peculiar knee pain

[kenny265]

When I kneel on my left knee I get a sharp pain below and left of my patella, as if kneeling on a tack. Pressing on it or walking or bending or running does not trigger the pain, only when kneeling.
What can it be?

[invictus14]

I had a similar situation due to fall I took while playing rugby on hard ground.
I found out it was knee bursitis which is the inflammation of the Bursa (fluid sac) at the front of the patella. This can be excruciating because any pressure on the knee was bad. The inflammation/swelling caused a nerve which runs across the front of the knee to be squashed so the knee also felt numb although it still hurt on impact. The best treatment for this is to sleep with your leg elevated at night and to put ice on it. Also just keep it moving and loosen it up so the fluid can get out quicker. Although it takes months for the pain to fully go away I was playing rugby again after a couple of weeks. As long as you can deal with the pain, its not dangerous I would suggest strapping your knee up as well if you are going to do any impact sports. This article is useful for information:
http://www.sophisticatededge.com/can-bursitis-cause-numbness.html

[dugglews]

I spent a good bit of time reading all the posts on this thread since I've been dealing with a pain close to what many people described. I thought I should post my experience with potential solutions.

My pain was on the right knee and felt like pins and needles when I either kneeled on that knee or bent my knee to an acute angle. I tried several of the solutions, but the one that worked for me was a combination of avoiding those activities and applying heat using a bean bag heated in a microwave for quite a few evenings when I could devote the time to doing that.

I don't know if it improved due to time passing or the heat but after about three weeks I've noticed that I can bend my knee and kneel on that knee with no pain. I'm still being a bit careful with it, but I'm grateful for the relief I've experienced so far and I felt I should offer my feedback.

[LHM]

Nope, you are not alone at all. I too have a *sharp*, intense pain when I kneel. It's as if someone is shoving a pointed, wide blade knife into the soft tissues   on the outside of my right knee, a fingers-width to the side and slightly lower than patella-center. It came on very suddenly about two weeks ago, after no discernible injury.

This is different from a tendon or ligament injury of the knww, as I've had both (and still have effects). There is no swelling or discoloration, and there is no continual ache - just the sharp pain when I am kneeling and putting pressure on the knee. If I search carefully, I can even find the spot in my knee which, when pushed, produces this pain.

I am 20 lbs overweight, and have difficulty getting up and down from the floor after a stroke 8 years ago at age 50. I am certain that this pain is made far worse by the added stress  of extra weight and weak musculature. I am starting an exercise regimen, following the outline of "Treat Your Own Knees," by Jim Johnson. It will take some time, but it will be better than surgery if it works.

[msglitterati]

I am experiencing the same type of pain. I work as an Activity Director for seniors, while I was picking up bean bags after a game of cornhole I moved from a sitting position on the floor,onto my knees and I instantly felt a very sharp pain in my left knee. It was so bad that I actually screamed out in pain and flopped back onto my butt to look for the thumb tack, glass, carpet staple that I had to have just jammed my knee into- there was nothing. I was wearing a sundress so I was easily able to inspect my skin for a pin-prick and again there was nothing. The pain quickly subsided and I felt nothing when I pressed on it, walked, or bent my knee. So I thought nothing more of it - though my seniors got a good laugh out of their 30 year old Activity Director moaning over a "bad knee" and even joked from now in I should just let them do all the strenuous work, Later that day I was home cleaning out the fridge and as soon as I down on that knee the pain was again so bad that I basically threw myself back down on to my butt. Ok, I figured that maybe I did kneel on something at work and was having residual pain. Days passed and I never had any problem with it doing my day to day activities so and figured whatever I had done to it must have healed. Nope! Getting into bed last night I got up on my knee and even on the soft mattress a sharp pain like a thumbtack on my left knee, below the knee cap and slightly to the left. So I went to Dr Google truthfully afraid that I must have something  sharp inside my knee (even with no pain to the touch- maybe slight tenderness if I press in just the right spot) and lo and behold I find this site where you're all experiencing the same thing.
I am only 30 years old and my weight is on target for my height.I am moderately active now but spent years as a softball player, cheerleader, and dancer. Working with seniors and navigating wheelchairs and walkers and overall putting their safety before mine I do tend to bump myself quite a bit without even noticing  until a giant bruise shows up - so it is quite possible that at some point I've knocked my knee so hard that this nerve pain I've been reading about in this post could have happened. Its just so odd - I've NEVER even had trouble with my knees before. Glad to have found this post- I'm not crazy!

[Spachman]

A great idea, using the towel under the shin! I have had this "broken glass" pain under my kneecap accompanied by an area of numbness to the outside of the knee off and on for nearly 30 years! It flares up in the spring when I garden, so I've learned to sit and weed. No doctors I've consulted have any idea what causes it. So frustrating.

[Carrieon55]

Here is a trick I've learned to avoid "the pain" when I have to kneel (doing yoga or gardening).  Place a pad (folded or rolled towel works, size depends on you) under your SHIN, not your knee, so that your knee is off the ground and you are weight bearing on the tibia instead.  I still have the weird numb area on the lateral side of my knee, but not the pain there.