Question:

I have had a baker’s cyst 18 months. I went to have it aspirated and the surgeon wouldn’t do it, instead he did arthroscopic surgery for two tears and a “pot hole” in Aug. 2008.

I went for physical therapy for 8 weeks and I continue to do the physical therapy exercises and also recumbent bike for 10 minutes as they advised me to do.

Sometimes the exercise seems to help and sometimes it makes it hurt worse. I could walk better before the surgery. The surgeon says there’s not anything else they can do for the cyst. Sometimes it throbs and sometimes I can hardly walk. I’m 67 years old–please help.

Answer:

Baker cysts are painful and do not respond to therapy.  They can be aspirated but tend to grow back quickly.  The good news is that they do not damage your knee so you can do any activity you want and just push through the pain.

It also sounds like you had some damage to the meniscus of your knee.  This is also painful, but can respond well with surgical intervention and physical therapy.  You should not push through this type of pain.  You could get a second opinion from a surgeon on the conditions in your knee and you could also try more physical therapy.  Find a physical therapist who is an orthopedic specialist. If you need help finding one, go to:

http://www.apta.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_PT&Template=/APTAAPPS/FindAPT/findaptsearch.cfm

Related Resources:

Find a PT

For more information:

Go to the Sports Medicine health topic.