Lump behind knee Not Bakers Cyst so what is it?

Posted , 12 users are following.

I'll try to keep this short. In November I started feeling some weakness in my left leg. I went to the doctor he did a general once over and said it was nothing. A few days later after getting out of the shower, I noticed swelling on the backside of my leg behind my knee. When feeling around, felt a small pea sized lump I head back to the doctor, get an ultrasound for suspected Baker's cyst. They said it is not a Baker cyst and nothing showed up on the ultrasound so they sent me for an x-ray and that also came back negative. I kind of let the issue go and recently it has crept back into my mind because sometimes my leg will ache with full pain. The weakness has started to come back and I'm a little concerned that this may be something. Anyone experienced anything similar? Any thoughts on what this might be?? Would an ultrasound pick up anything of a concerning nature?

I'm a natural worry wart and over analyze everything.

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  • Posted

    Please don't over analysis your knee sometimes with a knee replacement you feel alot that not really their because of this funny feeling of tje knee. Relax...

    • Posted

      I haven't had any surgery on my knee. You can see the noticeable swelling in the back of my knee when standing

    • Posted

      It is a little confusing to me why you would reply to their question without reading it thoroughly. Also, the grammar, punctuation, and spelling are killing me.

      • Please don't over analyze your knee. Sometimes with a knee replacement, you feel a lot that is not really there because of this funny feeling of the knee. Relax...*

      Sorry... I just had to fix it. Blame my high school AP English teacher!

  • Posted

    One of my children had a lump on the back of her knee as a child. We were worried of course, but it was dx as a lipoma or fatty lump. They did not want to remove it due to the back of the knee being a difficult area but in fact it went away over time.

    ?I hve what is dx as a Baker's cyst that hs ruptured and caused a lot of pain. The joint of that knee is bone on bone and I'm on a list to have it replaced as it is not going to get better. It was quite a large area of swelling really. Though I have not had any tests to confirm it, they just looked at the knee and a standard x ray.

    ?I'm not saying yours is anything like these of course, so you are probably best going back and asking what the Dr thinks it is and more tests if they really do not know, just to put your mind at rest..

    Best of luck!

    • Posted

      That's kind of where I'm at with it. I don't necessarily think it's anything sinister, I just don't like the we don't know answer. I do still have aching pain occasionally in my leg and it still feels a little weak from time to time. If it weren't giving me any issues I would not worry But I suspect it may be a lipoma

    • Posted

      Oh I forgot to ask, wouldn't an ultrasound and or x-ray rule out anything major?

    • Posted

      You would expect so, there is likely nothing to worry about. But as it is bothering you, it is worth getting another opinion as to what it actually is. Drs just assume we are satisfied by having tests, when sometimes we just need a bit more info or reassurance.
    • Posted

      True. It's so frustrating because when we go to the doctor we just want answers. But after a while, I just feel like I come off as some screeching harpy hypochondriac. Which I'm sure there is a little truth to that LOL

  • Posted

    I hate to use my disease as a criteria for anyone else but ill do it anyway. I have PVNS which surfaces in 2 forms: difussed is the type that attaches to the soft tissue and grows throughout the joint, eventually rupturing and causing level 10 plus pain and extreme bleeding. This is what has been eating my knee up for over 13 years. The other firms like a bakers cyst and forms a large lump and can be surgically removed without great difficulty. However; neither can be diagnosed without a biopsy as they don't show up on sonograms or x rays. PVNS is a 2 in a million rarity so most surgeons have seen little to none in their practices. If you are near a teaching hospital where you can see an orthopedic oncologist that would be the best bet. This is not a fun nor simple disease but neither is it cancerous. You can Google the disease and read about the disease.

    • Posted

      Interesting. The lump in the back of my knee I can feel most prominently if I flex my toes toward the ceiling. When I do that, it feels like a small movable soft lump on what feels like a tendon or vein. There is no pain when I mess with it it's just sometimes I will get shooting dull pains through my hip ankle top of foot and knee. I'm thinking about scheduling a follow up appointment with the orthopedist that first saw me. When I saw him the first time we had not yet discovered the lump behind my knee. His evaluation was pretty straightforward that involved the x-ray and bending my leg in numerous positions. He said the knee itself looked fine. Maybe I should pay him another visit and insist on an MRI

    • Posted

      Hi Elizabeth,  what you have described here sounds exactly like that I am going thru. do you happen to remember if you mass showed up on an MRI? I have a 7x5cm mass on my right knee and a 7x4.5 on my left. Neither of which showed up on the MRI's.  I have had to become my own advocate since multiple DR.'s have no idea what is wrong with me. (and there are no teaching hospitals anywhere close to me)

      Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated!  

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