What are the symptoms of a Baker’s cyst?
The symptoms of a Baker cyst are primarily a palpable bump in the hollow of the knee. This swelling can be shifted slightly due to its fluid filling and can itself be painful. Depending on the cause and the nature of the underlying damage, this swelling appears with varying degrees of severity within a short period of time.
A chronic inflammation within the knee joint leads to an increased pressure of the fluid within the joint capsule, to which the capsule eventually gives way at the point of least resistance in the direction of the hollow of the knee. Since most of the blood vessels and nerves supplying the lower leg also run along the popliteal fossa, a Baker’s cyst can lead to further symptoms when pressure is applied to them: the pressure on nerves can cause tingling in certain areas of the skin below the knee and into the foot, numbness and even loss of muscle strength. The irritation of the nerves damaged by the pressure can also lead to symptoms such as pain radiation in the area of the nerve course above the knee, which makes it difficult to determine the level of the cause in the case of quite small, inconspicuous Baker’s cyst – here it is easy to initially suspect nerve damage in the area of the hip or lumbar spine.
By applying the appropriate pressure, even blood vessels can be compressed to such an extent that the blood supply to the lower leg is restricted. Symptoms such as a cold, pale lower leg, as well as pain and pain increase in the lower leg during muscle work would be the consequences. If the pressure is high enough, the Baker’s cyst can also tear, causing the contents to be distributed between the muscle compartments, which can lead to compartment syndrome there, endangering the leg.
Pain
Typical symptoms of a Baker’s cyst are recurrent pain in the area of the knee joint. These pains are mainly located in the hollow of the knee and in the upper part of the calf. In addition, it can be observed that the typical symptoms of a Baker’s cyst are load-dependent and subside completely at rest.
The pain that occurs in the presence of a Baker’s cyst is therefore highly dependent on the activity level of the affected patient. The more active a patient is, the more pronounced the pain is. Particularly immediately after sporting activity, the intensity of the pain can increase many times over.
This rule also applies to other typical symptoms of Baker’s cyst. Since not every Baker’s cyst requires surgical treatment, the main focus is on alleviating the pain and reducing local swelling. In the case of a Baker’s cyst that does not cause any symptoms, treatment can often be dispensed with completely.
The typical symptoms of this disease, i.e. local swelling and load-dependent pain, can in many cases be treated by the administration of an anti-inflammatory drug. In this context, drugs containing the active ingredients ibuprofen or diclofenac are particularly suitable. In cases where only the pain needs to be treated, it may also be advisable to take paracetamol.
In contrast to the painkillers just mentioned, however, paracetamol has no anti-inflammatory properties whatsoever. The use of medicines containing cortisone is considered controversial due to the numerous side effects. However, in patients who develop particularly pronounced symptoms in the course of Baker’s cyst, their use may be justified. In these cases, the cortisone preparation is injected directly into the knee to relieve the pain and swelling. In this way, the local inflammatory processes can be effectively contained and treated.
