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The Daily Insight

Can peroneal nerve cause knee pain?

Author

Rachel Ross

Updated on February 19, 2026

Can peroneal nerve cause knee pain?

Under normal circumstances, the peroneal nerve will move and slide along these muscles as the knee moves back and forth. However, If the peroneal nerve becomes compressed or stuck along any of these muscles if can become inflamed or injured, leading to pain on the outside of the knee.

Can peroneal nerve damage be repaired?

Peroneal Nerve Injury Treatment Physical therapy and gait retraining can help the person improve their mobility. Some injuries may require peripheral nerve surgery, including one or more of these procedures: Decompression surgery. Nerve repair.

How long does knee nerve damage take to heal?

How long does it take to recover? Usually a pinched peroneal nerve will get better on its own within days to weeks once you stop the behavior or fix the condition that’s causing it. If surgery is needed, your symptoms should disappear immediately, but it takes about four months to recover from surgery.

Where does common peroneal nerve split?

It divides at the knee into two terminal branches: the superficial peroneal nerve and deep peroneal nerve, which innervate the muscles of the lateral and anterior compartments of the leg respectively.

How long does it take for a peroneal nerve to heal?

The recovery time after a common peroneal nerve decompression at the knee is usually 3-4 months. For the first 6 weeks, we do not want to encourage the knee to form a lot of scar tissue around the area of the decompression, so we have patients on crutches.

Does an MRI scan show nerve damage?

An MRI may be able help identify structural lesions that may be pressing against the nerve so the problem can be corrected before permanent nerve damage occurs. Nerve damage can usually be diagnosed based on a neurological examination and can be correlated by MRI scan findings.

How do you decompress the peroneal nerve?

In this procedure, a nerve decompression / neurolysis is performed of the common peroneal nerve through a small incision along the outer side of the knee. The goal is to provide space for the nerve and its blood supply, giving it a chance to regenerate.

How do you test for peroneal nerve damage?

To test for the motor involvement of the superficial peroneal nerve and deep peroneal nerve, one must assess foot eversion (SPN) and foot/toe dorsiflexion (DPN). A finding of weakness of both foot eversion as well as foot/toe dorsiflexion suggests a lesion involving the common peroneal nerve.