Anyone had a pain in the back of the knee?

Leg Pain · 2007-01-01T17:48:20-05:00

I have a pain in the back of my leg. It is right behind the knee and hurts when my leg swings out after coming through. It doesnt feel any different to the touch and does not hurt when I touch it. Anyone have anything like this before?

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16 years ago 03/20/2010 7:11pm EDT

re: Ronzo

MANY (not all) sports medicine doctors are completely unhelpful with overuse injuries. They have no idea what to do, so the first thing they'll say is "don't run for a while and see how it feels". Most of the 4 years of med school and residency and sports medicine things are for football, basketball, or soccer injuries due to a completely different process (e.g., acute blunt force trauma). The whole, "it hurts when I do this", so: "don't do that" does not help runners at all.

I have had a lot of success with ART folks and PT's. They know how to get you so you can keep running and rarely (in my experience) do they tell you to stop running unless it is something like a stress fracture or something that will cause more damage if you continue running. Good ART's (ones that work with athletes specifically) have saved my behind many times. AND they don't believe in that come in every week crap. Most of them are pretty good at giving something a try and letting you decide whether it worked, or if you need more sessions.

Regarding the originally OP: I had something similar, it was my hamstring ... ART (or some kind of cross-friction massage) fixed it up for me.

16 years ago 03/20/2010 7:24pm EDT

re: Ronzo

Ronzo wrote:
I love these posts b/c a couple things always happen 1. some chiropractor jumps on here talking about leg length discrepancy and how you should go get adjusted every week 2. 50 other guys tell you what they did when they had the "exact same issue" 3. A few are bold enough to make a "definitive diagnosis" although they've never seen you, seen you run, or examined you (and if they did, they wouldn't know what to look for)
Bottom line: go to the freakin' doctor and let him examine you. Chances are in 4 years of medical school, 5 years of residency and likely a sports medicine fellowship, he'll know what the hell he's talking about and prescribe something that will work...IF you're willing to take his advice, cause after all, runners are sooo smart.

Sadly, most of them don't. Why should I be "prescribed" anything?

When runners can get a better understanding of why injuries occur, there is really no need to go to a doctor 99% of the time.

While chiros are good for certain things, I think the best thing a runner can do is find a great massage therapist. There is a reason people like Rod Dehaven got weekly massage when he was training for the olympics.

My therapist I go to about every four weeks lines me all up by working the muscles getting rid of the knots or tight spots and also does craniosacral therapy that opens the pathways to help my body heal and recover on its own.

I was a little skeptical at first but I had went to various sports specialists for 3.5 years after an accident with no result. Three weeks after seeing her, I was able to start running again.

I have been going a couple years now and it still amazes me how I can walk in with something that is bothering me like tight hamstrings and a day later it is gone.

As for your comment about leg length discrepency, that is one of the most common overuse injuries that the majority of runners don't know about. It is almost always caused by having a tight psoas muscle on one side that pulls your pelvis out of place. My massage therapist always take care of that because she won't let me leave until she has aligned my pelvis.

Last fall I thought I pulled a calf muscle, but after doing a little research, I found it was probably referred pain from my hips. Sure enough, my therapist worked on me and I was back running a few days later after taking a couple rest days because I was probably overtrained. The last time I did that a few years ago, without the massage therapy, it took me 8 weeks to run again.

I didn't run for 18 years because your so-called sports medicine specialists didn't have a clue what was wrong with me. I just chalked it up to being 1983 and the running boom wasn't that old. I first found out what was wrong in 2002 searching the internet after trying to run and incurring the exact same injury.

I guess some anonymous person on the internet does have more knowledge than all the sports medicine specialists I saw. I am sure there are some great ones out there but I don't have much faith myself.

8 years ago 01/18/2018 2:47am EST

re: Leg Pain

I experience foot pain pretty constantly and have struggled to find shoes that would help me alleviate the pain. Well, i have to say that I have found them. They fit well. They have reduced my heel pain as well as my fasciitis symptoms. I can walk much easier and longer now . So happy I got these shoes! orthofeet do the job!

6 years ago 09/19/2019 9:14am EDT

re: Leg Pain

I have the same problem. In addition, I have periodical pain in a knee on my right leg and inside my right hip. I can't link it to any specific incident or injury. I take some supplement from Canadian Pharmacy, however, I would like to know the cause. Maybe someone knows what tests could be done? Or what therapy would help?

5 years ago 12/09/2020 4:10pm EST

re: Leg Pain

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5 years ago 12/18/2020 3:39am EST

re: Leg Pain

In the case of knee pain, one of the most common culprits is athletics. With the tremendous measure of weight and strain put on our knees while playing sports for a long time and a seemingly endless amount of time after a year, it isn't astonishing that knee pain is quite a broad grumbling in people, everything being equal. While there are surely some more genuine purposes of knee pain, in countless individuals, knee pain is temporary and, generally, harmless. However, in the event that you figure the pain in your knees might be brought about by joint pain, check our website. We will give tips to you to think about proper knee pads for knee pain.

9 months ago 08/17/2025 11:46am EDT

re: disagree

disagree wrote:
MANY (not all) sports medicine doctors are completely unhelpful with overuse injuries. They have no idea what to do, so the first thing they'll say is "don't run for a while and see how it feels". Most of the 4 years of med school and residency and sports medicine things are for football, basketball, or soccer injuries due to a completely different process (e.g., acute blunt force trauma). The whole, "it hurts when I do this", so: "don't do that" does not help runners at all.
I have had a lot of success with ART folks and PT's. They know how to get you so you can keep running and rarely (in my experience) do they tell you to stop running unless it is something like a stress fracture or something that will cause more damage if you continue running. Good ART's (ones that work with athletes specifically) have saved my behind many times. AND they don't believe in that come in every week crap. Most of them are pretty good at giving something a try and letting you decide whether it worked, or if you need more sessions.
Regarding the originally OP: I had something similar, it was my hamstring ... ART (or some kind of cross-friction massage) fixed it up for me.

Good post.

6 months ago 11/13/2025 10:51am EST

re: jaguar1

jaguar1 wrote:
I had problems with my popliteal many moons ago back in high school. I read the following article and did the mentioned exercise a couple of times. I was cured within a few days (~after enduring pain for 3 months!). Worth a try-- I sat on a table and used a theraband wrapped around the foot and knee.
Behind Problem Knees: The Popliteus Muscle
By James P. Kotorac, D.C.
The popliteus is a small muscle that runs behind the knee. Due to its small size compared to the hamstrings above and the calf below, it is often overlooked in knee and lower leg injuries. It also isn't a very strong muscle, which adds to its relative obscurity. It is, however, of paramount importance to athletes. The popliteus has three basic motions. It helps to flex the knee, in fact, it begins the motion of knee flexion, actually unlocking the knee from full extension. In relation to this motion, a tightness or shortening of the popliteus inhibits full extension of the knee, leaving the knee unable to fully straighten.
Another motion is laterally rotating the upper leg on the lower leg when the foot is planted. For a runner, this becomes critical as a balanced gait is only achieved when this muscle is functioning properly. The final motion is medially rotating the lower leg under the upper leg. In running this would occur when the foot of that leg is in the air, powering toward the next foot strike. Shortness of this muscle would lead to an improper foot plant and excess pronation.
Injury occurs in two ways:
Any acute sprain/strain to the knee will involve the popliteus muscle.
Chronic overuse/ imbalance stress will also injure the muscle.
When the lateral hamstrings are stronger than the medial hamstrings, the popliteus muscle will weaken. Overpronation or running in worn shoes will cause excessive lower leg rotation and overstress the popliteus. A common practice among runners is hanging out or walking around in old running shoes. While you may be running in a good neutral position, the rest of the day you can be adding stress to the popliteus and the rest of your body as well.
The most effective treatment to an injured popliteus is manually applied trigger point therapy and ultrasound. While many muscles respond well to self-applied rubbing or kneading, the popliteus muscle should be approached with care. It overlies the popliteal fossa which is loaded with sensitive blood vessels and nerves where damage via too much pressure is possible.
The popliteus muscle is slightly stretched when the hamstrings are stretched. To strengthen the muscle, sit on a high chair with your legs dangling off the ground. Using elastic tubing anchored at one end, wrap the other end around the inside of your foot and rotate your foot and lower leg inward. Use low resistance and high repetition, remembering that this is not a powerful muscle.
Examination and, if necessary, treatment, therapy and strengthening of the popliteus should occur after any knee or ankle injury, lower leg break, or after any knee surgery. Here the popliteus' lack of strength is an advantage. Treatment restores this muscle to normal in a relatively short time compared to other larger and stronger ones. But don’t let its size and strength fool you. A popliteus problem can cause severe enough knee pain
that running can become impossible.

I ran a half marathon in May 2025, and as soon as I pulled up at the finish line I could feel a strain at the back of my left knee. It's at the top of the calf muscles.

This has been one of the worst injuries ever. It's been 6 months and it still feels almost as bad as day 1. It goes away with rest and jogging doesn't irritate it, but if I do a workout it flares up so bad that it hurts to kneel down or bend my knee.

There's no lump, no swelling or redness and it doesn't hurt to press down on the area. I've started doing the procedure above... I hope it works.

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