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I keep getting inflamed popliteus muscle on my left side. I know I have a relatively tight hamstring, so I do active stretch before any workout. Typically, the pain and tightness will go away after a few days, but during those a few days, I would have to take it really easy and only do activity, such as swim, that will not overly use the hamstring.
I've seen PTs and getting different treatments from massaging to dry needling. In addition, I am doing strength exercise fairly regularly. But nothing seems to help to prevent it from occuring. The most frustrating thing is not knowing what sets if off: sometimes it could be a easy 6 miles run, and another time could be a hard bike ride.
Anyone else here ever had the same issue, and if so, how do you deal with or, better, fix it?
Never even heard of this muscle until I apparently tore the one behind my left knee at Powerman Zofingen (2014) and a week later dropped to the street while running like a sack of potatoes when it finally gave out completely. I didn't have any inflammation though, just a lot of tightness. And yes, I have very tight hamstrings. Stretch, stretch, stretch.
Why would you assume its the popliteus that is causing you pain when you have much larger and more commonly injured structures in the area? Firstly, you need to rule out the knee joint and internal structures as a pain generator. Then you should rule out the hamstrings and gastroc/solues complex. Assume and treat the most likely problem before you start jumping out of the box. Describe your pain and what causes/relieves it more specifically.
I had a lot of scar tissue on my left popliteus, directly behind the knee joint, to the point that I thought I had torn something in the knee. It was always painful when I was warming up, then looser during activity, then tighter afterwards.
It was especially bad if I sat on a chair with my feet tucked under the chair, i.e., an angle of less than 45 degrees. Usually that was during a long, tense meeting at work, or a dinner with someone I was nervous around. It would take me a minute to straighten the leg all the way out. I assumed it was a serious knee problem.
I had it from about ages 20-30, when a massage therapist pressed on it and said that it was a big mass of scar tissue. She worked on it for a few minutes at each of a dozen or so visits, and it got better. 100% better.
I'm now almost 50. In the past year of unusually high-mileage running, I've noticed the popliteus from time to time -- never on the warmup, but only when I sit in a tense position, feet tucked back underneath my seat, just like before. The same massage therapist last week told me the popliteus was acting up again. She also remembered what had sent me to her almost 20 years ago.
So I don't know what to do to strengthen it or prevent the problem. But I know that a good massage therapist can release the muscle and break up the scar tissue. I also know that sitting with the knee at less than a 90-degree angle will make it feel worse. Warning: the massage on the spot behind the knee is painful when done properly, and REALLY painful when done wrong. See a pro!
<The Dew Abides>