Table of Contents
- How People Describe This Pain Pattern
- How You Activate and Intensify This Pain Pattern
- Self-Care – Getting Relief on Your Own
- Musculoskeletal Anatomy Behind Your Pain
- Therapy Notes for Massage and Bodywork
Want to skip ahead?
Here’s a link to my post about
getting relief on your own.
How People Describe This Pain Pattern
Sharp, Grabbing Knee Pain
People complain of sharp and unexpected pain, especially along the inside of the knee. Often, this occurs as they step on uneven ground or climb stairs. They may also complain of pain in their knee when they cross their legs. Although people who complain of this pain often focus on the knee, they sometimes speak of pain that occurs along the thigh.
This pattern is often confusing and difficult to isolate as other muscles and pain patterns are often involved. However, this part of the pattern is particularly bothersome for several reasons. First, it mimics the pattern of a disc problem at L3 that spirals around the front of the thigh. Second, it creates sharp pain along the knee, which creates concern about meniscus problems. Third, it creates weakness and instability on stairs, possibly leading to a fall, especially for the elderly.
Get Professional Help
As I mentioned above, a vertebral disc or meniscus can create similar pain. Notably, the disc pain tends to be more painful or electric as it spirals around the thigh. However, a seasoned professional needs to determine if you’re in real trouble and need treatment for your back or knee.
My Own Experience
I’ve helped many patients with this but had a bout with it myself a few months before writing this post. Like many of my patients, it came with other pain patterns in thigh muscles. The knee pain was sharp and concerning. It put a real cramp in my leg workout. A shadow of pain also spiraled from the corner of my hip to the inside of my knee. At various times, that pain shifted up and down my thigh.
Fortunately, my professional experience helped me ferret the trigger points and assess the other factors. Also, I was heading on a trip with lots of walking on uneven ground. Worse, I was taking long plane rides that would require holding my knees together, which seemed to aggravate this. Ultimately, I was able to quell the irritation and enjoy my trip with minor inconvenience. My knee barked a bit on days with lots of steps, but only in the first few days. Naturally, I take pain patches on my vacations, in case I have a problem. Instead, I was ok and used the patches on friends who were having low back and leg pain.
How You Activate and Intensify This Pain Pattern
Usually a Mystery
Although most people try to find an activity that started this, few have clear answers. Even, in my own case, I don’t know what started it. There are some instances where the person has a sports injury or motor vehicle accident that seems to initiate the problem. However, those are cases I read about in research and haven’t seen in my clinic.
The Musculoskeletal Anatomy Behind Your Pain
Musculoskeletal Anatomy
This post on anatomy contains standard information about the origin, insertion, function, and innervation of muscles. Additionally, it includes information on functional considerations and anomalies.
Find Related Posts
Anatomy posts have a grid of all related posts. This includes posts on pain patterns, self-care, therapy notes, NMT protocols, cranial techniques, and cases.
Getting Relief on Your Own
Clinically Proven
Self-Care Strategies
Self-Care Posts have common sections to make them easy to follow and understand:
- Activities to Avoid or Change
- Strategies for Quick Relief
- Stretches and Exercise for Longer-Lasting Relief
- Yoga Corner
Therapy Notes for Massage and Bodywork
Better Bodywork
Through Shared Expertise
Therapy Notes provide details for cranial, spinal, and local joint work. These notes also link to a traditional neuromuscular protocol.
By treating integrative components first, direct work on the muscle becomes less intense while providing longer-lasting relief.
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Tony Preston has a practice in Atlanta, Georgia, where he sees clients. He has written materials and instructed classes since the mid-90s. This includes anatomy, trigger points, cranial, and neuromuscular.
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*This site is undergoing significant changes. We are reformatting and expanding the posts to make them easier to read. The result will also be more accessible and include more patterns with better self-care. Meanwhile, there may be formatting, content presentation, and readability inconsistencies. Until we get older posts updated, please excuse our mess.