What is a baker cyst? An urgent issue is also which doctor should be consulted in order to cure her.
It should be noted that in the knee nodes of various types can very often arise. Classification is due to development and location.
One of the types of pathology is considered to be a Baker or Becker cyst. She is also known as Ankylosing spondylitis. Alternative medical names are available, but they are not popular among patients. In everyday life, this disease is often called an ordinary hernia.
It should be noted that the Baker cyst is considered clearly limited and abnormal. This formation is benign and looks like an elastic capsule. Located in the popliteal cup.
Features
It should be distinguished features that distinguish a cyst from other diseases.
- The tumor under the knee is dense, although in fact the cyst is a structure with viscous contents. If it is good to straighten a limb, then the formation will be very noticeable.
- Baker's cyst of the knee joint can be an oval, hemisphere, or have an X-shaped appearance. There is even a complex formation, when several cysts fuse together, they have small nodules.
- The cyst can grow to a huge size, the maximum is 12 cm. Due to this, severe pain occurs, and it becomes difficult to move the joint.
- The node, as a rule, is one, but there are also cases in which small formations occur.
- Most often, such a tumor occurs only on one leg, but it can be diagnosed on two at once.
- Sometimes a neoplasm, having a small size, can resolve itself, mainly therapeutic treatment is required. Baker's cyst can occur at an early age, in which there is a great chance of self-healing.
- Most often, this disease occurs in young women, in people who are actively involved in sports, subject themselves to physical exertion. If we talk about children, then they are diagnosed with this disease from 9 to 15 years.
- This pathology does not develop into a malignant tumor.
How to treat a knee joint baker cyst? Only a doctor will help in this matter. Depending on the complexity of the situation, he will prescribe conservative or surgical treatment.
As mentioned above, the tumor can remain painless and small in size over many years, but more often it progresses, thereby negatively affecting the patient's life. The exact cause of this cyst has not been established. Doctors know only the factors that provoke the disease and directly how the pathology further develops.
Disease development
Baker's popliteal cyst is formed in the capsule when a large amount of fluid accumulates. The latter is called synovia. It is a thick secret that is created in the joint bag. Synovia is necessary in order to lubricate the joint from the inside. Due to this, the surface does not wear out, there is no friction. Knee mobility is quite high.
If the amount of this fluid increases, then it begins to drain under the knee. Due to this, a special cavity is formed. When a person loads the knee joint, it provokes the development of the disease. Due to body weight and additional load, the fluid is gradually squeezed out, as a result of which a cyst capsule is created.
Causes of primary pathology
Baker's popliteal cyst may occur primarily. In this case, the cause will be some kind of injury or even damage. Moreover, strokes, subluxations and squeezing can lead to the development of the disease, especially if they occur quite often.
Causes of secondary pathology
If we are talking about secondary pathology, then quite a large number of diseases can provoke it.
Among them should be noted:
- Genetic predisposition.
- Joint overload. Typically, this reason is more inherent in athletes or people who prefer to lead an active lifestyle.
- Inflammation of the bag in which the synovia forms directly. This disease is also called bursitis.
- Degenerative transformations.
- Chronic diseases that affect the musculoskeletal system. This may include arthrosis, arthritis, periarthritis, and so on.
- Very often, babies who are not yet 6 years old have a cyst due to heavy loads in sports sections. Parents do not understand that a child at this age cannot be very zealous in the classroom, as he has weak ligaments and cartilage. Therefore, getting injured and provoking the appearance of a cyst can be quite easy.
It should be noted that a complete list of the exact causes of this disease is not defined. And, unfortunately, there are a very large number of situations in which it is simply not possible to identify a provoking factor in a particular patient.
Symptomatology
A small cyst does not manifest itself in any way. If it begins to progress, a person will feel constant pain, discomfort. The patient may notice that it is difficult for him to move his knee. Often there is a feeling that something is bursting under the joint. The skin of the lower leg and knee loses sensitivity.
Uncomplicated Cyst Treatment
If the cyst is uncomplicated, then treatment is usually not prescribed. You only need to periodically check your health and come to the doctor for an examination. A very big chance that the cyst itself will disappear.
Treatment of an advanced case
If there are any pain or other symptoms, then a puncture is performed. However, conservative treatment cannot provide any guarantee that relapse will not occur. Sometimes a problem can come back in a couple of years. There were times when this period was reduced even to a few days. Moreover, it should be noted that with each puncture, the risk that an infection will be introduced into the body increases. That is why the operation is often done.
Baker's cyst is usually removed in a few hours. In this case, an intervention is performed under local anesthesia. Motor functions return to a person quite quickly. As a rule, by the evening the patient is already discharged from the hospital. Sutures are removed after a week. The first seven days, the doctor limits the patient to physical activity. It is advisable to wear a special bandage at this time. After 2-3 weeks, the patient can return to his usual life.
Effects
If you do not treat the Baker’s cyst of the knee joint, you can face serious consequences. With an increase in the volume of content that accumulates in the capsule, a cyst will most likely rupture. Due to this, the synovia will begin to soak the shin. Accordingly, not only the knee will swell, but also the caviar. This condition will be complicated by the fact that a person will feel burning, itching and pain. In addition, redness of the skin will appear. Sometimes it happens that tissue that has been saturated with synovia begins to fester. For this reason, an infection will spread throughout the body, respectively, the entire limb will be affected. This condition requires immediate medical attention.
The inflammatory process lasts up to 4 weeks. This can lead not only to blood poisoning, but also death. It is also necessary to clarify that during this period the patient experiences severe pain.
Serious complications
If we talk about more advanced cases, then a person may encounter other complications. The most serious should be noted:
- Purulent arthritis.
- Sepsis.
- Numbness of the limbs. This is due to the fact that nerve fibers die.
- If the infection gets into the bone tissue, then osteomyelitis will begin to develop.
- Often the cells die, as the diseased knee stops receiving enough blood.
- Trophic ulcers appear. They are the result of compression of blood vessels and muscles.
- A person completely loses the ability to move his knee.
- The leg can swell, varicose veins, as well as thrombophlebitis, appear. This is due to the fact that due to fluid leakage, blood begins to stagnate.
- If the vessels become clogged, then, most likely, blood clots form, which can come off at any time. This can cause death. In the best case, a person will have a stroke or heart attack.
Diagnostics
Before starting treatment for Baker’s cysts of the knee joint, it is necessary to understand how the diagnosis occurs. At the moment, special instrumental methods are used:
- In order to completely exclude the development of malignancy, it is necessary to puncture the cyst by piercing it with a thin needle. Next, the liquid is extracted and directly examined.
- X-ray It is necessary in order to assess the overall condition of the joint. A cyst with this method of examination is not diagnosed, since it is not clear what kind of education.
- CT scan. This method allows you to make a more accurate diagnosis than using a conventional ultrasound. Thanks to this method, you can understand how much soft tissue has been affected.
- Arthroscopy If a person has a complex pathology, especially if there are prerequisites for surgical intervention, this procedure must be done. Thanks to this method, abnormal changes in the knee can be detected. They do it necessarily in combination with anesthesia.
- Ultrasound Allows you to calculate the size of the cyst and understand exactly where it is.
- MRI The use of this method allows you to diagnose the disease in the early stages. This is especially true if the size of the formation does not exceed 10 mm.
Differential diagnosis is sometimes used. It is necessary in order to distinguish the popliteal hernia from a real tumor, as well as malignant nodes.
Treatment method selection
How to treat a Baker cyst depends entirely on the results that were obtained during the diagnosis. Do not abandon any of the methods prescribed by your doctor. If you conduct a comprehensive diagnosis, you can get a complete picture of the patient's condition. Due to this, the effectiveness of treatment will be maximum.
Sports loads
Among patients, the relevant question is whether it is possible to engage in physical education if a Baker cyst was diagnosed.
It should be noted that tumors often arise due to the huge level of load and directly from the chosen sport. Particularly dangerous are those exercises that put pressure on the knee along the vertical axis. Because of this, cysts often occur. When education or inflammation only appears, the doctor may allow you to engage exclusively in physical therapy. In this case, the composition of the exercises should be prescribed only by the attending specialist.
If you play sports (even the most minimal), for example, gymnastics, aerobics, acrobatics, jumping and running, then a cyst rupture can occur. That is why weight lifting and dynamic loads should be excluded. Especially when it comes to education in a child.
Speaking about remission, it should be noted that during it, doctors are allowed to do yoga, swimming, Pilates. Thanks to light gymnastics, muscles can be stretched a little and make them more elastic and resilient.
In order to exclude a relapse of the Baker's cyst of the knee joint, it is necessary to wear a special knee pad, which will allow to reduce the load on the joint. Summing up, it should be said that playing sports with a cyst is practically prohibited. This can affect the health of a person and worsen his condition. It should be noted that if the cyst bursts, then it will be much more difficult to treat.
Prevention
In order to prevent the formation of Baker cysts under the knee, you need to monitor your health condition and not get injured musculoskeletal system.
- You should protect your knee from excessive loads, as well as immediately treat injuries that have arisen.
- It is necessary to reduce body weight if there is obesity. This will reduce the pressure on the joints.
- It is necessary to perform sports exercises every day so that the blood flow in the lower extremities is normal.
- Comfortable shoes should also be worn.
- Do not kneel for too long, you need to lay a soft litter during exercise.
- During rest, legs should be placed in a slightly raised position. Due to this, the blood will not stagnate.
- If there are unpleasant symptoms in the knee or pain, you should consult a doctor.
- Children are also susceptible to this pathology. Therefore, they should be prohibited from jumping from a great height.
It is quite difficult and long to treat Baker's cyst. Joints should always be kept normal. So you can prevent the described disease.