popliteus tear

[stuie]

Hi,i have been diagnosed as having a tear in my popliteus that does not seem to be healing.I damaged it playing football around 4 months ago.i had swelling around the knee making it hard to pull my lower leg back and squat and a fulness/swelling at the back/side of the knee.After 2 months i start to get my mobillity back and swelling subsides. i redamaged the popliteus twice since just by accidently twisting my lower left leg inwards causing the injury to go straight back to square one.I have ordered a mueller knee brace to support my knee,but would like some advice on rehab on the popliteus ,i have read that massage is dangerous due to a lot of blood vessels in the area. stu

[Heidi]

Hi

The popliteus can be a very difficult muscle to treat and many sport injury professionals know very little about it.
Massage to the muscle can be very beneficial. What you have read about blood vessels is true of the popliteal space - this is the diamond shaped gap in the muscles at the back of the knee. Direct pressure should not be applied to this area. However, the popliteus is just below this space and so can be massaged safely. In fact this is the best way of treating this condition as it is a very difficult muscle to stretch.

Tight hamstrings can also have an effect and so stretching these may be beneficial.