My knee is fine til I kneel on it, then POW! Arrrghgh

[CountessVonKnackerstein]

I have no idea what this is. But knee is fine, pain free in day to day stuff. No symptoms and nothing physical to see.

Then I kneel down and it's like a red hot poker shoved inside my knee, gawd it hurts so much!

Yes I know I could just not kneel down, but with two DC's who like tickling and wrestling, we roll around lots. I kneel occasionally on hard tiled floor at work, for maybe a second at a time to get a file out, but the instant my knee touches the floor it's agony.

Any ideas?

I have this too! Same as others - no obvious signs of damage/injury but when I put any weight on my knee I get a sharp pain along the side of the joint - a bit like a scab splitting. Pain goes away as soon as the pressure releases and I have no historical injury. Was blaming it on relaxin and pregnancy (started at 37wks!). Any quite impressed that this thread has lasted 4 years :)

I have exactly the same than that "kneepad" described. It is more like an exposed nerve and when I bump that exact spot if feels like a funny bone pain only a million times more intense. When I kneel down on a hard surface (which I will never do again) it is awful.

I have the same.
Fell a lot on my knees when snowboarding a few years back and it came on.. slight numbness and such pain! took a while to go, but since I was kneeling a lot doing decorating it's flared up.
No pain when walking or running, only when I put pressure on it.
Even rubbing it can set it off.. and wow does it hurt!
Definitely sounds like nerve damage it really kills!
Doctor said just do exercises didn't even suggest nerves, just told me to rub in ibulieve!! seriously.

So do you all think a physio or Osteo may be helpful?

I could have written this post as well. I fell last July,on cement. My surgery is scheduled for next week. I am fine walking etc, unless I try to kneel, or if something hits my knee just right. The pain is horrid when that happens. Nothing showed on the MRI or X Ray, but since the pain will move from one side of the kneecap to the other, the ortho is saying that it is a "floater". He is not going to scope it, but rather open it totally. If he can't find the floater, he is going to remove the fat pad.

Have had the same problem. I'm active and have no problems with movement,but when I kneel,my left knee is like as if it rests on a red hot poker. It dissipates if I continue to kneel, but then after a while, if I kneel again, the same happens. That said, I had noticed that I had a small lump to the left of my lower knee. I thought it was a little ganglion, but apparently not. I tried the usual remedy of hitting it with a book. Not a good idea. I later did some more research and found the name 'Osgoods Schlatter'. It's a condition which mainly affects adolescents, but does also cause a problem for active folk who either play sport (I still play a bit of squash despite advancing years) or have a strenuous job. I do carry a lot of boxes up stairs regularly, so fit the bill. It can disappear after a period of time and they recommend ice packs and anti inflamatories. I will be seeking the opinion of a GP, but the symptoms are spot on for me. Take a look.

... and I have exactly the same symptoms as "kneepain" and "johnp880": intensely sharp pain when kneeing on the wrong spot, but only then.

Like John I play squash (and I row, run and cycle; not excessively). I am aged 58 and in good shape. This has started in the last month. My GP last week was entirely dismissive, which is what led me to Google, and so to Mumsnet...

It does not seem (in my case) to be Infrapatellar Saphenous Neuralgia, nor housemaid's knee, nor Osgood-Schlatter.

Johnp880 - and others: have you had a positive diagnosis of yours?

I also have a severe pain over the knee cap,this hurts even when my bed sheets lay on it.I have no pain in the knee at all other than something pressing on it and kneeling is impossible.
About a year ago i whacked my knee which gave me a very painful time for a month or so but left me with this problem .After seeing my physio.he is of the opinion that i damaged a nerve over the patella and left it exposed like damaging the outer sheath of a cable leaving the wires exposed and vulnerable.
Next step is to visit the gp to see what can be done.
I'll return with my prognosis.

All physical tests show no pain or injury. Just below knee, slightly aside, need only touch it lightly to trigger the nerve response. If I kneel an ICE PICK is jabbed into side of knee-lower. Diagnostic nerve blocks no result. Dr. said there is no nerve there to be crushed to trigger, SO , he said "you must have grown an extra nerve there" ;-/ Used to get this when I worked roofing or installing floors, but it went away after a couple of weeks inactivity. Now, I am lots older, it persists. Cannot KNEEL or even brushing the cushion JABS me. NO, swelling, no bumps, no physical trigger manipulating the patella or rotating the knee, nor by flexing, ONLY when I push on that tiny little spot. MRI this week then he says he can cut the nerve out. THIS would be great. This thread is the only one I have found on the internet specifically discussing this particular problem. All the rest are for tendonitis, buritis, arthritis, etc. Thanks for some connection. Cheers all.

Kneepainnearve any update after the nerve was removed?? I have this same exact issue and I can’t find anything like what we’re experiencing anywhere else on the internet! I had xrays, MRI’s and other doctors visits and nothing came of it.

Hello,
I am trying to figure out what is wrong with my knee/lower calf. I am unable to kneel on without getting a shock pain feeling in it and then it will burn and sting for a couple minutes afterwards. this has been going on for 6 months now. I will also add that about a year ago I started getting a pain in my bum that only hits if I raise my foot up to step on a curb or climb stairs. I don't know if the two are connected or not.

I had exactly this. Was excruciating. Had an mri. Torn ligament on side of knee, and bakers cyst.

Did you have swelling? Mine seems to be aching now stop the last couple of days, but I have no bruising or swelling. Also were they able to fix it for you

No swelling whatsoever. Dh thought I was being over dramatic as no outward sign!! I could go upstairs but couldn’t come down. If I squatted I’d get a searing pain that brought tears to my eyes. Loading the washing machine for example was horrific!!
I saw a locus gp, who didn’t really know what to do and in hindsight I should’ve got more initial advice. She said walk on it and build up strength, as she thought I’d strained it. After 8 weeks and an mri, I was suddenly told to use crutches, don’t weight-bear etc. Luckily it improved on its own but very slowly. It was a year before I could attempt to gently run on it. I built strength with gentle yoga and Pilates in the meantime.
I hope it improves for you. It really was sickening pain.

Locum gp. Not locus 😂

I do Pilates daily , last night we were doing sideline work and when I kicked my leg out the pain was extreme along the whole back side of my leg and now today it hurts on the back side of my knee when I walk

I just recently gained this issue as a problem with my left knee. Worst part is that it was on a night out with a buddy...and I am guessing it was from my knee either hitting the ground or some solid object very hard - but there is no bruising, I didn't think there was any swelling, but after reading this thread and massaging my knee a little closer, I feel it is very slightly swollen on the left side of the knee cap.

Same issue. Searing pain when knelt on directly. I have tried starting with all my weight on my right knee and kind of experimented with exactly what sets it off. When I am positioned upright (straighten my body out tall) and then start to put pressure on the knee I can feel the burn coming and the more pressure I put on the knee the more intense it gets. Strangely, sitting here typing, I am rigorously massaging and even starting lightly hitting my knee...doesn't hurt!

Based on other theories and some speculation...It might be a nerve that got lose behind my knee cap. When sitting or standing it is in place or hidden by the knee cap and so my massaging and it being struck don't set off the nerve. When upright and kneeling, the nerve may poke out or shift to where all that pressure is placed on it. OW. This hurts so much. I don't want to have to require friggin surgery just to kneel on my left knee.

Has anyone been able to find a medical term for this or is it just a pinched or loose nerve?

Have they done a nerve test on you ? I had one don’t on Monday and they said it’s normal:-( next Step is to get a MRI

MRI is invaluable!!

If you're asking if I've had a nerve test done, no, I haven't done anything yet, this was just about 6 days ago it started. Generally speaking, in my experience hard to explain or "put your finger on" ailments are things that most doctors can't figure out and/or don't really care to figure out what is going on. I feel like it is a marathon just to get to the right doctor and resources that can figure out what is wrong, and then they may just tell you to stay off of it, ice it, and take anti-inflammatories...lol...which is essentially what anyone would do at home proactively trying to heal.

tjadam - when you say nerve test - is that like the reflex test when the doctor hits your knee with the mini hammer? I am doing a "mock" reflex test on myself and while is it not even close the height of the pain when kneeled, it does actually hurt when I hit it on a certain spot on my patellar. This also may be completely different than the nerve test you mention though lol but this has led me to determine there is pain that can be experienced from this outside of kneeling.

Flossie44, I am able to still do full squats, cut, turn, pivot, run, jump, etc., and feel no aggravation, pain, or instability. What did your MRI results uncover? What did the doctor say you had or was the issue?

Another thing to note, in case any of you have felt this too. When I am kneeling (mainly on my right knee) and start putting pressure on the left one, I can literally feel something moving in my knee, it is almost like a bubble or something that is pushing up into the knee cap - this is also when the pain really intensifies. Anyone else felt this as the pain came?

I have had this and it lasted months and months. It eventually disappeared...I never went to the doctors so no idea what it was.

The nerve test is where they stuck you with needles and send a current thru it to see how the nerves reacts . Something as simple as my dog running pass me while I was sitting , he bumped my knee and it hurt worse then when I try to kneel on it. I just want an answer and a fix !!! This has been going on for 6 months now an it really interferes with my life style.

All, this pain is debilitating and impacting quality of life as I need to be active for work and for my kids at home. Getting into bed via right knee and / or kneeling is massively painful and causes me lingering and incredible ripping / stabbing pain down my lower leg. Please help.

Did you get a diagnosis? I haven’t been able to kneel for over a year now. I was sent to physio who gave me exercises. Made no difference. I can run, jump, skip etc with no pain. I only have pain when I kneel and there’s impact. It feels like I’ve knelt in a plug/Lego. I haven’t had an X-ray but I’m thinking of asking for one.

I have the exact same thing you're mentioning. Did you ever find out what it was? Thanks Brenda

I have the exact same issue as most of you all. I don’t have any pain walking, running, jumping but only when something contacts the front of my knee whether through kneeling on it or something touching it. It shoots pain through it as if I was struck by lightning in that direct spot. The pain goes from the middle of my kneecap to slightly down and outside of it. It doesn’t go down my leg or anywhere else and lasts a few seconds after I remove whatever was touching it. Has anyone figured out what this is and how to treat it?