I just was diagnosed with pre-patellar bursitis, also known as carpetlayers knee or housemaid's knee.
I first got it in the summer of 2012 just after a vacation that included a trail run in Lyme, Connecticut. Even though I had no symptoms other than lots of fluid collecting around one knee (i.e., no fever, tick bite, bullseye, etc.), the doc I visited suspected Lyme. The test on that was inconclusive, but I did my 20 days of doxy and have doubted the diagnosis ever since. I did a 6-hour triathlon a week after the Lyme diagnosis and had a great race. About every 3-4 months, it has flared up a little bit (i.e., fluid around the knee) but has never been painful, and the fluid has gone away in a few days.
A week ago, my left knee blew up like a balloon. I didn't stress it any more than usual--did a 5-mile trail run and 1.5 hour mountain bike ride the day it filled with fluid. That was the only day it was stiff and painful. Ever since, it's been full of fluid but hasn't hurt. I've got full range of motion, limited only by what feels like skin tension preventing complete flexion.
A different doctor is testing for infection and possible gout (I've also got big toe pain that we think is unrelated). He drained 60+ cc's of fluid from the knee, but it filled back up within a day. A physical therapist has applied cold and electrical stim, as well as a massage, but that didn't seem to do much.
Has anyone dealt with this long term? It doesn't hurt, and I feel like I could run, but don't want to injure it further. I don't spend a lot of time on my knees, and there was no acute trauma to the knee. I was a little dismayed when the sports medicine doctor--who's probably almost 70--said he'd never seen quite so much fluid in one knee.
I first got it in the summer of 2012 just after a vacation that included a trail run in Lyme, Connecticut. Even though I had no symptoms other than lots of fluid collecting around one knee (i.e., no fever, tick bite, bullseye, etc.), the doc I visited suspected Lyme. The test on that was inconclusive, but I did my 20 days of doxy and have doubted the diagnosis ever since. I did a 6-hour triathlon a week after the Lyme diagnosis and had a great race. About every 3-4 months, it has flared up a little bit (i.e., fluid around the knee) but has never been painful, and the fluid has gone away in a few days.
A week ago, my left knee blew up like a balloon. I didn't stress it any more than usual--did a 5-mile trail run and 1.5 hour mountain bike ride the day it filled with fluid. That was the only day it was stiff and painful. Ever since, it's been full of fluid but hasn't hurt. I've got full range of motion, limited only by what feels like skin tension preventing complete flexion.
A different doctor is testing for infection and possible gout (I've also got big toe pain that we think is unrelated). He drained 60+ cc's of fluid from the knee, but it filled back up within a day. A physical therapist has applied cold and electrical stim, as well as a massage, but that didn't seem to do much.
Has anyone dealt with this long term? It doesn't hurt, and I feel like I could run, but don't want to injure it further. I don't spend a lot of time on my knees, and there was no acute trauma to the knee. I was a little dismayed when the sports medicine doctor--who's probably almost 70--said he'd never seen quite so much fluid in one knee.