Common Causes of Knee Pain Pt III

Dr. Edmund Bruce-Gardner

Finally, we will consider some of the common causes of lateral knee pain. You may remember from the last blog that lateral means 'away from the mid-line of the body', so this is pain on the outside​ of the knee.

Many of the structures on the outside of the knee are similar to those on the inside, so they do not need much further consideration here (if you haven't yet, I strongly recommend that you read the first few posts about the knee, as they provide some much-needed background and context)  These include:

Lateral meniscal injuries e.g. ​tears

As mentioned in the last blog, medial (inside of the knee) tears are significantly more common, but people can (and do) tear their lateral meniscus. 

Again, the likelihood of it healing on its own depends on where the tear is. 

Lateral meniscal tears will, like their cousins on the other side of the knee, give pain, swelling and stiffness,
The knee may catch, click, or lock, and you will probably have difficulty in straightening your leg.

The sharper among you may have noticed that this is a diagram of a lesion of the MEDIAL, or inside, meniscus, not the lateral! I made this picture for the last blog and didn't end up using it; and it still shows the lateral meniscus on the right!

Read More