Physiotherapy
With the help of physiotherapy, the complaints should be reduced and the patient should be able to lead a normal pain-free everyday life. It included the learning of stretching and strength exercises which strengthen the muscles in the immediate vicinity of the hollow of the knee. This includes, for example, regular bending and stretching of the knee joints.
On the one hand, this promotes the stability of the joints and menisci, which can be fundamentally responsible for the development of Baker’s cyst due to overloading. In consultation with the therapist and the treating physician, sports such as cycling and swimming can promote the healing process. Furthermore, the patient is shown how to move correctly, for example how to bend or squat down correctly, so that overstraining the affected knee is avoided. Also the sparing in the form of high supports or bandaging are part of the physiotherapy.
Homeopathy for a Baker’s cyst
In addition to a number of different treatment options for a Baker’s cyst, the possibility of treating the disease with homeopathic remedies is often discussed. From today’s medical point of view a homeopathic treatment of a Baker’s cyst cannot be recommended! homeopathic remedies which are supposed to help with a Baker’s cyst could not show any significant evidence of efficacy against the disease so far.
For this reason, a medical consultation should always precede a self-treatment with homeopathic remedies for a Baker’s cyst. The attending physician can inform about the available therapeutic options and possibly give an assessment of the extent to which the use of homeopathic remedies, possibly in addition to conservative or surgical treatment, appears to be reasonable. In general, the occurrence of side effects of a homeopathic therapy should not be assumed.
Nevertheless, if a Baker’s cyst is treated with homeopathy alone, there is a risk of progression of the disease. Surgical removal of the Baker’s cyst is usually the last therapeutic option if conservative treatment is unsuccessful and the patient does not report any relief of his symptoms for weeks or months. In this surgical procedure under anaesthesia, a relatively large skin incision is first made in the hollow of the knee above the cyst to be palpated.
The operation can also be performed in the context of a mirror image (arthroscopy). The fluid-filled cyst is then exposed from the surrounding tissue so that it is only anchored via its root, usually deep in the knee joint. The stem of the cyst is prevented and separated so that the cyst can be removed as a whole.
Depending on the size of the cyst, a skin scar remains. The cyst is removed completely, but a recurrence, i.e. a relapse, is not rare. The surrounding tissue can also be examined in the laboratory in order to exclude a malignant tumour at the same time. After the operation, the actual cause of the formation of a cyst must be treated fundamentally in order to finally prevent a recurrence.
