Knee locking

Hey Hartley!

Thank you so much for making this post. I've been having this issue for as long as I can remember. I'm currently 25 years old and it has happened again except this time, no matter what I do, I can't get it to "pop back in" which is the reason I'm posting. I've been trying some of the techniques others have mentioned but to no avail.

It's been "locked up" pretty much all day now and I'm hoping to get this figured out.

So if anyone has any tips or techniques I would love to try them. Usually I just straighten my leg out and it goes back but I guess as I get older I get a little stiffer as well.

Thanks for any suggestions everyone. I appreciate it.

Okay guys please if you're having this problem stop and read!

My knee has been "locked" for almost 12 hours and after going through tons of techniques and everyone's posts I finally got my knee unlocked.

How I did it:

1: sit upright on the floor with your "good" leg out straight.

2: take your bad leg and bend it into your groin. The heel of your bad leg should go into your crotch and the knee will point outwards making the #4 with your legs.

3: flex all of the muscles that you can in your bad leg. Squeeze them really hard. I even pressed my bad knee into the ground a little bit.

4: keep your leg in this position but SLOWLY extend your knee. You should be dragging the outside of your foot on the ground as you straighten it.

You might feel a few small pops but if everything went well the pain will almost immediately subside.

You have no idea how thankful I am for this thread. Finally after 12 hours my leg feels better.

Best of luck to you all!

Hi, I have just come across your post, and I am so surprised that I have exactly the same problem!  I am now 65, but the "locking" started when I was 39.   The pain is excruciating, and like you, has not been diagnosed.  My GP has referred me to orthopedics, and they say that it is arthitis.     I have no help/or suggestions for you, merely letting you know that you are not alone.   x

yeah I'm a teenager and I get the exact same thing as all you guys! Ermahgersh I thought I was some weird mutant! But no, this is actually a thing!

It's like when I sit down and I rotate my knee from straight out to sitting on my ankle, like everyone else said, something clicks out of place and won't come out and it hurts so much

oh my gosh srsly it huuuurrrttssssss sooooo baaaaddd 

if i rotate back the way i came it hurts on the outside of my knee, so i have to finish the rotation from the way i was going (yeah i know, that makes no sense!)

this has been happening all my life but it's getting worse now -finally researched it, yay!

i think it's only happened once with my right knee, but i also think that has to be bcs i sit on my left ankle all teh tiem and not the right one

i will try staying hydrated like one prsn suggested, sorta be their unofficial test subject...

Hi,

?I am a 15 year old girl i have experienced knee locking, I have had this problem since i was 7 years old, I've been to the doctors they did put me in for physio which started just under a year ago, I dont feel like its helped as it still continues to click out of place when my knee is put in an awkward position.

?When my knee clicks out of place I can't walk properly and the locking has to be resolved by straightening my leg and lifting it up, when it happens it is constant pain until put back into place by myself or someone else in extreme circumstances. As soon as it has been put back into place the pain stops however I usually need an icepack or something similair to ease the pain.

?Can anyone offer me any advice? Will it recquire surgery?

Whats up Hartley, im 19 years old now, and last year January 2016, I tore my ACL, and my medial meniscus in a basketball game. Im surffering from the same thing that you have explained. Mine mostly happens when im getting in bed, if I have my knee on the bed and roll over to lay down, bang, my knee feels like it pops out of place or something, thats the only way I have been able to explain it. In the past I have been able to, like you said, straighten it out untill I feel it pop back in or whatever it does to get instant relief, but now everytime it happens, it gets harder and harder to get that relief, I just done it a few mins ago, and it still hasn't went back to normal. Can't really move on it at all. I've came to the conclussion that this terrible feeling is coming from the medial meniscus. My reason being is that, a meniscus tear occurs in the rubbery knee cartilage that cushions the shinbone from the thighbone. The meniscus can tear with forceful twisting or rotation of the knee, while an ACL tear is caused by a sudden twisting motion of the knee. The ACL usually is mushy back and forth, the meniscus is on the side, and when we move from left to right or vise versa, we get the lock feeling to it, im no expert, or doctor lol, but thats just what i've came up with, So, if you haven't yet, I would highly recommend you go get yourself an MRI, because if you do keep waiting, you could mess your whole knee up, and cause yourself to have to have a total knee replacement.

PLEASE READ FOR CORRECTING WHEN IT HAPPENS

1. It usually happens when the OUTSIDE of the knee is touching the floor - so sitting cross legged or similar.

2. Try to get the INSIDE of your knee to touch the floor or thereabouts.

3. So if right knee I get that leg over the left leg by rolling over on the floor and it has always unlocked with no noise or click and little damage. 

4. When rolling over try not to force straighten your leg.

The main thing is getting that knee in the OPPOSITE of being crossed legged.

So crossed legged,  my knee right knee is facing right. So you want it facing left. So on the floor,  roll over gently to the left getting the right leg over the left as if you want the inside of your right knee to rest on the floor. Pressure seems to then release and leg straightens but don't force it. Can take a couple of minutes. Reverse above if left leg. 

i joined this website to add this info. Has been happening to me for 30 years and I stumbled on the solution - so hope it helps. The idea of the Opposite really helps as I'm usually in terrible pain and in a panic. In general avoid being crossed legged or doing it too quickly. Especially don't lean onto the knee that locks when you're cross legged. Bit of a restriction but preferable to the other option. As I say hope this helps. It happened yesterday and decided to find out more and realised not just me with this mystery so helps. For me it's not been progressive just random as sometimes not for years - so don't worry if you're young as it started with me at 12. 

Hi Hartley, hi everybody!

I've had this happening to my left knee for years and I managed to find a specific way to unlock my knee that ALWAYS works !!!

I sit (on bed, chair, bench) with both feet on the floor.

I then place the ankle of my left leg on my right knee so that my lower left leg (shin) is parallel to the floor. I then use both hands to push HARD on the inner side of my left knee. I sometimes hear a slight "squish" sound (with no pain!) and then the knee has unlocked.

It also helps (in the same position) if you push on the inside of the left knee with your left hand while with the right hand you pull your left ankle towards your abdomen.

One of my mates had the same problem when we were together on a sailboat during a race, he tried what I describe above and he was immediately ok

Let me know how you get on when you try it!

Hello, don't know who it was in this message thread who suggested bending the knee rather than trying to straighten it, but oh my God it's worked and thank you thank you thank you.

I haven't had this locking thing for years, then I went to a yoga festival today and reckon all the sitting cross legged and twisting movements must have set it off; it happened later when I was just sat relaxing and moved my leg inwards.

Total agony, in tears, was about to faint at one point! Had propped a load of pillows in bed to keep the knee in place overnight.

Lying back in bed I hugged the knee really close to my chest and massaged the inner knee area. Then when I went to straighten it, it was....fine...???!!! Can't believe it - I was on crutches half an hour ago and going up the stairs backwards on my bum in absolute agony.