Questions posted in the Neurology and Neurosurgery Forum have been answered by doctors from The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

Subject: Re: muscle cysts
Forum: The Neurology and Neurosurgery Forum
Topic Area: Behavioral Disorders
Posted by ccf NEURO MD MM on February 22, 1999 at 13:41:33:
In Reply to: muscle cysts posted by Gwen on February 22, 1999 at 12:25:51:


To the Doctors:
I have just been diagnosed with a benign muscle cyst in my right thigh. I am very interested in understanding what would cause such a cyst. I have been a jogger and race walker for the last 15 years, and for the last year I have done daily calisthenics and stretching exercises.
My questions are the following:

1. How common are muscle cysts?

2. What is believed to cause them and could they arise as a result of exercise that may injure muscle tissue over time?

Muscle cysts are quite rare , so rare that I have been unable to find a
quote incidence in the literature.
The underlying causes are varied, frequently a cause is not established
but in some cases the development of a cyst is related to acute trauma or
damage to a muscle.
This includes compartment syndrome in which muscle degenerates due to
compromised blood supply, leakage of fluid from the knee joint into muscle,
and parasitic infection.
Muscle cysts have not been linked to physical activity such as you describe,
given the large numbers of people who exercise regularly we would expect
to see muscle cysts much more commonly if this were the case.
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