Electric-shock like pain in knee

[Laura07]

Hello; for the past few months I have been experiencing a pain in my
knee, it is just to the outside of the patella. It is a very sharp pain, like an electrical shock. It happens totally at random. It can happen when I am walking, sitting, sleeping, etc. When the pain is not occurring, my knee feels
completely normal. When it happens, it usually happens every few
seconds or minutes, then stops for several hours. I am not aware of
any injury or unusual stress to that area. X-ray was normal and doctor's examination was clear. Any ideas?

[camo78]

Hello all
I have been experiencing these random electric shock type pains just above my left knee towards the middle of my leg for the past three weeks. Might go a couple of days with no pain and then.... Bang! hits me like a ton of bricks then pulsates on and off for around 30 seconds until it subsides.
I went to docs and she looked at me perplexed and said give it some time and if it doesn't stop get an ultra sound.
What the hell is wrong with me?

[Dieseldude5972]

The doctors had the same reaction when I tried explaining the shocks in my knee.  X-rays and MRI's showed nothing. My shocks were caused from kneeling at work. The only way to make the shocks stop was to take a Gabapentin pill twice a day to start then ween off it to once a day. It was the miracle drug. After I retired and no longer had to kneel down on a concrete floor I stopped taking the pills and the shocks haven't returned. Hope this helps and you find relief soon.

[camo78]

I’ve been back to docs (different doc to the first one). He was just as perplexed as the first one. I asked him if he knew what it was and His words were “Wouldn’t have a ******* clue” lol. I spoke to him about this thread and mentioned Gabapentin. He said “you’ve done some good research” and wrote me out a script for an equivalent drug here in Australia called Lypralin. I have been taking it for 2 days now and I am very please with how it is working so far. I’ve still had a couple of milder shocks here and there but it’s only day 2. I got a full nights sleep last night which was extremely good as I have not been able to get through a full night in a couple of weeks without being woken up by the shocks. I am extremely happy that I found this thread and thank you Dieseldude for your post especially. You’ve been the most help out of all the replies I read.

[camo78]

F.Y.I I found that ice worked much better than heat to manage shocks. Heat made it worse.

[camo78]

Update....
This pain is not muscular. It’s nerve pain. Stretching muscles does not help.
For me it occurs just above my left knee front and centre. I have had blood test, untralsound, X-ray and ct scan on my lower back/spine and hip. Nothing has been discovered from those scans.
I am still trying to find the cause. In the meantime I have been taking a medication for nerve pain called Lyrica. It has helped somewhat but not stopped it from happening. Has mainly just reduced symptoms.
I am going to try Gabapentin as mentioned above and keep looking for a cause. I haven’t had an MRI yet.
Will keep this thread updated because alit of people have disappeared from it and never returned to give updates. I’m presuming this pain subsides and goes away over time perhaps and that’s why people don’t report back?  

[Dieseldude5972]

Hey Camo78!  I'm just seeing your post from June 29th.  Thanks for the kind words!  So glad the Lypralin is helping. I had the same results after two days of Gabapentin where the shocks diminished from a feeling of being electrocuted to small mild shocks. I could tell the pills were working. The MRI's showed nothing for me as did the x-rays. You're are absolutely right. The pain is not muscular but most definitely nerve pain.  I wish more people would check in and let us know what is working for them. Hopefully you can find a permanent solution.

[camo78]

Hey dieseldude, what dosage of Gabapentin were you on in milligrams each day? I’ve just switch to try out. Currently on 200mg per day. Second day but still getting shocks. I gave an MRI on my hip scheduled Monday week. Doc thinks it’s an entrapped nerve in hip. Will keep updated

[NorwegianPT]

Possible solution that worked for me. I've had these pains on and off for a couple of years. They seem to happen whenever I don't stretch my legs properly after a work-out / physical activity. Yesterday I had the pains for 24 hours - probably happened 10-15 seconds 150-200 times. Very painful... However I've had good experiences before by stretching my legs properly, so I decided to go for a jog - 10-15 minutes. Didn't get a single shock while jogging. I got home and started stretching every part of my leg (Right leg is the problem for me) Stretching hamstrings - quads, adductors and gastrocnemius, also sitting on the floor with a straight leg stretching outside and inside by pushing on the upper part of my foot both right and left. Also stretched my glutes, no shock happened. However when I was stretching my upper thigh (By putting my left leg on an elevated surface - and pushing my right hip forward) that's when the shocks triggered like crazy. So I kept pushing even though the shocks continued to happen. I kept at it until I didn't feel anything when doing that hip stretch. Got 1 shock after going to bed, and after that, nothing. I am completely fine. If you want to give this a go - walk / or jog if you can, to warm up your muscles - 15 minutes should be enough. Stretch every part of your leg. If a certain stretch triggers the shocks, like it did for me, I just pushed through it, and that's what fixed it for me. Good luck. Would love to hear back if this worked for you! We all know the pain involved in this, and we have to share our solutions asap to relieve the pain for the people who suffer from this!

[camo78]

This pain is not muscular. It’s nerve pain. Stretching muscles does not help.
For me it occurs just above my left knee front and centre. I have had blood test, untralsound, X-ray and ct scan on my lower back/spine and hip. Nothing has been discovered from those scans.
I am still trying to find the cause. In the meantime I have been taking a medication for nerve pain called Lyrica. It has helped somewhat but not stopped it from happening. Has mainly just reduced symptoms.

[lynnnelson704]

Shocking when it happens, I'm never prepared for the extent and severity of the pain  It only lasts 4-10 seconds, max.  The pain is under the left knee cap towards the inner part of leg.  It feels as though someone takes a gun straight to the spot or an ice pic and it pulses.  The pain is so severe I scream bloody murder!  It shocks everyone around and is happening in my sleep.  Right now it happens about 6 times during any given day and 2-3 times during the night.  Went 2 days ago to a Ortho Urgent Center and the doc thought it was pes anserine bursitis.  They gave me a cortisone shot and it was worst the next day.  Please please if anyone gets more of a diagnosis, post here as soon as possible.

[Sivens]

I haven't had the problem for several years now.  Mine originated after participating in a medical study where I built up my leg muscles over several months on a stationery bike.  It took months to go away and came back for awhile a couple years later.  That, too, may have been exercise related, I can't recall.  The best explanation I received was a suggestion that I had built up part of my quads more than the rest which resulted in some off center pressure on the knee cap.  Certain leg stretching exercises seemed to help.  If your issue might be exercise related and you don't have a disease causing your problem, consider working with a physical therapist, especially one involved in sports medicine.

[bhawk70]

Haven't found a cure but have been taking Gabapentin for years (Diabetic) and I
still have the shooting pain in my knee for about two months now..Very irritating to say the least.

[camo78]

I have researched this problem extensively because I can't stand it and I'm trying to find a solution.  Best I've come up with is Meralgia Parasthetica. It's a result of an entrapped lateral femoral cutaneous nerve in the hip. I am currently on 500mgs of Gabapentin and increasing the dosage weekly as ive just started using it. So far I've had no side effects but can't say it's helping a great deal. I am researching the use of a drug called Cymbalta which may help too. I am booked in for an MRI next week.  Im completely over this damn pain, it's causing me alot of distress in my life so I won't stop until I get rid of it. Will keep updated.

[Rtupap]

Hi All,

I am in the similar situation as many of you. However, I am on my third day. But something has helped me. Read below -

1) Day 1: I got two electric shocks one at 8:00 am another 11:00 am, I was in pain for 5 secs or so then gone, like most of you have mentioned, terrible feeling, excruciating pain from the back of my inner right knee all the way down to the right leg.
2) Day 1: did a thorough research spoke to my physio
3) Day 2: Did lower spine release/mobility work(physio did it), did yoga stretches(learnt it in past), did foam roller on T-band and inner thigh (have learnt in past), took vitamin D tablets (as prescribed by my doc), did not sit for more than 30-45 at a stretch and did a small stretch walk after every 30-45 of sitting (my job demands long hours of sitting)
4) Day 2: Attack came back at 2:00 pm but was 1/4th of the intensity of what had happened to me on Day 1
5) Day 3: is today - I am gonna repeat what I did on Day 2 above and see how it goes.

Other Info -My lifestyle is otherwise healthy in terms of food I take and water I drink. I used to play a lot of sports but taking a break from the same from last 2 months.

I had a sports injury on my right knee twice in last 30 years. I am 43 years old male. Not overweight.

Somewhere above "ehlet" has described this approach too and while I did my online research I found his recommendation very sensible and derived by an approach from there. So thanks "ehlet" for the same.

I am a fresh case only on Day 3 so I will keep you guys posted on how my pain goes and will write back in a weeks time.

till then, take care and I will experiment with my approach and post back.

cheers,
rtupap

[MichaelS111]

I was on an inversion table and stayed too long and suddenly felt my knees and center of legs become unstable. Since then I have these shocks. Wasn't noticed on an MRI, but I know I probably tore something right behind the knee cap. Just a heads up for all of you that feel that shocking pulsating pain because I know why mine happened.

[NorwegianPT]

Hello everyone. I have found a solution to the electric shock like pain in the knee problem. I currently work as a personal trainer in Norway. This jolting pain is most likely caused by VMO - or Vastus Medialis Oblique, one of your inner thigh muscles - left side of quads. My solution is to get a hold of a foam roller - you might have to buy one, but usually training centers have one. What to do: You need to lie down on the floor with the foam roller and put your inner thigh perpendicular on it. Start rolling back and forth applying alot of pressure with your body weight. This should be very uncomfortable and will hurt alot when done correctly. Do very long rolls from the base of the knee, all the way to the top of your inner thigh. This can become physically straining and you might have to take short breaks or do sets of rolls. I usually do 30-50 hard rolls (very uncomfortable) and it fixes the problem for me INSTANTLY!
It's not completely gone, I do get it from time to time, but then I just repeat and it's gone again. The rolling looks very silly though and might best be done alone, but to get rid of this incredibly excruciating knee pain it's worth it! I had this problem for many years before I did this. This usually works on MANY other muscle problems - foam roll before you go the surgery route! Hope this works for you all! :)

[lorenmd]

i too have this pain. and i'm a doctor and know about what to narrow it down to.  all your responses have been very helpful.  mine starts outside slightly posterior knee and moves up the back of my leg.  unusual because it would usually track down a nerve.  anyway. it is 10/10 i cry out i hit the spot and massage. it usually goes away in 10 seconds. mine comes on about once a week only.  two months ago i had a serious knee surgery. my right leg had been doing all the work for almost a year.  my right hip was also failing me.  so i now have had a right hip replacement.  the pain started before the hip replacement but after the right leg had been the only worker.  my PT thinks it has to do with tight muscles causing nerve entrapment and i tend to agree with the anatomy of it.  she gave me some piriformis stretching exercises because a short muscle will cause the entrapment . i just want a nerve ablation.  if i can't get it to stop with PT that is my next ask. she also suggested the roller on the outer leg.  a nerve entrapment can be caused by a variety of things so need to find out what is causing the entrapment and treat that problem.

[lorenmd]

i did not mean piriformis i meant to say ileal tibial band stretching.  it is most likely my peroneal nerve getting entrapped in a tight IT band and if i can stretch it out it will relieve.

[minkbo]

Same thing as all of you.  EXTREME shock like pain, interior of right knee ( but not my knee ).  
This happened about a year ago for about 5 -10 seconds.  I was like OUCH!  Then I started doing a spin class and yesterday this came on with a vengeance. Extreme shock pain lasting from 5-30 seconds, at times almost felt like it was pulsating. This went on off and on for about and hour. Then nothing.. no pain, no problems until next attack.  
I remembered hearing something about apple cider vinegar, I drank a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and water and it subsided for about 8 hours. 8 hours later woke me up in middle of night, drank more vinegar.. seemed to help.
At work today rolling around during an episode. My dad gave me a tincture of marijuana oil... seemed to help, then I also found at Walgreens Neuragen ( nerve cream ) this seemed to stop in its tracks.
I really am not sure.  I made an appointment at Dr in am.  Listening to everyone, it does not seem to help.  I personally am going to back off the spin class and see if it subsides the flare up.  
Hope some of these things help you, as they did me.

[bigbella43]

what did you find out