Pain behind Knee

[welshgirl21]

I have been running at the gym recently although I did not feel any pain in my knee the last time I was exercising so it may not be related.

Gradually over the last week I have been experiencing discomfort and pain in my knee. The onset was slow but it really kicked in last Sunday; the pain was on the top of my knee and on the inner part of my knee on my right leg. It hurt to put weight on it and I was unable to kneel or squat so I wore a knee support and rested it and the pain has now gone from the top of the knee. At the moment, when I try to straighten the leg I get a sharp, pulling pain behind my knee and I cannot fully straighten or extend my leg when I walk as I get this pain behind my knee; I am still getting the pain on the inner part of my knee when I squat or kneel as well. There was some swelling on the top of my knee for about 2-3 days but this has subsided.

Like I said I didn't feel any pain the last time I worked out, my knee was aching slightly but I put that down to running two nights before, there was no instant pain while exercising.

[Heidi]

Hi
There are a number of things that this could be, including injury to the MCL (probably just a minor strain from reptitive stress), popliteus injury (this fits with the pain at the back of the knee and difficulty straightening it) or maltracking of the knee cap (patellofemoral pain syndrome).
I think it is probably related to the running if this sis something you have only recently started.
The important things are to rest it until there is no pain daily and to stretch the quads, hamstrings, calf and groin regularly to prevent the muscles tightening up (or loosen if they are already tight).
Before you return to running make sure you have the right trainers for you and your foot shape/running style. This is the most common cause of injury in new runners.
If the pain does not clear completely within a fortnight then I would advise you to visit a sports injury therapist.
Good luck!