The patient, Aunt Zhao, suddenly felt a lump behind the knee joint of her left leg and came to the hospital for examination. The initial diagnosis after the outpatient examination was: popliteal cyst. This aroused Aunt Zhao's curiosity, how did popliteal cysts arise and how should they be treated?
Popliteal cyst is a common disease in orthopedic outpatient clinics, except for congenital popliteal cyst in children, the disease is more common in middle-aged and elderly people, manifested as a lump behind the knee joint, joint pain and obstruction of movement, easy to recur. As the cyst grows larger, the soreness in the leg becomes more pronounced and it becomes more difficult to walk.
Loading...
Q: How do popliteal cysts develop?
A: Popliteal cysts are the most common cystic lesions around the knee joint, and the cyst is a relatively viscous fluid. In medicine, the soft area behind the knee is called the popliteal fossa, and a popliteal cyst is a fluid-filled cyst located in the popliteal fossa behind the knee joint. Some are aseptic inflammatory effusions of the bursa that swell and bulge from deep to backward, and some are secondary to intra-articular diseases of the knee, such as arthritis, meniscus injury, etc., which will cause the knee joint to produce too much synovial fluid, increase the pressure in the joint, and the accumulation of fluid can not be discharged in time to form a cyst.
Q: What are the symptoms of a popliteal cyst?
Answer: In the early stage of the disease, popliteal cysts only have discomfort or swelling in the popliteal fossa, and some patients may have a feeling of weakness in the lower limbs, which generally has no obvious effect on the flexion and extension function of the knee joint. However, when the cyst enlarges to a certain extent, it can affect joint flexion and extension or knee joint movement, and the pain and soreness are uncomfortable. Patients often have a round, smooth cyst palpable in the popliteal fossa behind the knee joint, which becomes smaller when the knee is flexed and relaxed, and is easier to feel when the knee is straightened. In patients with a primary disorder of the knee joint, it may cause the patient to have a claudication
Q: How is it treated?
A: Treatment for popliteal cysts includes medication, physical therapy, and surgery. Medications and physical therapy can reduce pain and discomfort, but one should not expect a drug taken by mouth or rubbed on the surface to cure the cyst. We recommend that patients with small and asymptomatic cysts should be treated conservatively according to their condition and personal wishes, and that surgical treatment should be performed for those with large cysts, obvious symptoms, and joint mobility.
In addition, correct exercise methods and postures, avoid excessive use of knee joints, strengthen muscle exercises, minimize the number and frequency of going up and down stairs to reduce the pressure on the knees, and reduce the pressure on the knees such as mountaineering and running back and forth are also important to the health of our knee joints.
Author: Zhi Chunsheng
Source: Shenyang Orthopaedic Hospital
Editor: Pei Li
Proofreading: Zhong Nan Ren Zhiqiu
First Instance: Song Ping
Review: Xu Jiang