Commonly, older people complain of knee pain accompanied by swelling, inflammation and stiffness of joints. Doctors quickly surmise the likely culprit as rheumatoid arthritis or even osteoarthritis.Younger adults also complain of knee pain in some cases because they overstrain their knees through various physical activities such as walking,climbing, hiking or running. While some people have knee pain due to accumulation of uric acid, obesity or simply genetics. Nonetheless,majority of these complaints show that the pain is situated on the front of the knees which is easier to diagnose. When people experience back of knee pain, the cause may even be worse because most back of knee pain is injury-related.
One of the most usual cause of back of knee pain is Bakers Cyst. Typically, Bakers cyst is inidcated by the following symptoms -swelling as big as a golf ball, difficulties in bending at the joint, pain and tenderness after exercise, and a sensation of pressure that can be felt all the way into the calf muscle. Frequently,a popliteal cyst is the main cause of Bakers cyst. Young people are physically active and sometimes do not realize that they already have a torn cartilage meniscus. As for the elderly, arthritis can be a possible cause for popliteal cyst. Having said that, Bakers cyst is not the only cause of back of knee pain.The following list shows some possible causes of back of knee pain .
Biceps Femoris Tendinopathy this develops when the hamstring tendons are inflamed .
Biceps Femoris Avulsion Avulsion of the biceps femoris tendon, simply, the tendons are fully pulled away from the bone.
Deep Vein Thrombosis / DVT- This is a blood clot in the vein that commonly happens post-surgery.
Inflammation of hamstring tendons / tendinitis The hamstring tendons become inflamed when they are inserted into the knee.
Posterior cruciate ligament sprain This happens when the knee is bended backward in a wrong way. As a result the posterior cruciate ligament is injured due to hyperextension.
Rupture of hamstring tendons / tendon strain Rupture or partial rupture of one of the hamstring tendons at the back of the joint.
Popliteus injury The popliteus muscle is overused resulting to pain at the back of the knee.
There are still other causes of back of knee pain but the best recourse for treatment is seeing a medical professional.