Can a Bakers Cyst Be There for Years Without You Knowing It?

• Definition
  • What is a Baker's cyst?
• Signs
  • Signs of a Baker's cyst
• Causes
  • Causes of a Baker'due south cyst
• When to See a Doc
  • When to see the doctor for a Baker's cyst
• Diagnosis
  • Diagnosis for a Baker's cyst
• Treatment
  • Treatments for a Baker's cyst
• Center
  • What Happens if a Baker'due south Cyst Goes Untreated? Center

What is a Bakery'south cyst?

Although many Bakery's cysts go away on their ain, y'all should run into a doc to confirm that your swelling is a Baker'due south cyst and not something more serious.

Bakery's cysts are fluid-filled sacs that form backside the knee. They don't often crusade any bug or demand treatment. Sometimes, if they are big or painful, they'll need treatment, which can be surgical or non-surgical. There's some danger of complications if Baker's cysts become untreated.

Baker'due south cysts are named after Dr. William Morrant Baker, who described them in the 1800s. They may be chosen synovial cysts because they are filled with synovial fluid, which is a liquid that lubricates the knee joint. They are likewise chosen popliteal cysts because they occur in an area of the knee called the popliteal fossa.

Signs of a Baker's cyst

A Baker's cyst may not cause any problems. You may not realize information technology's there until information technology shows upwards on an imaging test. At other times, it will cause symptoms, which may include:

Lump backside the knee

A lump backside the knee is the primary symptom of a Baker'south cyst. If information technology's large enough to experience, it's unremarkably soft when you lot bend your knee and firm when y'all stretch out your leg. This feature, called Foucher'due south sign, helps distinguish Baker's cyst from other masses.

Hurting or achiness

Knee pain is one of the most mutual complaints of those who have a Bakery'south cyst. In one study, around i-third of those with Baker'south cysts complained of achiness. Sometimes hurting occurs when you fully extend your leg.

Swelling

Swelling is the nigh mutual complaint of those with Bakery'south cysts. Of course, the cyst itself tin can keen if it's big enough. Bakery'southward cysts can likewise crusade swelling in the leg.

Stiffness

Baker's cysts can cause stiffness, including an inability to bend the leg entirely and comfortably. If the cyst is large, information technology tin can limit your mobility.

Causes of a Baker'southward cyst

Bakery's cysts form as a upshot of stress to the genu articulation. One of 2 situations commonly causes this stress:

Knee injury

A knee joint injury, especially i that damages cartilage, tin lead to a Baker'south cyst. The injury triggers the knee joint to produce extra fluid, some of which flows out of the articulation and forms the cyst behind the articulatio genus. A valve-like structure prevents the fluid from flowing dorsum into the knee. This is most likely to happen after a tear in the meniscus, a cartilage construction in the human knee that acts as a shock cushion.

Arthritis

A cyst may grade if you accept osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or an infection in the knee joint articulation known equally infectious or septic arthritis. The resulting inflammation tin can cause the knee joint to brand more than fluid. Some experts believe the cyst may human activity as a safety valve, draining off excess fluid and preventing harmful pressure in the human knee articulation.

When to run across the dr. for a Baker'due south cyst

Although many Bakery's cysts go away on their ain, y'all should see a doctor to confirm that your swelling is a Baker's cyst and not something more than serious. Several other weather can nowadays as a lump backside the knee, including:

• Strain or tear of the calf musculus
• Soft tissue tumor
• Infection in the knee
• Inflammatory arthritis, such as gout or rheumatoid arthritis
• Aneurysm, or a bulge in a blood vessel

If you have hurting, swelling, heat, and redness in your lower leg, you should run across a dr. correct abroad. These are signs of thrombophlebitis, a condition in which a blood clot blocks a vein. When the clot occurs deep in a muscle, it's called deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and it tin can have serious effects.

It's besides possible that a Baker'southward cyst has ruptured, releasing its fluid into the leg. This is a less-serious condition chosen pseudothrombophlebitis. Sometimes, however, it can be serious, causing compartment syndrome, when pressure builds inside and between muscles. Compartment syndrome is more than likely if you lot are taking claret thinners.

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Diagnosis for a Baker'south cyst

A doctor can oftentimes diagnose a Bakery'south cyst from a physical test. If the cyst is large or is causing problems, the doc will probably perform 1 or more tests to be sure of the diagnosis. These tests may include:

• X-ray to view the construction of the knee joint
• Ultrasound to tell whether the lump is solid or fluid-filled
• MRI to get as much data as possible near the cyst

Treatments for a Bakery's cyst

Doctors often recommend conservative handling of Bakery'southward cysts, starting with the RICE method:

• Balance the leg
• Ice the knee
• Compress the knee with a wrap to decrease swelling
• Elevate the leg when possible

Your doctor may recommend ibuprofen or another over-the-counter medication to reduce pain and inflammation. If your cyst is a result of arthritis, exercises for the muscles around the knee can help. Start with non-weight-bearing exercises, or see a concrete therapist for an appropriate regimen. You may need to cut back on activities that stress the knee, such as jogging. Maintaining a healthy weight will as well reduce stress on the knee.

At some betoken, your md may decide that it isn't safe for your Baker's cyst to go untreated. A steroid injection in the knee is oft the first step in treatment, or your md may use a needle to drain fluid from the cyst. The side by side footstep may be arthroscopic knee joint surgery, which allows the medico to see inside the knee and correct some issues.

Doctors don't often recommend surgical removal of Bakery'south cysts because information technology commonly requires a large incision, time in the hospital, and significant recovery time. Also, the cyst is more likely to recur. If your Baker's cyst comes from a problem within the genu that can't exist repaired with arthroscopy, a surgeon may open up the human knee to repair the harm and deal with the cyst at the aforementioned time.

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Medically Reviewed on 1/21/2021

References

Cleveland Clinic: "Baker's Cyst."

Harvard Health Publishing: "Ask the md: How practice you treat a Baker's cyst?"

International Journal of Critical Disease and Injury Science: "Compartment syndrome secondary to Baker'due south cyst rupture: A case study and up-to-date review."

Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research: "A comparison of clinical efficacy betwixt different surgical approaches for popliteal cyst."

Leib, A. et al. StatPearls, StatPearls Publishing, 2020.

Mayo Clinic: "Thrombophlebitis."

Medicine: "The pseudothrombophlebitis syndrome."

Sports Health: "Bakery's Cyst: Diagnostical and Surgical Considerations."

University of Rochester Medical Heart: "Baker Cyst."

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Source: https://www.medicinenet.com/what_happens_if_a_bakers_cyst_goes_untreated/article.htm

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