lump and clicking knee

[joshydee]

Hell there folks, ive got an ongoing problem with my knee, i might as well as give the full story.

Think it started with the very very heavy clutch in my old car (a theory of mine) and me doing a lot of miles in traffic every day used to cause my knee to ache a bit. Anyway over time ive had a bony lump growing on the side of the knee (on my left leg) the lump is on the outside. and more recently its been hurting in a couple of different ways, I have an extremely uncomfortable click whenever i stand up or sit down, almost feels like movement in the joint, for example i can sit down without it clicking but i will get a bit of pain until i shake it a little and allow it to click. sometimes its worse than others but if i touch the lump on my knee when i stand up or sit down there is some clear clickiness, really horrible to feel. Also have problems sometimes when walking that i can't bend the leg without pain, have to keep the leg completely straight when walking as if its wooden to stop it causing me pain. Im only 19 years of age and go to the gym, means i can be off the gym for weeks when its causing me problems with regards to bending my knee. Any advice/diagnosis much appreciated.
many thanks
Josh

[nlb1967]

Hi there, welcome........sorry to hear that you are having so much problem with your knee.  I certainly feel your pain as I am having pretty much the exact problem.  I must add also this is not the first time with this problem for me..It's been an ongoing problem for me for years now and 6 past knee surgeries.  I too have the lump on the outside of the left knee, when I push on it, it tends to move around and I am fine when I usually go to sitting, but standing and walking can be very painful to me.  If I sit with my legs crossed in what is know as indian style sitting, It is extremely painful when I go to stand up....My last surgery was merely to just clean up broken and torn cartlidge caused by the wear in my knee and that was in 2005.  I finally broke down and went to see the OS, he suggested and MRI to see what was going on.. Once I had that done and got the results, I found out that I had what was known as a Medial Subluxation.  (Meaning that there is a partial dislocation) of my knee cap, and it is not tracking properly. I also have a decent amount of fluid in the knee which doesn't make it any better... He is also suspecting that there is more torn and damaged cartlidge in there.  So I am going to have my 7th knee surgery on Monday, Jan.07, 2008.....He is going to do what is known as a lateral release.  I had this exact same surgery back in 1999 on the same knee.  Have you seen an OS yet? have you had an MRI done yet? that would be my first suggestion to finding your answers.  Not everyone is the same, so even though ours sounds much alike, the problem may actually be very different.  The OS tells me that the clicking is usually telling him there is bone rubbing on bone where cartlidge is broken or damaged in there.  Anyways, welcome, good luck and keep us posted!  I'll be thinking of you!

[na06003]

Hey there. I am also 19 years old and I experience something similar... but a bit different. Several years ago I fractured my knee cap and after surgery and rehab I started noticing a clicking and grinding every time I stand, sit, go up or down stairs, go from sitting on the floor to a standing position, etc. It's been years and it still does this. I've asked my OS about it and they said it was just from the cartilage wearing away on the back of my knee so my patella was scraping against bone a little bit. Looking at my xrays they decided it was nothing to worry about unless it became excruciatingly painful.
Obviously yours is a little differen since its not from an injury, but it is possible that you have cartilage damage from things throughout the years. Or you could have torn something without realizing it.

If I were you, I would definitely go see an orthopedic. They'll take some xrays and maybe do an MRI and decide whether or not its significant enough to do surgery or to just take it easy for a bit.

Hope you figure it out!