Pain in the hollow of the knee exercises and therapies

Pain in the hollow of the knee is pain in the rear part of the knee joint. A distinction can be made between acute and chronic pain in the hollow of the knee. Acute pain comes suddenly, usually caused by trauma, and lasts from a few hours to days. Chronic pain often develops insidiously and lasts longer than three months. Rear knee pain (popliteal pain) often originates from the joint capsule.

Pain in the hollow of the knee when standing up

In advanced age, more and more patients suffer from classic knee arthrosis (degenerative cartilage degradation). The cause is the gradual degradation of the joint cartilage. There are 4 stages of arthrosis in total.

Classical symptoms are increased pain, which increases under stress. Typical are “starting pains” which occur during initial movement after a resting phase or when getting up in the morning. Arthrotic symptoms do not occur at night or at rest, provided that no overloading has occurred.

Arthrosis can also develop into arthritis due to chronic over-stimulation. In this case, the pain in the hollow of the knee is accompanied by swelling and the formation of oedema as symptoms of inflammation. In addition to arthrosis, there are other possible causes for pain when getting up. A thrombosis or lesions of the muscle-ligament apparatus can also trigger these symptoms. A diagnostic clarification by your doctor or therapist is therefore the first and most important step before a promising treatment can be started.

Pain in the hollow of the knee when stretching

If the pain occurs in the hollow of the knee when stretching through, this allows several conclusions to be drawn. An acute or even chronic meniscus damage could trigger the symptoms. Another possibility could be a lesion or incongruity of the patella (kneecap) in its groove.

However, the pain is then more likely to be observed at the front of the knee. Bursitis is also often very painful when inserting the leg, as the bursa is compressed. Of course, the cause of the pain can also be muscular.

A shortening or injury of the back thigh muscles (ischiocural muscles) or the back lower leg muscles (gastrocnemius) also triggers pain when the knee joint is stretched. Especially in the case of radiating pain, it is extremely important to proceed with diagnostic precision, since the location of the pain and the cause do not always appear to be directly related. Fortunately, there are several standard tests and diagnostic procedures that can differentiate between meniscus damage, leg axis malposition, damage to the patella, muscular causes and other triggers for pain in the popliteal fossa.