The Baker’s cyst of the knee joint or the popliteal fossa cyst is a benign tumor formation located in the area of the popliteal fossa, on the back of the knee. The article will discuss what factors affect the development of Baker's disease and what treatment methods exist.
Development reasons
The cause of the development of the disease can be various diseases of the knee joint. The most common are:
- transferred joint injuries;
- damage to articular cartilage;
- degenerative changes and damage to menisci;
- synovitis of a chronic form;
- osteoarthritis;
- patellofemoral arthrosis;
- osteoarthrosis;
- rheumatoid arthritis.
In some cases, Baker’s cyst of the knee joint can occur for no apparent reason.
Symptoms of the disease
On visual examination, the cyst looks like a rounded seal in the popliteal fossa, to the touch - elastic, soft and dense. It is invisible when the knee is bent. It is more clearly manifested in the unbent state of the joint.
The internal sensations of the disease are expressed in a feeling of pressure, discomfort, sometimes accompanied by pain in the knee, difficulty in moving. With a tumor of a significant size, compression of the nerve trunks and neighboring vessels occurs, which can lead to sensations of cooling of the skin of the limb below the knee, numbness, tingling. Swelling and other symptoms of circulatory disorders appear.
Baker's cyst of the knee joint can cause complications such as: thrombosis and deep vein thrombophlebitis, development or complication of existing varicose veins, rupture of the cyst wall, accompanied by severe pain, swelling, fever, redness of the back of the leg.
Diagnostics
If you suspect a disease, you must undergo a full examination in order to identify the cause of the disease. In such cases, ultrasound studies of the knee are prescribed and magnetic resonance imaging. An analysis is also taken by puncture (puncture of the tumor wall).
Baker's cyst of the knee - treatment
Cyst treatment can be performed both conservatively and promptly. Tactics are determined by the doctor (surgeon or orthopedist).
Conservative treatment consists in performing a puncture of the formation with a thick needle, further pumping out the contents of the joint and introducing anti-inflammatory drugs (diprospan, Kenalog, hydrocortisone and others) into the cavity. But this method of treatment does not always give the desired results, in most cases the disease continues to recur after opening and removing the contents.
Baker's cyst of the knee joint, which is significant in size and can not be treated conservatively, should be treated with an operative method. It is more effective. It consists in excising the cyst by surgery.
The time of the operation for excision is about 20 minutes using local anesthesia. After this, the patient is in the hospital for no more than 5 hours. After a week, the patient is allowed full walking, after 7 - 10 days - removal of stitches, after which he is allowed to go to work. In the postoperative period, gypsum or a tight dressing is applied to the knee area.
Baker's cyst - treatment with alternative methods
In the treatment of the disease by folk methods, the well-known Golden mustache has proven itself to all . Plants will need the amount needed to fill two 3-liter cans. It is necessary to finely chop the leaves, mustaches and stems of the plant, lay in jars, pour vodka or diluted alcohol and insist for three weeks in a dark place.
Next, strain the contents and squeeze. Put the resulting squeeze and tincture in a cool place. Take tincture as a drink 2 to 3 times a day, two sips. Squeezes should be used as compresses.