My knee has a specific, superficial-feeling pain.
February 6, 2019 2:08 PM Subscribe
YANMD, TINMA. For the past few days, I've had an occasional sensation on the lower outside of my leg slightly below my right knee which feels like a skin "tightness" or surface abrasion, like a rugburn. But it's not.
Sometimes it manifests as an itch rather than as a pain, but it feels very much like the sort of thing which is a skin issue. There is no visible injury. It's gotten a little worse over the past few days, and manifests particularly acutely when I kneel. Probing with my fingers, I've discovered that it can be triggered by pressing on an area on the inside front of the lower half of the knee, a significant distance above and counterclockwise of where I seem to feel the pain. What is this? It doesn't feel like one, but is it muscular or joint-based in some way? And is it a matter for serious concern?
Sometimes it manifests as an itch rather than as a pain, but it feels very much like the sort of thing which is a skin issue. There is no visible injury. It's gotten a little worse over the past few days, and manifests particularly acutely when I kneel. Probing with my fingers, I've discovered that it can be triggered by pressing on an area on the inside front of the lower half of the knee, a significant distance above and counterclockwise of where I seem to feel the pain. What is this? It doesn't feel like one, but is it muscular or joint-based in some way? And is it a matter for serious concern?
The abrasion makes me think chrondomalacia patellae (aka runner's knee). For me, it feels like sandpaper on the inside of my skin, and it's worse when my knee is under any strain (kneeling, poor cycling form). After getting diagnosed by my primary care doctor, I was sent to physical therapy for a few weeks. PT (including stretches, ice, and foam rolling) eased my symptoms significantly.
posted by rhiannonstone at 7:29 PM on February 6, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by rhiannonstone at 7:29 PM on February 6, 2019 [1 favorite]
This sounds something like what I experienced when I had a mild case of shingles. If you start getting itchy bumps that seem like they could be insect bites somewhere on the same side of your body as the pain you should definitely consider the possibility of shingles.
posted by Redstart at 10:29 PM on February 6, 2019
posted by Redstart at 10:29 PM on February 6, 2019
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I have also experienced tingling, numbness, and a feeling like someone rubbed Icy Hot on my leg, and it usually occurs when I have been standing for a few minutes without changing positions.
If you start to have other, related symptoms, look into phantom nerve pain.
posted by tacodave at 4:40 PM on February 6, 2019 [1 favorite]