Understanding Your Knee Condition
You have three connected problems in your knee that are working together to cause your symptoms.
What's Happening in Your Knee
Your knee has worn-out cartilage (advanced osteoarthritis), a torn cushion inside the joint (medial meniscus tear), and a fluid-filled swelling behind your knee (Baker cyst). 1, 2
The Arthritis (Osteoarthritis)
- Think of the cartilage in your knee like the tread on a tire—yours has worn down significantly over time 1
- This causes the bones to rub together more, creating pain, stiffness, and swelling 1
- The worn cartilage cannot grow back, but we can manage your symptoms and slow down further damage 1
The Torn Meniscus
- The meniscus is like a rubbery cushion between your thigh and shin bones 1
- In advanced arthritis, this cushion often tears because it's already weakened by the degenerative process—it's usually a result of the arthritis, not a separate injury 1
- Most people with your level of arthritis won't improve much from surgery to fix the meniscus tear because the underlying arthritis is the main problem 1
- The tear may be contributing to your symptoms, but treating the arthritis is more important 1
The Baker Cyst
- This is a fluid-filled sac that bulges out the back of your knee 2, 3
- It forms because your arthritic knee produces extra joint fluid, which gets pushed through a natural opening in the back of your knee joint into a small sac (bursa) that normally exists there 2, 3
- Think of it like squeezing a water balloon—the pressure from inflammation inside your knee pushes fluid backward 3
- The cyst itself is not dangerous; it's a symptom of the knee problems, not a separate disease 2
- The Baker cyst will often shrink or disappear on its own once we successfully treat the arthritis and reduce the swelling in your knee 2, 3
How These Problems Connect
Your arthritis causes inflammation and extra fluid in the knee → This fluid creates pressure → The pressure pushes fluid through the meniscus tear and out the back of the knee → This creates the Baker cyst 2, 3
The key point: treating your arthritis is the foundation for improving all three problems. 1, 2
What This Means for Treatment
- We'll focus first on managing your arthritis with exercise, weight loss if needed, pain medications, and possibly injections 1, 4
- The Baker cyst usually doesn't need separate treatment and should improve as we control the arthritis 2, 3
- Surgery for the meniscus tear is typically not helpful unless you have specific mechanical symptoms like true locking (where your knee gets completely stuck and won't move) 1
- If conservative treatments don't work after several months, knee replacement surgery may be the best option for advanced arthritis like yours 1, 5