Most Baker cysts go away without surgery. Healthcare providers only rarely advise surgery. You might need surgery if your Baker cyst is causing you severe symptoms and no other treatments have worked.
Baker's cysts aren't dangerous and they may go away on their own. But occasionally they burst, and if that happens, synovial fluid can leak into the calf below, causing pain, swelling, and reddening.
A Baker's cyst, also called a popliteal (pop-luh-TEE-ul) cyst, is usually the result of a problem with your knee joint, such as arthritis or a cartilage tear. Both conditions can cause your knee to produce too much fluid, which can lead to a Baker's cyst.
There are several ways to treat a Baker's cyst, but it will often recur if the underlying cause hasn't been addressed. A Baker's cyst may occur as a result of an injury to the knee, such as a tear in a meniscus, or damage to the cartilage from conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis.
These types of popliteal cysts may go away on their own, but if left untreated, they can also worsen. From time to time, a Baker's cyst ruptures, sending fluid down the inside of the calf and presenting as a bruise. Blood clots can also lead to bruising and swelling at the back of the knee and calf.
Most patients do not report any pain during the procedure but you may feel slight pressure when the needle is inserted into the cyst. Once the procedure is complete, your doctor may put a small bandage on the site.
It's benign… Not cancer. But it may be a sign of a problem within your knee. So if you have a Baker's cyst and you're having knee symptoms, it's a good idea to see your knee doctor and get an evaluation.
A Baker's cyst can sometimes burst (rupture), resulting in fluid leaking down into your calf. This can cause sharp pain, swelling and redness in your calf, but redness can be harder to see on brown and black skin.
Baker's cysts are most often caused by injuries such as a torn ACL / MCL or a torn meniscus. To treat it, our team will address the main injury with bracing. In rare cases, if the cyst is large enough, a physician may recommend that they aspirate or remove it.
A Baker's cyst usually goes away on its own, but it can take months or even years.
If the cyst ruptures, this causes extravasation of the fluid into the compartments of the calf and produces symptoms and signs mimicking thrombophlebitis. On the other hand, if the cyst enlarges without rupturing, pressure may be exerted on branches of the low sciatic nerve and produce a neuropathy.
Complications of a Baker cyst can cause additional symptoms, such as warmth, redness, or numbness.
It may cause mild discomfort or pain and tenderness at the posterior aspect of the knee. Baker's cysts can produce neuropathy by direct pressure on the nerve, either gradually or suddenly. The most dramatic complication is acute rupture with the clinical presentation often called the pseudothrombophlebitis syndrome.
Doctors in Germany tested the widely held belief that recurring Baker's cyst will be cured after total knee replacement. Here are the surprising results they published in the Bone and Joint Journal (3). After one year, a Baker's cyst was still present in 85% of patients tested.
Sometimes a Baker's cyst will disappear on its own. However, if the cyst is large and causes pain, your doctor may recommend the following treatments: Medication. Your doctor may inject a corticosteroid medication, such as cortisone, into your knee to reduce inflammation.
Thrombophlebitis: the anatomical site of a Baker's cyst means that there can be an increased risk of thrombophlebitis. Other presentations include aching, knee effusion, clicking of the knee, buckling of the knee and locking. Occasionally the cyst can rupture, resulting in pain and swelling of the calf.
Why exercise helps treat and decrease the symptoms of a Baker's cyst. Regular, gentle exercises can increase your range of motion and strengthen the muscles around your knees. By exercising several times per week, you can decrease some of the symptoms you may be experiencing as a result of this fluid-filled sac.
Chiropractic can be used to treat baker's cyst and help relieve the pain that it causes.
It typically takes around four weeks after baker's cyst excision for the wound to completely heal. A firm bump of scar tissue will form in the incision. As the wound heals, the bump will slowly go away. Stitches are usually removed about two weeks after surgery.