Knee

[gymnast2011]

Pain in the back of knee when walking up and down steps. Also buckling and giving in while walking at times. I am a competitive gymnasts. The pain is right where you bend your knee in the back

What could this be?

[PedroH]

Hi, There. Most probably the pain in the back of you knee is from your knee itself as there is nothing much to go wrong w/the back ( except possibly a Baker's Cyst) But, the fact that your knee is wanting to give out, the problem is most likely in the knee.Rest, ice,and Nsaids are usually the routine but because you are an athlete I would see a specialist ASAP so you don't further aggrivate something that may have a simple answer.   Good luck to you!

[aldunn72023]

You should probably see a physician to have an MRI done to make sure you have not torn your meniscus.  Hope this helps, make sure to see a doctor.  These are common symptoms with a meniscus tear.  Sometimes it will heal on  its own, sometimes it requires arthroscopic surgery,  but they have you up walking right after surgery and it is not as painful as you would think.  Take care and good luck.

[RicoDCG]

Hi, my name's Rico. I was in the USAF for 20 years (1981 - 2001); however, I was diagnosed with MS close to the start of my 19th year in the Air Force.  Anyway, 4-months after being diagnosed, I was walking around the neighborhood with my wife and daughter. Then, out of nowhere, both my knees buckled at the same time. In a instant, I went from: a standing position; hitting my rear on the sidewalk; a squatting position for a second, or two; then wobbling my arms frantically in a sub-conscience attempt to stand back up straight~which I did. Immediately thereafter, I looked at my wife and daughter and we all began laughing so hard because of how fast everything occurred and what I looked like in my attempt to stand back up. Thinking the episode was nothing more than some kind of weird fluke (my knees never buckled before this in any shape, form or fashion) and after the three of us stopped laughing, we began to resume our walk; problem was though, it happened again. The first two, or so times this happened we all laughed so hard, it's amazing none of us wet ourselves. However, after this continued, my family's smiles quickly disappeared and everyone began to worry. My daughter actually became very anxious and started crying asking me in a very alarming voice, "What's wrong Pop!?!!" In a calm voice I told her not to worry, but to run back and get our neighbor to come pick me up. After notifying my neurologist and walking around like a duck for nearly a week (I thought I was on my way to being bedridden), my neurologist came across this (or very similar condition) in one of her MS books. She titled my knee buckling problem as a "paroxysmal positive motor disturbance". Her cure was to put me on Dilantin~an anti-seizure medicine. If my memory serves me correctly, I was walking normal again the same day; however, my knees continually buckled regardless of whether, or not I was just standing, or walking. But get this--my knees DO NOT buckle when I run. In regards to the Dilantin; well, once again, relying just on my memory I believe I was on it for three, or four months. Since then (the end of 2000) to present, my knees continue to buckle (whenever they feel like it...lol) I'm standing and walking; but again, THIS DOES NOT happen when I run. Further, I've never been put back on Dilantin (or any other medicine for that matter) for this condition. FYI~I came to this site to see if I could find anyone else in the MS community that had the same symptoms I have (my knees buckle spontaneously when I'm walking and standing, but NOT when I'm running) when I came across your question. So I hope you find my response helpful/informational and if there's anyone out there that can tell me if they are experiencing they same symptoms I am, I'd be glad to hear from you. Ciao for now and Best Wishes to All; Regards....Rico