peculiar knee pain

[kenny265]

When I kneel on my left knee I get a sharp pain below and left of my patella, as if kneeling on a tack. Pressing on it or walking or bending or running does not trigger the pain, only when kneeling.
What can it be?

[maggie26]

Ellen, I have exactly the same problem as you. I find it very strange. I dont have any ongoing pain,so dont need painkillers,as its only when I kneel down that I feel like you, that im kneeling on something sharp. Wondering is it a cartilage problem

[Unycorn]

I have the exact same symptoms. Have you found out exactly what it is?

[Unycorn]

I have the exact same symptoms. Have you found out exactly what it is?

[Shirlee505]

I have the same pain.  It started after taking a hard fall on concrete a little over a year ago.  It is much better than it was right after it happened but still bad enough to be a problem.  There was no bleeding and little swelling or bruising after I fell so I thought it was no big deal.

[Karlasona]

Hello, I was having the same pain and burning sensation while kneeling, and only on my right knee as well. I was referred to an orthopedist but refused to go to as I was sure that surgery would be suggested. Instead I went to an acupuncturist, where upon describing the pain and sensation, he explained how in Chinese medicine, this sensation is associated with an imbalance of energy, I can't remember exactly which organs he said were the affected ones .. After maybe 5 sessions, he left me pain free and I can now kneel again without pain. I am not anti-traditional medicine, but I figured it couldn't hurt to try an alternative approach .. I was amazed at how quickly he cured me. Worth a try? Good Luck!

[RRobinson]

I was very glad to find this group because my pain is identical to what is described. I can't put weight on the knee without a stabbing, numbing sensation that is shot into the side of my knee. I can also trigger the pain by tapping on a certain part of the front of my knee. I couldn't take the pain anymore so I went to the Rothman Institute in Philadelphia and crossed my fingers. What I learned is fairly upsetting, yet I'm so thrilled to finally have an answer. The surgeon was very honest and said she's only seen one other patient with the same symptoms and after researching was only able to find a handful of cases. The diagnosis I was given was Infrapatellar Saphenous Neuralgia. In layman terms, I damaged the nerve in my patella causing neuritis in my knee. This damage is known to occur from two things, post surgical and direct trauma. In my case, I fell down some steps and landed on my right knee with all my weight. She shared two treatments that they could offer: a local anesthetic block that they've done on one other patient who claimed it provided temporary relief (a few months, then pain returned) or surgery, what they call surgical neurolysis. I understand this to be a surgery where they will go into the knee an cut the nerve, stopping the pain, but causing permanent numbness in the side of the knee. As I shared, I'm glad to have found out what I truly believe to be the correct diagnosis, but even the surgeon was saddened to tell me that there really isn't a fix. I am 5 months pregnant and cannot receive any treatments right now, so I have some time to think about this. She gave me two articles that I'd like to share, you can probably google them to print them out. If not, you can respond here and I'll be happy to scan and email them to you. One is called "Knee pain and the infrapatellar branch of the saphenous nerve" published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, Volume 91, No 1998. The other article is called "Infrapatellar Saphenous Neuralgia - Diagnosis and Treatment" published in Pain Physician 2013; 16LE315-E324, there's a website www.painphysicianjournal.com . In this second article I read about two other treatments that my doctor didn't mention that I plan to follow up with her about, one was Pulsed Radiofrequency and the other was freezing the nerve via cryoneuroblation. They sound less invasive than surgery and I definitely want to learn more about the pros and cons. I have had this pain for over 5 years and it comes and go's in intensity and maybe because I am pregnant it is really worse than it's ever been right now. Once this baby is born, if this pain doesn't settle down I will be exploring treatment.  I know what you are all going through and how frustrating it can be to doctors who have no idea what to tell you. In fact, these articles even state that this type of pain has been troublesome to understand and is often not taught in pain classes and that it's very often misdiagnosed and underdiagnosed. I saw Dr. Sommer Hammoud at Rothman Institute in Center City and can't say enough about her. She was genuine and very concerned about helping me understand my pain and knowing my options. If you are near the Philadelphia area, I highly recommend seeing her, if not, take this diagnosis and these articles to your own orthopedic surgeon and ask them to research it. Good luck everyone!