Hello,
My doctor has diagnosed me with tendonitis, but i don't know the exact
name or if this is a correct diagnosis. I have had three episodes of
this where the back of my knee feels a pain that is like when you touch
your toes to stretch and you feel the strain. That is what I feel along
with pain along the outerside of my knee that often radiates down into
the ankle. When this happens, it is very painful to bend my leg
backwards, like a hamstring curl or to do a knee lift. What is really
puzzling, is that while I am laying in bed trying to sleep, the pain is
terrible and keeps me awake.
My family doctor thinks it can be a tear in the cartilage or a bone chip
floating but my knee surgeon (I have had ACL surgery on the other knee)
feels it is tendonitis involving the muscles that extend from my hip
down into my ankle.
The pain usually lasts 2-3 weeks and then I am good for a few weeks.
This has been happening since March and my life has been basically put
on hold with this problem. If you can help in any way, I would greatly
appreciate it.
I didn't do anything more than taking walks before these episodes
Greetings: Your problem description requires a differential diagnosis to be made
by a skilled evaluator. A differential diagnosis differentiates between
contractile and non-contractile tissue, intra-capsular and extra capsular joint
derangements, neurological and non-neurological defects, systemic and local
infection, etc. Naturally, you didn't give me enough information to really
assist you, but I can tell you this much...There is no muscle that stretches
from your ischial tuberosity to your ankle. Also, radiating pain must involve an
assessment to rule out your back as a source of your pain. In your knee, your
meniscus, your posterior capsule, and your posterior tendons, including your
hamstrings, popliteal and plantaris muscles are all possible sources of your
pain.
Seek the help of a physician you trust, someone who has musculoskeletal
expertise, usually a physical medicine physician, who can make a true
differential diagnosis. That is the best advice I can give you
