Intermittent, sharp, pain, of short duration on side of knee cap

[kneepain51]

I have intermittent very sharp pain just outside the inner part of my right knee cap. There is no swelling, redness, or sensitivity of the area, and it comes very suddenly, and passes within 5 -15 seconds. The pain is very intense. It can come while I'm immobile, or even sleeping. It doesn't feel like muscle or bone pain. I am a 47 year old male, very thin, and in good shape. I bike outdoors and use an eliptic machine indoors. No running or any other kind of pounding sports (had ACL repair of left knee 16 years ago and it's never been the same since. My orthopedist told me never to run again).
I went to an orthopedist for this pain and he had no suggestions. He checked the mobility and motion of my knee.
I can't find any symptoms like it anywhere on the Internet. I stopped all exercise a couple of weeks ago and it seemed to get better, and then last night in bed it came back, twice within a couple of minutes.
Has anyone heard of symptoms like this?

[Ts15]

Hello,
I’m experiencing similar pulsating electric shock symptoms around the outside of my right knee. Short excruciating pain for 10-15 second burst at a time. Any updates on prognosis?

[MrMJ]

I have had similar pain just recently start on the inner part of my right knee.  It feels like it’s a muscle or tendon that just got stabbed! It lasts a few minutes, comes and goes. I started to use an ointment called Deep Tissue from Dr. Schultze herbal clinic in Marina Del Rey, CA. It seems to go away for a few weeks.  I have only used the ointment at the time of the pain,  but will start using it regularly to see if it goes away permanently.

[IanAbler]

I’m desperate for answers. The pain went away for a few months and now it’s back with a vengeance. At this point I’d amputate my leg if I knew the pain would stop. It literally feels like someone is zapping me with a cattle prod. I’ve had ultrasound and mri and nothing can be seen. The pain is right behind my left knee and it’s been happening intermittently for over 2 years. I want my life back.

[Roycen]

It's hard to diagnose you but in the past 2 years, have you done any exercising or physical therapy? my pain was just below my left knee cap, inner part of the knee. Everyday i stretched and foam rolled my legs as well as doing physical therapy at home. (air squats, leg lifts with ankle weights, etc.. ) i had the knee pain for most of 2017 and it stopped in March of this year (January/February 2018 was when i really started physical therapy.) I still can't confirm why I had the sharp knee pain that everyone else describes in this forum, but i do believe it was caused by a tracking issue with my knee due to a muscle imbalance. The muscle imbalance can be cause by pore posture, especially if you sit a lot (hips be misaligned). Hope this helps, and if you need more information on the workouts i did, let me know and ill send the links.

[Stormy20]

How has the pain been, did it continue to get better? If so I'd love to know what exercises helped!

[NorwegianPT]

X-rays didnt show anything in my knee. I regularly have these pain symptoms. I've found that exercising and stretching - massaging different areas - especially BEHIND the knee - reduces the frequency. When I find different areas behind the knee that are painful I put my thumb there and apply a ton of pressure for 20 seconds. It hurts but i can feel the muscles going into a relaxed state. Try different things. stand on a tennisball - massage under feet - gastrocnemius - soleus - anterior tibialis - exercise regularly - focus on doing 1 legged exercises! leg press with 1 leg at a time - lower weights! Good luck.

[IanAbler]

I’m desperate for answers. The pain went away for a few months and now it’s back with a vengeance. At this point I’d amputate my leg if I knew the pain would stop. It literally feels like someone is zapping me with a cattle prod. I’ve had ultrasound and mri and nothing can be seen. The pain is right behind my left knee and it’s been happening intermittently for over 2 years. I want my life back.

[Frankie_G]

T

[Frankie_G]

I have the exact same thing. It just started a few months ago. I'm 64 years old. It comes without warning. But with me, nothing brings it on. I don't do that much exercise. It happens randomly.  I have not heard of any answers nor do I have one myself. I just wanted to let you know you're not alone

[Jameswith]

As I understand it this could also be a symptom of chronic Lyme disease. Some people have it never knowing they were infected with Lyme disease in the first place. I was diagnosed with it and this has been a recurring problem. Of course I don’t know for sure they aren’t two unrelated problems but it’s something worth checking into. There is a part of the medical community that denies the existence of chronic
Lyme disease but I wouldn’t dismiss it.