personal experience with it, but I remember it coming up in my research when I used to obsess about knee pain.

[wackyjacky1]

I had the same kind of pain after I banged my kneecap really hard at work one day. It lasted a long while, but has finally gone away. I didn't do any treatment for it other than try to remember to not kneel on that particular knee. :o

[MomOnBike]

I think I remember you're a fencer. Am I right? If so, you are already spending your knees at at tremendous rate. Is the pain on your forward knee?

Long story short: get it checked out. In this case, earlier is better than later.

[Trek420]

Get it checked out. I blew my knee on my first day back in the dojo Sunday but that was the ACL again. Dang dang dang :mad: Spent a couple days barely able to walk. Slowly getting better now.

RICE helps and can't hurt I think:
rest
ice
compression
elevation .... or is that

rest
ibuprofin
compression
elevation? ;)

Yes to the stretching and foam roller. But get it checked out for sure. :cool:

[owlice]

Thank you, everyone!

MomOnBike, no fencing here since I was a teenager. My main exercise is usually cycling, which I haven't been able to do recently. Well, I'm also shoveling, these days, but I'm looking forward to giving that up as soon as possible!

All, I'll definitely get it checked out. Probably in June, because that appears to be the soonest my street will see a snowplow....

As I was getting into bed last night, I barely barely touched my left knee to the bed (having forgotten that I shouldn't do that) when the burning started. Of course I immediately stopped what I was doing. I just cannot get over what a completely weird sensation this is; such a strange feeling!

[Trek420]

Well, I'm also shoveling, these days, but I'm looking forward to giving that up as soon as possible!

Duck on Wheels and I were once talking about snow shoveling as a competitive sport. Looks like a great workout, it works the core, entire body. Shoveling can be done for speed, distance, as a team or alone .... TE would carry the line of snow shoveling ware and clothing. There'd be carbon shovels, and of course those who prefer the look and feel of steel ;)

And of course there will be special shoes! :D There have to be shoes. :p

In time there'd be indoor shoveling machines in the gym or available for home use in an infomercial for only 9.99 a month for 60 months :rolleyes: and those who scoff at that and do their off season shoveling in the garden.

"shoveling machines! :confused: that's like driving your car to the gym for the spin class" ;) :rolleyes:

[owlice]

Trek, now the idea of competitive snow shoveling (and yes, the shoes!) is funny, but in February with snow up to my thighs... ! ;)

I did finally go to my doctor; I had to wait for a few weeks because, ya know, the snow. And laziness and disorganization. Mine, not his. He says "Vitamin D deficiency." (Ummm, really?! And it affects just my left knee??) Gave me a prescription for vitamin D, which I filled, and did not refill when I finished the four one-pill-a-week pills. I now occasionally take a multi vitamin with vitamin D in it.

The knee feels better; I still have soreness to the touch all along the thigh where the IT band is (on the right leg, too), but I can kneel (gingerly) on the knee. So... I recently went to my doctor for my left arm. He sent me off to get MRIs of both my left knee and my left shoulder and referred me to an orthopedist. Told me to call for the MRI results.

So I did. Diagnosis: "You're falling apart!" I swear my doctor said this at least five times when I called for the results! (What, are things going to just start dropping off of me now? Can we start with my butt, then?)

Went to the orthopedist to have him look at my shoulder (because the knee thing isn't having an impact on my life; the waves of pain in my upper left arm are); I have a small tear in the rotator cuff, but the pain is from shoulder impingement (http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00032), likely from a fall from ice skating... a dozen years ago. Shot of cortisone, come back in a month. Yeah, that's my kind of treatment!! (It had a lot of inflammation.)

Did not have him look at the knee (which the MRI shows has a torn meniscus) while I was there... because this was a few days before the Wild Goose Chase and I didn't want to hear anything about my knee before the ride! :D I have my priorities!!!